Photo by Marcus Wallis on Unsplash

 

 

The 12^th incarnation of the ICC Cricket World Cup is currently in progress. The sport forms a significant part of the calendar for us at Fox & Chave both as participants at local club level and as observers of the elite game.

 

So with that in mind here are some fun facts about the Cricket World Cup.

 

Australia lead the participant nations in number of tournament wins with 5. Among those, the Baggy Greens further proved their dominance with three consecutive wins being victorious at Lords in 1999, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in 2003 and at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados in 2007. Australia have also competed in 7 of the 11 finals.

 

 

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England have hosted the tournament five times and more than any other participant nation including the first three tournaments beginning in 1975. Despite contesting the final on three occasions, including on home turf in the 2^nd competition, they were the runner up each time, losing out to the West Indies in 1979, Australia in 1987 and Pakistan in 1992.

 

The first tournament was contested between the 8 test playing nations of the time, with South Africa excluded on the basis of the apartheid political system that was still in place in 1975. In the intervening period the format and the number of competing teams has varied from 8 to as many as 16 in the 2007 tournament.

 

Previously, the test playing nations qualified automatically with the remaining places being filled by the teams most successful in the World Cup qualifying tournament, known previously as the ICC trophy. However, the number of test playing nations has expanded over the years to 12 with the addition of Ireland and Afghanistan in 2018, with the number of teams in the tournament in 2019 determined to be only 10.

 

 

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Non test playing nations that have participated through the history of the tournament have included Holland, Canada, Namibia, Scotland, Bermuda, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Prior to 1999 a different trophy was awarded to the winners of each tournament. Since then the cup is a replica of one permanently held by the ICC, with the design of a sphere with dual representation for a cricket ball and a globe, atop three columns resembling stumps, to represent the three aspects of the sport; batting, bowling and fielding.

 

In the course of the tournament’s history these three disciplines have produced some outstanding records by the best exponents of the one-day format.

 

 

To date, Sachin Tendulkar offers the standard for centuries at the crease with 6, is leading run maker with 2,278 and holds the record for most runs in a single tournament with 673 in 2003. With ball in hand, Australian Glenn McGrath is the leading light with 71 wickets, 26 in a single tournament, and with best bowling figures of 7/15 against Namibia in 2003.

 

The record for most catches from the out-field is 28 by Ricky Ponting, with 54 dismissals by Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka being the best by a wicket keeper.

 

Although the short lived World Series Cricket formulated by the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer between 1977 and 1979 saw teams competing in coloured kit, dubbed ‘pyjama cricket’ by detractors, the ICC retained the use of ‘whites’ until the 1992 tournament.

 

 

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Hosted in Australia and New Zealand for the first time, matches were played in a day/night format which also saw the switch from the traditional red ball to the now familiar white one with the teams adopting the colours familiar to them since then;

 

 

Australia – Yellow

England – Sky Blue

India – Azure Blue

South Africa – Savannah Green

New Zealand – Black or Grey

West Indies – Maroon

Pakistan – Jade Green

Sri Lanka – Ocean Blue

Bangladesh – Palm Green

Afghanistan – Royal Blue with Red

 

 

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