Long before Jofra Archer held his nerve in Sunday’s World Cup Final Super Over, England knew they had a gem on their hands.

Archer took 20 wickets in the tournament, more than any England bowler at a World Cup, and earned plenty more for his team-mates through pure intimidation.

And finally, having bowled a wide, then been smashed for six to leave New Zealand needing just three off two balls, the 24-year-old kept his composure and only allowed one completed run off each delivery — securing England’s victory. He had volunteered to bowl the Super Over, the highest pressure moment in cricket.

Archer was the final piece in England’s jigsaw, a talent who has added flair and class to a very fine side. Now, he wants to inspire the next generation of children to play the game — whatever their background or ethnicity.

Archer is part of a diverse team aware of their responsibilities. Like captain Eoin Morgan, he is one of four players born overseas. He grew up in Barbados, but has a British father and passport.

Add to them, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, Muslims born in Bradford and Birmingham respectively. As England celebrated, the pair happily stepped aside to avoid coming into contact with alcoholic champagne.

Morgan, who joins Bobby Moore and Martin Johnson as England men’s World Cup-winning captains, was asked if he had brought England the luck of the Irish.

“We had Allah with us as well,” he said. “I spoke to Adil, he said Allah was definitely with us. I said we had the rub of the green [smiling].

“It actually epitomises our team. We have quite diverse backgrounds and cultures and guys grow up in different countries.”

Archer is determined to inspire kids to follow the game. He said: “I really hope that the kids watching want to play cricket for the whole week, all year, maybe to be professionals. That’s all we want to do, inspire the next generation, because someone is going to have to take over from us.

“England is multicultural. I didn’t choose where I was born. All I knew was that my dad lived here, he was born here and that I had an opportunity. There will be a lot of kids, seeing Rash, Mo.

In Pictures | World Cup England Cricket players celebrate their win 18 show all In Pictures | World Cup England Cricket players celebrate their win 1/18 Ben Stokes of England celebrates in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Gareth Copley-IDI/IDI via Getty Images 2/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 3/18 Jason Roy of England celebrates in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 4/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 5/18 England's Jonny Bairstow during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 6/18 England's Joe Root with fans during the celebrations at the Kia Oval Action Images via Reuters 7/18 England's Eoin Morgan with the Trophy during the World Cup celebrations at the Kia Ova PA 8/18 England's Ben Stokes with fans during the celebrations at the Kia Oval Action Images via Reuters 9/18 England celebrate in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 10/18 England's Jason Roy holds up a baby after winning the Cricket World Cup final match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London AP 11/18 Joe Root and Jos Buttler of England celebrate in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 12/18 Eoin Morgan poses with the World Cup trophy during a photocall at Lord's, London PA 13/18 England's Liam Plunkett attends a World Cup victory event at The Oval in London AFP/Getty Images 14/18 England's Jason Roy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 15/18 England's Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid during the celebrations Reuters 16/18 England's Jonny Bairstow during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 17/18 The cricketers push through the throng at The Oval to celebrate with their trophy Action Images via Reuters 18/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 1/18 Ben Stokes of England celebrates in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Gareth Copley-IDI/IDI via Getty Images 2/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 3/18 Jason Roy of England celebrates in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 4/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 5/18 England's Jonny Bairstow during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 6/18 England's Joe Root with fans during the celebrations at the Kia Oval Action Images via Reuters 7/18 England's Eoin Morgan with the Trophy during the World Cup celebrations at the Kia Ova PA 8/18 England's Ben Stokes with fans during the celebrations at the Kia Oval Action Images via Reuters 9/18 England celebrate in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 10/18 England's Jason Roy holds up a baby after winning the Cricket World Cup final match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London AP 11/18 Joe Root and Jos Buttler of England celebrate in the dressing rooms after winning the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 IDI via Getty Images 12/18 Eoin Morgan poses with the World Cup trophy during a photocall at Lord's, London PA 13/18 England's Liam Plunkett attends a World Cup victory event at The Oval in London AFP/Getty Images 14/18 England's Jason Roy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 15/18 England's Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid during the celebrations Reuters 16/18 England's Jonny Bairstow during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters 17/18 The cricketers push through the throng at The Oval to celebrate with their trophy Action Images via Reuters 18/18 England's Eoin Morgan with team mates and the trophy during the celebrations at The Oval Reuters

“Because of everyone’s background everyone has a special role as a team.”

Archer cannot quite believe the journey he has been on. Regulations were changed late last year to allow him to qualify to play for England in March, and he has played T20 and ODIs for the country, with a Test debut to follow later this summer.

“I have had the best two months of my life so far,” he said. “Winning the World Cup is really special to me. I can’t put it into words.”