THE ICC Men's World Cup Final on Sunday was a tense affair, and one that no-one who watched it will ever forget.

The match was a perfect example of the fine margins upon which sporting results rest.

If Trent Boult had taken that catch and not stood on the boundary, if Ben Stokes hadn't got in the way of the ball as it was being thrown in, scoring six instead of two, New Zealand would have been worthy winners.

For Ben Stokes, this was his redemption after his mauling at the hands of Carlos Brathwaite in the 2016 World T20 final, and the infamous night out in Bristol.

He did what aspiring cricketers dream as kids of doing, being the man to lead his team home when the stakes were at their highest.

After the match, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson acknowledged that his side did not get the luck, saying it was "written in the stars" for England to win the trophy, and, to be fair to him, he wasn't wrong.

Since their disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign, which ended in a calamitous defeat to Bangladesh, England have been on an incredible journey which has seen them go from complete no-hopers to the best team in the world.

With a home World Cup, it really had to be England, anything other than winning the tournament would have been rightly seen as a failure.

This match, being the first televised cricket on free-to-air TV since the iconic 2005 Ashes series, was hugely important, and if they are clever, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Sky and the various free-to-air broadcasters will seize on the initiative created by the incredible response to the final, which saw non cricket fans tuning in and being enthralled by the action.

Free-to-air TV is not the panacea it is often touted as, but would audiences be better served with a few hours' cricket on TV, or a re-run of Homes Under the Hammer?

Cricket is a brilliant sport, all it needs is a bit of love.