Top Three Most Dramatic Sporting Finishes After England Are Beaten In New Zealand
Jimmy Anderson stood there, bat in hand. All he had to do was score two more runs for England to win the friendly and series against New Zealand. In a crowded Basin Reserve he faced Neil Wagner and when the ball flew in all he could do was turn it into Tom Blundell’s grateful hands.
England had lost by one run. They became only the second Test team in history to lose by the narrowest margin imaginable and only the fourth team to lose a match after forcing the opponent to go on. We’ve already written about the impact this loss could have on the team, but Bazball pulled off one of the best results for a Test match we’ve seen.
Sporty finishes often add a lot of drama, and we’ve checked out some of the other stunning finishes we’ve seen over the years.
England vs New Zealand – Cricket World Cup – 2019
These two teams just love producing drama.
In 2019 they produced what is arguably the greatest cricket match of all time. Both teams finished their 50 overs with 241 runs each, leading us to a super over – the likes of which we’ll probably never see in a final again. Stokes was heroic that day and somehow (also with a healthy dose of luck) dragged his team to this point.
Stokes and Jos Buttler came in for six crucial balls and managed to add 15 goals, but it didn’t seem enough as Jofra Archer threw a no-ball with his first and hit his third ball for six. However, after the last delivery with Marvin Guptill on strike, New Zealand still needed two runs to win.
“That’s the moment!” Ian Smith’s iconic commentary began. “It’s Archer vs. Guptill: 2 to win. (Guptill bangs on the delivery) Guptill will push for 2! You have to go! It is [the ball] will… (Roy Fields) Roy will go to the keeper’s end… (Buttler takes the toss and knocks down the wicket) He’s got it! England won the World Cup! With the lowest margins! With the lowest of all margins! Absolute ecstasy for England! Agony, agony for New Zealand!
The New Zealander’s words only added to what may be the greatest sporting moment of all time, and he managed to utter them just as his country had suffered their most heartbreaking loss. Simply stunning – on and off the pitch.
Liverpool vs Arsenal – 1st Division – 1989
Who better to talk about the greatest football finish of all time than Clive Tyldesley?
“Who was the greatest title decider of English modernity? Was it 2012 Aguerooooo or was it 1989?” he debated with The Sportsman.
“What happened in 2012, not just one goal but two goals by Manchester City in added time, even what we’ve seen this season doesn’t compare to the extraordinary drama of those few minutes. Martin Tyler and Guy Mowbray in Match of the Day captured those moments beautifully. “I swear you’ll never see anything like that again…” is a big statement, but actually – editorially – correct. We’ll never see anything like it again.
“But who was the biggest title decider? 1989… The two protagonists on the same field together. It wasn’t like today, when you look at your phone how Liverpool is doing, you have the price in mind. Both teams were there.
“The other element, the obvious element that any Arsenal fan would know is that 1-0 wasn’t enough. When Alan Smith scored, Liverpool were still champions. Goal difference was identical, as was the points tally at the end of the night, it was the goals scored that gave Arsenal the title, the second goal ironically scored by a player who would appear in an FA Cup final three years later scored for Liverpool , Michael Thomas – that can’t be beat in the top flight… I hate to talk about the Premier League because we weren’t even in the Premier League era but it doesn’t matter. It’s top English football – 92 hasn’t changed that much, there was football before 1992.
“This is simply the most dramatic end-of-day story ever told.”
Hamilton vs Vestappen – F1 Abu Dhabi – 2021
The greatest sporting degree? Maybe not. The most controversial? Pretty sure.
Sporting drama is brilliant because it comes naturally. You cannot fake the emotion or put the protagonists in a fake situation. With a few laps to go in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was a hair’s breadth ahead and sped away to win his record-breaking eighth world title.
Then Nicolas Latifi crashed into a wall and brought out the safety car. Max Verstappen was able to pit on fresh tires, 12 seconds down, and as the cars lined up behind the safety car, further controversy ensued. The lapped cars between Hamilton in 1st place and Verstappen in 5th place were allowed to overtake, resulting in a one-on-one duel for the championship.
With the Dutchman on fresh tires there would only be one winner as he made a move on Hamilton and clinched the win out of nowhere. Christian Horner happily stayed behind on the pit wall while the rest of the planet yelled foul play. Despite the appeal, Verstappen’s first world title. It will never be beaten as it is the most stunning finish Formula 1 will ever see.