Thefirst Cricket World Cup was organised in England in June 1975, with the first ODI cricket match having been played only four years earlier. However, a separateWomen's Cricket World Cup had been held two years before the first men's tournament, and a tournament involving multiple international teams had been held as early as 1912, when atriangular tournament ofTest matches was played betweenAustralia,England andSouth Africa. The first three World Cups were held in England. From the1987 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared between countries under anunofficial rotation system, with 14 ICC members having hosted at least one match in the tournament.
The current format involves aqualification phase, which takes place over the preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 10 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation, compete for the title at venues within the host nation over about a month. In the 2027 World Cup, the format will be changed to accommodate an expanded 14-team final competition.[2]
The first multilateral competition at international level was the1912 Triangular Tournament, a Test cricket tournament played in England between all three Test-playing nations at the time: England, Australia and South Africa. The event was not a success: the summer was exceptionally wet, making play difficult on damp uncovered pitches, and crowd attendances were poor, attributed to a "surfeit of cricket".[7] Since then, international Test cricket has generally been organised as bilateral series: a multilateral Test tournament was not organised again until the triangularAsian Test Championship in 1999.[8]
The number of nations playing Test cricket increased gradually over time, with the addition ofWest Indies in 1928,[9]New Zealand in 1930,[10]India in 1932,[11] andPakistan in 1952.[12] However, international cricket continued to be played as bilateral Test matches over three, four or five days.
In the early 1960s, Englishcounty cricket teams began playing a shortened version of cricket which only lasted for one day. Starting in1962 with a four-teamknockout competition known as the Midlands Knock-Out Cup,[13] and continuing with the inauguralGillette Cup in1963,one-day cricket grew in popularity in England. A nationalSunday League was formed in1969. The first One-Day International match was played on the fifth day of a rain-aborted Test match between England and Australia at Melbourne in1971, to fill the time available and as compensation for the frustrated crowd. It was a fortyover game with eight balls per over, and saw Australia win by 5 wickets.[14] The success and popularity of the domestic one-day competitions in England and other parts of the world, as well as the early One-Day Internationals, prompted the ICC to consider organizing a Cricket World Cup.[15]
Theinaugural Cricket World Cup was hosted in 1975 by England, the only nation able to put forward the resources to stage an event of such magnitude at the time. The first three tournaments were held in England and officially known as the Prudential Cup after the sponsorsPrudential plc. The matches consisted of 60 six-ball overs per team, played during daytime in the traditional form, with the players wearingcricket whites and using redcricket balls.[16]
Eight teams participated in the first tournament: Australia, England,India,New Zealand, Pakistan, and theWest Indies (the six Test nations at the time), together with Sri Lanka and a composite team fromEast Africa.[17] One notable omission wasSouth Africa, who werebanned from international cricket due toapartheid. The tournament was won by the West Indies, who defeated Australia by 17runs in the final atLord's.[17] Roy Fredricks of West Indies was the first batsmen who got hit-wicket in ODI during the 1975 World Cup final.[18]
The1979 World Cup saw the introduction of theICC Trophy competition to select non-Test playing teams for the World Cup,[19] with Sri Lanka andCanada qualifying.[20] The West Indies won a second consecutive World Cup tournament, defeating the hosts England by 92 runs in the final. At a meeting which followed the World Cup, the International Cricket Conference agreed to make the competition a quadrennial event.[20]
The1983 event was hosted by England for a third consecutive time. By this stage, Sri Lanka had become a Test-playing nation, andZimbabwe qualified through the ICC Trophy. Afielding circle was introduced, 30 yards (27 m) away from thestumps. Fourfieldsmen needed to be inside it at all times.[21] The teams faced each other twice, before moving into the knock-outs.India was crowned champions after upsetting the West Indies by 43 runs in the final.[15][22]
India and Pakistan jointly hosted the1987 tournament, the first time that the competition was held outside England. The games were reduced from 60 to 50 overs per innings, the current standard, because of the shorter daylight hours in theIndian subcontinent compared with England's summer.[23] Australia won the championship by defeating England by 7 runs in the final, the closest margin in the World Cup final until the 2019 edition between England and New Zealand.[24][25]
The1992 World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, introduced many changes to the game, such as coloured clothing, white balls,day/night matches, and a change to the fielding restriction rules. The South African cricket team participated in the event for the first time, following the fall of the apartheid regime and the end of theinternational sports boycott.[26] Pakistan overcame a dismal start in the tournament to eventually defeat England by 22 runs in the final and emerge as winners.[27]
The1996 championship was held in the Indian subcontinent for a second time, with the inclusion of Sri Lanka as host for some of its group stage matches.[28] In the semi-final, Sri Lanka, heading towards a crushing victory over India atEden Gardens after the hosts lost eightwickets while scoring 120 runs in pursuit of 252, were awarded victory by default after crowd unrest broke out in protest against the Indian performance.[29] Sri Lanka went on to win their maiden championship by defeating Australia by seven wickets in the final atLahore.[30]
In 1999, theevent was hosted by England, with some matches also being held in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands.[31][32] Twelve teams contested the World Cup. Australia qualified for the semi-finals after reaching their target in their Super 6 match against South Africa off the final over of the match.[33] They then proceeded to the final with a tied match in the semi-final also against South Africa where a mix-up between South African batsmenLance Klusener andAllan Donald saw Donald drop his bat and stranded mid-pitch to berun out. In the final, Australia dismissed Pakistan for 132 and then reached the target in less than 20 overs and with eight wickets in hand.[34]
A crowd of over 10,000 fans welcome the Australian team on completing the first World Cuphat-trick –Martin Place, Sydney.
South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya hosted the2003 World Cup. The number of teams participating in the event increased from twelve to fourteen.Kenya's victories over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, among others – and a forfeit by the New Zealand team, which refused to play in Kenya because of security concerns – enabled Kenya to reach the semi-finals, the best result by an associate.[35] In the final, Australia made 359 runs for the loss of two wickets, the largest ever total in a final, defeating India by 125 runs.[36][37]
In2007, the tournament was hosted by theWest Indies and expanded to sixteen teams.[38] Following Pakistan's upset loss to World Cup debutants Ireland in the group stage, Pakistani coachBob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room.[39] Jamaican police had initially launched a murder investigation into Woolmer's death but later confirmed that he died of heart failure.[40] Australia defeated Sri Lanka in the final by 53 runs(D/L) in farcical light conditions, and extended their undefeated run in the World Cup to 29 matches and winning three straight championships.[41]
Autographed bat of the World Cup winning captains till 2015 at theBlades of Glory Museum, Pune, India
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh together hosted the2011 World Cup. Pakistan was stripped of its hosting rights following theterrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009, with the games originally scheduled for Pakistan redistributed to the other host countries.[42] The number of teams participating in the World Cup was reduced to fourteen.[43] Australia lost their final group stage match against Pakistan on 19 March 2011, ending an unbeaten streak of 35 World Cup matches, which had begun on 23 May 1999.[44] India won their second World Cup title by beating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where the Indian captain M.S. Dhoni along with the spinning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh chased 275 with notable performances from Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, making India the first country to win the World Cup at home.[43] This was also the first time that two Asian countries faced each other in a World Cup Final.[45]
Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted the2015 World Cup. The number of participants remained at fourteen. Ireland was the most successful Associate nation with a total of three wins in the tournament. New Zealand beat South Africa in a thrilling first semi-final to qualify for their maiden World Cup final. Australia defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the final at Melbourne to lift the World Cup for the fifth time.[46]
England perform a lap of honour around Lord's after their victory on 14 July 2019.
The2019 World Cup was hosted by England and Wales. The number of participants was reduced to 10. New Zealand defeated India in the first semi-final, which was pushed over to the reserve day due to rain.[47] England defeated the defending champions, Australia, in the second semi-final. Neither finalist had previously won the World Cup. In thefinal, the scores were tied at 241 after 50 overs and the match went to asuper over, after which the scores were again tied at 15. The World Cup was won by England, whose boundary count was greater than New Zealand's.[48][49]
The 2023 Cricket World Cup was hosted by India. The number of teams in the tournament remained at 10, including the Netherlands, which returned to the tournament after a 12-year absence and excluding the inaugural and two-time champions the West Indies; they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in history. India were unbeaten in the group stage, as they won all of their matches and defeated New Zealand to advance to the final; Australia lost twice during the group stage before rebounding and going on an eight-game winning streak, including a defeat of South Africa in the semi-finals. Afghanistan had their most successful World Cup, with four wins during the group stage, including over defending champions England and former champions Pakistan; they also came close to defeating Australia beforeGlenn Maxwell's double century steered the Aussies to victory. In the final, Australia defeated the 10-match unbeaten India to clinch their record-extending 6th World Cup.
The 2027 World Cup is coming up. It will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.Namibia will still have to go through the qualification process.
Since thesecond World Cup in 1979 up to the2019 World Cup, the teams that qualified automatically were joined by a small number of others who qualified for the World Cup through the qualification process. The first qualifying tournament being theICC Trophy;[51] later the process expanding with pre-qualifying tournaments. For the2011 World Cup, theICC World Cricket League replaced the past pre-qualifying processes; and the name "ICC Trophy" was changed to "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier".[52] The World Cricket League was the qualification system provided to allow theAssociate andAffiliate members of the ICC more opportunities to qualify. The number of teams qualifying varied throughout the years.[53]
From the2023 World Cup onwards, only the host nation(s) will qualify automatically. All countries will participate in a series of leagues to determine qualification, with automaticpromotion and relegation between divisions from one World Cup cycle to the next.[54]
The format of the Cricket World Cup has changed greatly over the course of its history. Each of the first four tournaments was played by eight teams, divided into two groups of four.[55] The competition consisted of two stages, a group stage and aknock-out stage. The four teams in each group played each other in theround-robin group stage, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals played against each other in the final. With South Africa returning in the fifth tournament in 1992 as a result of the end of the apartheid boycott, nine teams played each other once in the group phase, and the top four teams progressed to the semi-finals.[56] The tournament was further expanded in 1996, with two groups of six teams.[57] The top four teams from each group progressed to quarter-finals and semi-finals.[58]
A distinct format was used for the1999 and2003 World Cups. The teams were split into two pools, with the top three teams in each pool advancing to theSuper 6.[59] TheSuper 6 teams played the three other teams that advanced from the other group. As they advanced, the teams carried their points forward from previous matches against other teams advancing alongside them, giving them an incentive to perform well in the group stages.[59] The top four teams from theSuper 6 stage progressed to the semi-finals, with the winners playing in the final.[60][61]
The captains of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
The format used in the2007 World Cup involved 16 teams allocated into four groups of four.[62] Within each group, the teams played each other in a round-robin format. Teams earned points for wins and half-points for ties. The top two teams from each group moved forward to theSuper 8 round. TheSuper 8 teams played the other six teams that progressed from the different groups. Teams earned points in the same way as the group stage, but carried their points forward from previous matches against the other teams who qualified from the same group to theSuper 8 stage.[63] The top four teams from theSuper 8 round advanced to the semi-finals, and the winners of the semi-finals played in the final.[64]
The format used in the2011 and2015[65] World Cups featured two groups of seven teams, each playing in around-robin format. The top four teams from each group proceeded to the knock out stage consisting of quarter-finals, semi-finals and ultimately the final.[66]
In the2019 and2023 editions of the tournament, the number of teams participating dropped to 10. Each team is scheduled to play against each other once in a round robin format, before entering the semifinals,[67] a similar format to the1992 World Cup. The 2027 and 2031 World Cups will have 14 teams, with the format same as the 2003 edition.[68][69]
TheICC Cricket World Cup Trophy is presented to the winners of the World Cup. The current trophy was created for the 1999 championships, and was the first permanent prize in the tournament's history. Prior to this, different trophies were made for each World Cup.[70] Before introducing the permanent ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy in 1999, individual trophies were designed andawarded for each edition of thetournament. For example, the Prudential Cup trophies were used for the first three editions (1975, 1979, and 1983) when Prudential plc was the sponsor. Similarly, subsequent tournaments used different designs until the permanenttrophy was introduced. This shift to a permanent design was intended to establish a consistent and iconic representation of theWorld Cup's legacy. The trophy was designed and produced in London by a team of craftsmen fromGarrard & Co over a period of two months.[71][72]
The current trophy is made from silver andgilt, and features a golden globe held up by three silver columns. The columns, shaped asstumps andbails, represent the three fundamental aspects of cricket:batting,bowling andfielding, while the globe characterises acricket ball.[73] The seam is tilted to symbolize theaxial tilt of the Earth. It stands 60 centimetres (24 in) high and weighs approximately 11 kilograms (24 lb). The names of the previous winners areengraved on the base of the trophy, with space for a total of twenty inscriptions. The ICC keeps the original trophy. A replica differing only in the inscriptions is permanently awarded to the winning team.[74]
Media coverage
The tournament is one of the world's most-viewed sporting events,[75][76][77] and successive tournaments have generated increasing media attention as One-Day International cricket has become more established.[dubious –discuss] The2011 Cricket World Cup wastelevised in over 200 countries to over 2.2 billion viewers.[71][78][better source needed][dubious –discuss]Television rights, mainly for the 2011 and 2015 World Cup, were sold for over US$1.1 billion,[79] and sponsorship rights were sold for a further US$500 million.[80] The ICC claimed a total of 1.6 billion viewers for the 2019 World Cup as well as 4.6 billion views of digital video of the tournament.[81] The most-watched match of the tournament was the group game betweenIndia andPakistan, which was watched by more than 300 million people live.[82]
The International Cricket Council's executive committee votes for the hosts of the tournament after examining the bids made by the nations keen to hold a Cricket World Cup.[90]
England hosted the first three competitions. The ICC decided that England should host the first tournament because it was ready to devote the resources required to organising the inaugural event.[91] India volunteered to host the third Cricket World Cup, but most ICC members preferred England as the longer period of daylight in England in June meant that a match could be completed in one day.[92] The1987 Cricket World Cup was held in India and Pakistan, the first hosted outside England.[93]
Many of the tournaments have been jointly hosted by nations from the same geographical region, such as South Asia in 1987, 1996 and 2011,Australasia (in Australia and New Zealand) in 1992 and 2015, Southern Africa in 2003 andWest Indies in 2007.
In November 2021, ICC published the name of the hosts for ICC events to be played between 2024 and 2031 cycle. The hosts for the 50-over World Cup along with T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy were selected through a competitive bidding process.[94][95]
^England was the sole designated host, but matches were also played in Wales, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands.
^South Africa was the sole designated main host, but matches were also played in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
^Eight member countries of theWest Indies Cricket Federation hosted matches – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Twenty nations have qualified for the Cricket World Cup at least once. Six teams have competed in every tournament, five of which have won the title.[15] TheWest Indies won the first two tournaments,Australia has won six,India has won two, whilePakistan,Sri Lanka andEngland have each won once. The West Indies (1975 and1979) and Australia (1999,2003 and2007) are the only teams to have won consecutive titles.[15] Australia has played in eight of the thirteen finals (1975,1987,1996,1999,2003,2007,2015 and2023).New Zealand has yet to win the World Cup, but has been runners-up two times (2015 and2019). The best result by a non-Test playing nation is the semi-final appearance byKenya in the2003 tournament; while the best result by a non-Test playing team on their debut is the Super 8 (second round) byIreland in2007.[15]
Sri Lanka, as a co-host of the1996 World Cup, was the first host to win the tournament, though the final was held in Pakistan.[15] India won in 2011 as host and was the first team to win a final played in their own country.[96] Australia and England repeated the feat in 2015 and 2019 respectively.[46] Other than this, England in 1979 and India in 2023 made it to the final which was hosted by their country. Other countries which have achieved or equalled their best World Cup results while co-hosting the tournament are Sri Lanka and New Zealand as finalists in 2011 and 2015 respectively, Zimbabwe who reached the Super Six in 2003, and Kenya as semi-finalists in 2003.[15] In 1987, co-hosts India and Pakistan both reached the semi-finals, but were eliminated by England and Australia respectively.[15] Australia in 1992, England in 1999, South Africa in 2003, and Bangladesh in 2011 have been host teams that were eliminated in the first round.[97]
Teams' performances
An overview of the teams' performances in every World Cup is given below. For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
The table below provides an overview of the performances of teams over past World Cups, as of the end of the2023 tournament. Teams are ordered by best result then by appearances, then by winning percentage, then by total number of wins, total number of number of games, and then alphabetically:
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