A party like no other in English cricket history, and everyone was invited

It was a party like no other in English cricket history, and everyone was invited.

Thanks to full live coverage on free-to-air television for the first time in years, not even those heroic 2005 Ashes winners could rival scenes of jubilation across the nation.

The greatest knees up of all was reserved for Trafalgar Square, however. Revellers launched themselves in the fountains amid scenes of unbridled ecstasy seen all-too-rarely in British sport, let alone cricket.

This World Cup has brought the sport back with a bang. Long before Ben Stokes' late salvo, two seven-year-old strangers had provided compelling proof of that.

As little Dylan Barney's father and grandfather joined 5,000 revellers gathered around a 20ft screen for the most dramatic of World Cup finals, the youngster, in full mini England kit, grabbed his plastic bat and ball before beckoning over another child sitting nearby.

In the shadow of Nelson's Column, the pair exchanged bowls, bats and shrieks of joy for an hour, other children eventually joining in, scampering after loose balls. Dylan's new pal, Mohammed Karad, his father explained, had flown in with his Indian family from Kuwait.

Communication between the two new friends was conducted only in the language of cricket.

For the pair's fathers, watching on proudly, the World Cup has done its job. Yesterday's landmark for English cricket - which can now be mentioned in the same breath as feats by the nation's footballers in 1966 and rugby's equivalent in 2003 - has resuscitated future prospects.

London cabbie Ryan Barney, 33, explained how the last seven weeks had got his son, Dylan, hooked. He said he and other parents across the land owed Eoin Morgan a debt of gratitude.

"I think we've safeguarded cricket forever," said Mr Barney, watching on as his young son pretended he was Jason Roy at the crease.

"At the start of the Word Cup, I bought him the shirt, but I didn't know he would fall for the sport quite like this. He's been to a couple of games and he loves it. We were waiting outside St John's Wood station with a 'we need tickets' sign earlier but had no joy, I'm so glad we came here instead."

Mo's father, Abdul, 38, an Indian businessman based in Kuwait, added: "I flew in with my son because we wanted to see India in a final. It wasn't to be but we love being here. Cricket is uniting everybody. It's a great atmosphere."

Trafalgar Square - the scene of bleary-eyed celebrations by the likes of Andrew Flintoff in 2005 after an 18-year Ashes hoodoo was brought to an end - was the most appropriate of arenas to announce the sport's second coming.

Since those Ashes were broadcast on Channel 4, some 14 years ago, TV audiences have been in decline and county ground attendances have tumbled.  The England and Wales Cricket Board's is bidding to arrest the decline by setting up workshops in schools. The World Cup halo is already paying off, with officials announcing last week they had engaging one million children aged five to 12 with the sport.

There has been criticism that the seven week World Cup format is slow to capture imaginations, but there was standing room only at the International Cricket Council's designated fan zone yesterday for the painfully tense finale.

On the steps of the National Gallery, fans sang choruses of "Hey Jude" and "Sweet Caroline", but the crowd, aged from eight to 80, from a mixture of backgrounds fell eerily silent as Ben Stokes' salvo fire the match to a tie.

When England eventually won by the finest of margins a roar erupted to rival any previous sporting gathering held here.

Sylvia Robson, 71, from Taunton, said: "It's absolutely magical. I cam remember 66, and this is no different. My daughter is pregnant. I might suggest she calls her little one 'Stokes'."

Phil Tufnell, the former England spin bowler, had opened the arena on the Saturday, and promised a packed crowd, but yesterday the numbers exceeded expectations, with security officials recording a footfall of 18,000 over the course of the day.

"We've never seen anything like this in cricket," said Lesley Upton, a 67-year-old volunteer who has recently overcome breast cancer treatment. She said the uplifting atmosphere had helped her come to terms with her personal trauma.

"I did the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and absolutely loved it," the pensioner, of Chartham (CORR), Kent, added.

"But in 2017, in May, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This came in on my emails around the same time, saying would I like to apply. I thought 'well, that will give me a goal'. I've just had the all-clear for two years. You have to think positive. This was my goal and it means a great deal just to be here, meeting lovely people. It's so clear the youngsters are coming through."

Her son, Steve Upton, 44, added: "You imagine football in the same situation. It just wouldn't be fun. This is just the best."