England's win didn't sit right with British star John Cleese. Photo / Getty
England's win didn't sit right with British star John Cleese. Photo / Getty
British screen legend and comedian John Cleese has called for the Cricket World Cup to be shared following the controversial way in which England won the grand final.
The Black Caps were beaten to a first World Cup triumph by England after the scores were twice tied and the WorldCup was decided based on a boundary countback.
English actor and cricket enthusiast Cleese told his 5.7 million Twitter fans yesterday that he felt the result was wrong and deemed it unfair.
John Cleese, British English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Photo / Getty
"There's a part of me that feels it would be absolutely splendid if we agreed to share the World Campions [sic] title with the Kiwis," Cleese, who starred in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, tweeted. "It was a magnificent display from both teams, and both deserved to win, and neither deserved to lose".
Cleese's tweet stirred debate among his English followers, however, with many believing that the Black Caps didn't deserve to share the glory with England.
"That's the trouble with us Brits, even when we finally win something, we beat ourselves up with guilt. Can you imagine the Americans wanting to share a championship? Didn't think so," on fan wrote.
Cleese responded saying it wasn't a matter of guilt.
"Not guilt. Just a sense of fair play. American male values are individualistic I find team work and team spirit more admirable," he wrote.
Meanwhile, as the first group of Black Caps landed in Auckland today following the heartbreaking defeat, Trent Boult sent out an apology to all New Zealanders for "letting everyone down".
New Zealand react after losing the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Photo / Getty
Boult bowled both the final over of the 50-over match and the Super Over in which England scored 15 runs, after earlier taking a catch on the boundary, only to stand on the boundary cushion.
The left-arm seamer, who was one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 17 scalps, admitted it would take some time for the players to get over the final result.
"It's been a long flight home but it [the defeat] probably hasn't sunk in yet. I wish it would, so we can all get over it but it's one of those things that we probably won't get over for a long time."
