England celebrate winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup final at The Oval

The next generation of England cricketers met their World Cup heroes at The Oval on Monday just hours after the trophy was lifted.

After the ecstasy of Sunday's win over New Zealand by the narrowest of margins at Lord's, the World Cup-winning festivities carried on into the small hours across the country.

Not least inside the changing rooms at the home of cricket where England's victorious players partied as a squad after four years of toil paid off.

The once-in-a-generation win via a Super Over was a fitting end to an incredible tournament for Eoin Morgan's men, and - if they have been to bed at all - they had to dust themselves down as their adoring supporters arrived in their droves to say thank you.

Members of the public piled onto the outfield at the home of Surrey CCC as the England players mingled with youngsters, signing memorabilia and posing for pictures.

Jofra Archer - talking at Lord's on Monday - admitted he felt nervous bowling the extra-time over, but said Ben Stokes told him that his career would not be defined by the result of the match.

Joe Root, who will captain England this summer against Australia in The Ashes, hoped that Sunday's epic would inspire the next generation of cricketers.

Lord's, usually a pantheon of traditionalism, transformed into a scene of pandemonium late on Sunday afternoon as cricket witnessed a game like no other.

England - led by Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett - restricted New Zealand to 241/8 from their 50 overs - a total the world's best side would have been confident in chasing down.

But the going was tough. In reply, England at one stage were 86/4 from 23.1 overs and looked in real trouble. Enter Ben Stokes.

His partnership with Jos Buttler was vital and they took the score to 196/5 from 44.5 overs when the wicket-keeper departed for a fluent 59.

The final five overs saw England lose four wickets, but tie the scores at 241 each, sending the game into unprecedented extra-time.

The equation a simple one - six balls, most runs wins the World Cup. If the scores are tied again, England win the World Cup due to more boundaries being hit in their innings.

Stokes and Buttler entered the fray once more, accumulating 15 runs. Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill were given the responsibility of hitting 16 runs for glory.

England's Jofra Archer - a raw novice of the international game - was tossed the ball and it came down to the final ball with New Zealand needing two runs for glory.

The ball was whipped out to Jason Roy on the boundary. He fielded, launched the ball in to Buttler who dived to demolish the stumps, running a diving Guptill out as he attempted to return for the winning second run.

One of the greatest cricket matches ever seen was shown live on terrestrial TV after Sky agreed to share rights with Channel 4.

The last time Channel 4 aired the England and Wales cricket team live was in 2005 - when England beat Australia to win The Ashes.

Dubbed the greatest series ever played, it inspired a generations - including many of those who took to the field at Lord's on Sunday.

It is hoped this World Cup triumph will do the same. And, as man-of-the-match Ben Stokes surmised in his post-match comments, the children who watched the incredible events of Sunday and attending The Oval today could be in his position having been inspired to take up the game.

The Oval filling up

What could be more thrilling than a day bunking off school? Permission from mum, and a trip to the Oval to watch your cricketing heroes lift the World Cup, writes Eleanor Steafel from The Oval.

The stands are filling up with children, all waiting patiently to watch England parade onto the pitch.

Seven-year-old Ben Chandler said Sunday’s super over was "so exciting". "I got quite bored so I just played a game, but then Dad was yelling so I started watching again for the super over."

He pronounced today’s celebrations: "The best day ever! A whole day off school!"

Jack Nagioff, also 7, is hoping to get close enough to his "hero" Joe Root that he might sign his bat. "I was about to burst at one point yesterday," he said.

Sam Byford Scott brought his son Finn along for the day. "We emailed the school this morning and just said look, it’s a once in a lifetime chance. It means a lot to be here today with him."

He was, he says, "a little over excited" yesterday. "There was an element of faith testing."

Finn, 8, had always found cricket matches a bit long and boring, but he sat up and watched yesterday. “It was great. I didn’t watch all of it, I started watching it when I saw how good they were. [When they won] I was just really happy.”

Are England's World Cup heroes going to be honoured at No 10?

The victorious England team are expected to attend a Downing Street reception at 7pm.

Theresa May said: "Yesterday was a brilliant performance by a brilliant team. They showed flair, courage and an absolute determination to become world champions.

"The achievement, delivered in such a thrilling style on home soil, will live forever in our sporting history.

"It's also exciting to think just how many children will be inspired by this victory to pick up a bat for the first time and hopefully become the great cricketers and World Cup winners of tomorrow.

"We must build on this success, and only yesterday we published the school sport and activity plan. This has been welcomed by nearly 40 leading sports organisations as well as Sport England who said it was a great step forward."

Downing Street would not be drawn on any honours the England team might receive, saying the issue would be "dealt with in the usual way".

"We're having the reception this evening, the PM does think it's a truly great achievement, but those sorts of considerations are all for another day," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

Asked whether the Prime Minister believed cricket should be broadcast on free-to-air TV, the spokesman said: "We welcome Sky's decision to put the final on Channel 4 yesterday.

"I would also point out that England international and English domestic cricket will be shown live on the BBC from next year, with over 100 hours to be shown each summer over the course of a five-year deal."

But "negotiations on TV rights are a matter for sports authorities and broadcasters" and the Government was clear "there must be a balance between retaining free-to-air coverage while allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements".

Reaction: What are the players saying?

England

New Zealand

Morgan: 'We had Allah on our side'

England's Eoin Morgan hailed the diversity of his World Cup-winning team after the hosts beat New Zealand in the final at Lord's.

Morgan, who was born in Dublin and switched allegiance from Ireland to England a decade ago, was asked: "Do you think the luck of an Irishman got England over the line?"

His response has since gone viral on social media.

"We had Allah with us as well," said Morgan. "I spoke to Adil (Rashid), he said Allah was definitely with us. I said we had the rub of the green.

"It actually epitomises our team. It has quite diverse backgrounds and cultures... to actually find humour in the situation that we were in at the time was pretty cool."

Rashid and Moeen Ali are two Muslims who featured in England's World Cup triumph, while the team includes several players who were born in other countries.

Bowler Jofra Archer is Barbados-born to a Liverpudlian father, all-rounder Ben Stokes was born in New Zealand, and batsman Jason Roy was born in South Africa.

The front pages

New Zealand