Australia vs England, Final at Bridgetown, May 16 2010 - Ball by Ball Commentary

So, hugs, handshakes and backslaps all round as England have won their first world title in cricket! They were picked out as the dark horses to win this tournament, and after a stuttering, rain-affected start to the group stages, they hit their stride superbly in the Super Eights, winning all their games in that stage, followed by a thumping win in the semi-finals over Sri Lanka. The England dug-out leapt as one when the winning runs were hit, chasing their victorious captain down and quickly surrounding him in a joyous team huddle. The England celebrations will surely go on long into the night in Bridgetown.

Spare a thought for the Australians. They were the team to beat in this tournament, and England were the only ones to manage that feat! They were utterly dominant in the group stages and Super Eights. Their self belief and a magical innings from Michael Hussey powered them to a stunning win in the semi-final over Pakistan, but they have not been at their best today. England looked and played like the more professional side, and they are deserving champions.

"I dont know about England Government, but I declare National Holiday for Tomorrow!" says Asim in.... the U.S. "Enjoy First ever ICC world cup."

Craig Kieswetter gets the Man of the Match award: "I wouldn't say it was easy, but its nice to get runs in a final. KP took the pressure off, allowed me to play quite freely. A lot of work still needs to be done on my keeping, and I'll be putting in some hard yards in at Taunton."

Kevin Pietersen gets the Player of the Tournament award, with 248 runs in the competition. "A pretty interesting week for me, a little kid on Monday and this trophy today. This is for the whole team. Winning is a habit you create, and this team is hungry for success. What a great, great tournament, good for the boys. It's never easy playing Australia, but our bowlers did a great job this morning and 150 wasn't enough."

Paul Collingwood, victorious captain, on the win: "It's right up there, its got to be, this is the first world cup we've ever won. We've got some good players in the side, and with the work ethic we've had this year I think we're starting to see the results on the pitch. We're getting there, and we have today."

"When you want to be the best you've got to beat the best. When we got them three wickets down early doors, we gave ourselves a great opportunity. We want to kick on from this. This is the first trophy we've ever won, we're going to enjoy it, we'r going to savour it."

A stunning effort from an England unit that, under Andy Flower, are gelling into a competitive unit in every form of the game. They deserve to be lauded for their performance in this tournament. But that's not all the action from the Caribbean today, folks! We have the women's final, between Australia and New Zealand, coming up, so stick with Cricinfo! So after a short break and a nice cup of tea, it'll be Liam Brickhill, Sahil Dutta and Andrew Miller (who has completed his bulletin) to bring you live commentary from that game.

25 from 30 needed now, and there's rain about! "Anybody nervous out there?" asks Bumble on comms.

Johnson comes round the wicket now

And it's just starting to rain a little now too...

A sting in the tail perhaps? Here's Morgan to try and shut down the game for England