CWC'19 final: New Zealand win toss, elect to bat first against England

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first against England in the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at Lord's on Sunday.

Following the toss, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said: "A bat-first surface, but the overhead conditions do make it 50-50. It was a really good game of cricket (against India) and great to get across the line."

"But, this is a tough surface (at Lord's) and tough opposition (England). I always back Martin (Guptill) with the bat and we know how good he can be. Any experiences you have you can learn from. It will be incredibly special," he added.

On the other hand, England skipper Eoin Morgan said, "With the overhead, toss is 50-50. Jonny (Bairstow) is fully fit, which is great news for us. I'm extremely proud and everyone in the change room is."

"We want to win and throughout the tournament, we have played tough games and the semi-final epitomised that," he added.

Both the sides will play will unchanged XI. Following are the squads:

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, James Neesham, Tom Latham (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson

England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(wk), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

England, the hosts, took 27 years to reach the final of the marquee tournament. Having failed on three occasions -- in 1979, 1987 and 1992, this English side displays a new brand of cricket. Under the leadership of Eoin Morgan, England team believes in being aggressive, taking the bowlers to cleaners, scoring highest possible total and producing nasty bouncers with commendable pace.

New Zealand entered their second consecutive World Cup final after defeating the table-topper India. With the surprising win, the Kiwis forced the world to believe in the unpredictable nature of the game and anybody can beat anybody regardless who holds the tag of favourites.

The Kane Williamson-led side knows how to turn the tables and believes in the philosophy of disciplined fielding and running between the wickets if they cannot open their arms.

Lord's will witness a first-time winner, a country that has never lifted the coveted World Cup. After 45 days with 10 best teams competing in a league format, it has come down to the final between England and New Zealand.