The setting was soothing and so colourful.

John Michael Brearley (77) first read excerpts from a chapter of his latest book, On Cricket, then took smart questions from an exclusive audience before autographing copies.

After leaving Daunt Books in South Hampstead, at around 12.30 am (IST on Friday), Brearley spoke to The Telegraph.

The interview had to be kept somewhat short as Brearley, who enjoys the status of a legend, had to attend a dinner engagement.

Excerpts...

You’ve picked England as the favourites on Sunday, but are New Zealand being underestimated going into the 2019 World Cup final?

Well, one way of looking at the final is that anything can happen. We saw that in the India vs New Zealand semi-final, in Manchester. But England would start favourites. If, as I’ve told you, the Lord’s wicket has something in it, then I expect a closer final. Otherwise, it’s England.

Your take on New Zealand, who have made their second successive final?

I have admiration for what New Zealand have done, they have a very fine captain in Kane Williamson. I liked what Ross Taylor said the other day, “we scrapped.” New Zealand tend to do just that, as we saw against India.

You too were surprised at India getting knocked out...

Indeed... It was quite brave of New Zealand to have batted so slowly on the first day of the semi-final, but it worked for them. There was luck involved as well, as it always is.

Williamson’s captaincy played a significant part in Manchester...

I liked the way Williamson went about his job... I’ve also liked the way Eoin Morgan has been captaining England... Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch led well too.

The final will pit two of the best captains against each other, can we expect a high-quality battle of tactics?

Yes, I’d think so.

As a team, there’s never plenty of attention on New Zealand when compared to India or England or Pakistan or Australia. Does that, in a way, fire up the Black Caps?

I doubt it.

England pulverised Australia in the semi-final, when all had expected a close match. Your reaction?

Australia had more or less smashed England in the league stage, so one didn’t know what to expect.

Some words on the Jonny Bairstow-Jason Roy opening combination...

Ever since Jason has come back from injury (return was in the match against India), he’s been scoring heavily. Jason has a presence and I like that... Besides, Bairstow’s own game has been transformed. Look at the impact the pair has made. I’d go to the extent of opening with Bairstow and Jason even in the Ashes. Australia won’t be cheerful about that.

England, quite clearly, rediscovered their A game after getting the better of India. The result released the mounting pressure... Do you agree?

Often, that helps. It helps when you don’t have that pressure and, as a result, are able to play freely.

For millions, India’s exit meant the end of keen interest in the World Cup... Your thoughts?

There’s little to be done when your top three batsmen get out for a total of 5. But, then, that can happen to any team. Just that India met that fate in the semi-final... India had a good World Cup and did no wrong till Wednesday morning at Old Trafford... I’d like to add I’m surprised how often Ravindra Jadeja gets left out. As we saw in the semi-final, he brings value.

Have we seen the last of Mahendra Singh Dhoni?

Maybe. Dhoni isn’t what he used to be, at least not with the bat.

Who are the players who have stood out?

Shakib-al Hasan, Jason, Bairstow — with bat and the big gloves — Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Williamson, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah... Jofra Archer hasn’t stood out, but has certainly made a difference for England.

Rohit finished with five hundreds in this World Cup and Williamson is Mr Consistent...

Five hundreds on the biggest stage in ODIs... Says a lot about Rohit... As for Williamson, I’ve always liked watching him. He’s a master of being able to combine coming in hard at the ball, hitting it over the top, and being delicate at the same time. Few have that ability.

Top memories of this World Cup?

The dashing batting by some of the openers, Starc and Boult’s bowling, Williamson and Joe Root’s batting, the way Bangladesh played... If I had to talk of the disappointments, it’s disappointing Afghanistan didn’t win a couple of matches... They could have beaten India and Pakistan... It was sad to see the West Indies, I expected them to build on a good start (whipping Pakistan).

The last one... What could make the difference in the final?

(Smiles) It can be about margins and some luck in finals... England have six reliable bowlers, capable of getting good batsmen out... New Zealand have Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner, who deserves respect. I don’t see Matt Henry doing a repeat of the semi-final. Overall, New Zealand are a bit short on bowling and a bit short on batting.