It went on for an age and a shambolic England side went home before it got interesting. Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth picks his highlights and lowlights of the Cricket World Cup... BEST BITS . The renaissance of left-arm seamers . The yorkers produced at will by man of the tournament Mitchell Starc played a huge part in Australia’s triumph. New Zealand’s Trent Boult joined him on top of the wicket-taking list with 22. And the most uplifting spell of the competition was Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz in the quarter-final. Australian Michael Starc took 22 wickets to be rated as the man of the tournament at the Cricket World Cup . Kiwis’ one-wicket win over Australia . In a World Cup containing more hundreds than ever before (38), no game was more thrilling than the low-scoring thriller at Eden Park in Auckland. Set 152, New Zealand slipped from 131 for 4 to 146 for 9, before Kane Williamson sealed it with a six amid scenes of delirium. Here was proof that the best games don’t need to be run-fests. Kiwi Kane Williamson hit a late six to seal a memorable one-wicket win over Australia in the group stages . The Associates . The first couple of weeks were lit up by teams who will mainly be shut out of the 2019 World Cup, which the ICC have limited to 10 teams: Ireland beat West Indies and Zimbabwe, Scotland gave New Zealand a scare, and Afghanistan beat Scotland. While other sports look to expand their games, cricket’s administrators remain content to shrink theirs. Baffling. Kevin O'Brien celebrates taking a wicket as Ireland sensationally upset West Indies in Nelson . Sangakkara still going strong . Sri Lanka’s quarter-final defeat by South Africa meant Kumar Sangakkara’s one-day international career ended with a whimper — but not before he had scored an astonishing four successive centuries in the group matches. Even at 37, he remained the classiest act in the World Cup. India veteran batsman Kumar Sangakkara acknowledges one of four successive centuries . The fans . More than a million spectators attended the 49 games, with the New Zealand public getting behind the World Cup in a manner that delighted the ICC. If cricket’s popularity in that country has been guaranteed for the next decade and beyond, the World Cup will have done its job. The Cricket World Cup attracted over a million supporters for 49 games, some left more pleased than others . WORST BITS . England . They were the laughing stock, completing the worst of their six World Cups since reaching the final in 1992 — and there’s been some stiff competition. They never recovered from maulings by Australia and New Zealand, failed to defend over 300 against Sri Lanka, and even lost to Bangladesh. For captain Eoin Morgan, the whole thing was a disaster. New ODI captain Eoin Morgan presided over England's worst performance at a World Cup . Too few close finishes . Four one-sided quarter- finals typified a tournament in which too few of the games went to the wire, or even close to it. In fact, of the seven knockout matches, only the New Zealand-South Africa semi-final raised the pulse. And, as in 2011, the group stage dragged on and on and on. New Zealand's semi-final defeat of South Africa was the only knockout game that entertained . The final . Australia’s dominance turned the climax into an anti-climax. Let’s not pretend, as some have tried, that this was the best World Cup ever. The Australians were too far ahead of the rest for that, brushing aside India in the semis and New Zealand in the final. In truth, Australia were head and shoulders above the competition as their stroll in the final showed .
Australia defeated New Zealand to be crowned cricket world champions . Mitchell Starc's bowling, Kane Williamson's batting and Kumar Sangakkara's swan sing were among the highlights . England's humiliation and a one-sided final were two of the low points .