London, July 15: England might have won the World Cup, but the fact that the number of boundaries hit decided the winner is something that has not gone down well with certain quarters who believed that if the game ended in a tie even after the Super Over, either the trophy should have been shared or the team picking most wickets could take it home. However, England skipper Eoin Morgan's take on the issue was different than his Kiwi counterpart Kane Williamson. Speaking at the end of the game, Morgan said that rules are set well in advance so that isn't an area that needs to be looked at.

"If you could give me an alternative, I'd be able to, like compare the both. But I can't think of an alternative at the moment. The rules are obviously set out a long time ago and we have no control over them," he said. But he was quick to add that the Kiwis played quality cricket. "I think they've been incredible throughout the tournament. I said it before the game in the press conference. They've been actually through a better tournament than we have. England Are the Champions! Eoin Morgan and Co. Win ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in Thriller Super-Over Final Match Against New Zealand.

"The fact a trophy is sitting here is, you know -- like I mentioned, we got the rub of the green today. New Zealand throughout the group stages were absolutely outstanding, very consistent and in the semi-final were very ruthless in playing against an extremely strong team like India."

"And I think the most admirable thing is the way they played their cricket. To consistently perform and compete against the very best on different stages throughout the year, they are the best, and they do it in a fashion that you'd have no qualms in turning around to your kid and saying, "Please idolise these guys, they are very admirable"," Morgan said.

Williamson praised his team for putting up a good show. "I suppose you never thought you would have to ask that question and I never thought I would have to answer it (smiling). Yeah, while the emotions are raw, it is pretty hard to swallow when two teams have worked really, really hard to get to this moment in time and when sort of two attempts to separate them with a winner and a loser it still doesn't perhaps sort of shine with one side coming through, you know. It is what it is, really. The rules are there at the start.

"No one probably thought they would have to sort of result to some of that stuff. But yeah, very tough to swallow. A great game of cricket and all you guys probably enjoyed it. "As to everyone else, I think they are still here, they want more (smiling). But we are looking forward to putting our feet up now and having a bit of a chat and reflection about our campaign," he said.

"The rules are there I guess, aren't they, and certainly something you don't consider going into the match that maybe if we could have an extra boundary and then tied two attempts at winning it we will get across the line and they didn't think that either. "I don't even know what the boundary count was but we were slightly behind. Yeah, very, very tough..."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2019 11:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).