Jamie George views England’s dramatic triumph in the Cricket World Cup final as an example of the precision that will be needed to dispatch South Africa on Saturday.
The nation claimed its first 50-over trophy by defeating New Zealand on boundaries in July, but only after the completion of an extraordinary ‘super over’ in which pinpoint fielding on the last ball staved off defeat.
George is friends with cricketers Jason Roy and Sam Billings and insists Eddie Jones’ men must display the same perfect execution of skills at the critical moment if they are to be the second England team crowned world champions this year.
“Fine margins isn’t it? A big thing that I have thought about is your ability to perform your skill under the highest pressure,” the British and Irish Lions hooker said.
“If you think back to that super over and the last run out – Jason Roy’s throw – he had to pick the ball up first, the ball is coming to him at speed, he’s done it a thousand times before but doing it under that pressure, knowing that he needs to get it there in that moment… Jos Buttler taking the stumps.
“Things like that. Doing your job under pressure. I read a bit with Jason Roy saying all he could think about was getting the ball into his hands. He was thinking about the process rather than thinking about the big picture.”
George’s friendship with Billings dates back to their teenage years, when they went to the same boarding school, and they have been in regular contact throughout the World Cup.
Billings has been named captain Eoin Morgan’s number two for the the five-match Twenty20 series in New Zealand – England’s semi-final victims in Japan.
“Billings was actually very smug being out there in New Zealand wearing the gear around. It’s always quite nice to see, especially for me as a big cricket fan,” George said.
“The video came out of us watching their World Cup final and, chatting to him, they will probably be sat around watching ours as well. It’s quite a cool thought.
“I’ve spoken to Eoin Morgan a few times about the culture and also the mindset of the team going into their final.
“They had been through a bit more of a rollercoaster ride than we have in this tournament but there are certain similarities over the last two seasons or so.”
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