Down The Memory Lane!
Just like the great game of cricket has, even the cricket world cups have a glorious past. Following table would give you a precise brief about the cricket world cups played:
|
Year
|
Host Nations
|
Winner
|
Runner Up
|
|
1975
|
England
|
West Indies
|
Australia
|
|
1979
|
England
|
West Indies
|
England
|
|
1983
|
England
|
India
|
West Indies
|
|
1987
|
India & Pakistan
|
Australia
|
England
|
|
1992
|
Australia & New Zealand
|
Pakistan
|
England
|
|
1996
|
India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka
|
Sri Lanka
|
Australia
|
|
1999
|
England
|
Australia
|
Pakistan
|
|
2003
|
South Africa, Zimbabwe & Kenya
|
Australia
|
India
|
|
2007
|
West Indies
|
Australia
|
Sri Lanka
|
|
2011
|
India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
|
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
|
2015
|
Australia & New Zealand
|
Australia
|
New Zealand
|
Now let us elaborate a bit!
1975, 1979 and 1983 - Same venue!
We have to go way back in 1975 when the first ever limiter overs' world cup was played in England. Eight teams participated in the first ever cricketing extravaganza that included England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, India, and Pakistan along with two non-test playing nations viz. Sri Lanka and East Africa. No wonders South Africa didn't feature because they were banned from cricket in those days. This edition of world cup was played from 7th June to 21st June with 60 overs a side matches. Don't be surprised to know that they played with red balls and white clothing. Yes this continued till the 1987 world cup. White balls and coloured clothing was introduced in 1992 world cup. West Indies defeated Australia in the finals by 17 runs to become the first ever World Champs of ODI cricket.
Down the memory lane! 1979 Cricket World Cup Teams #cricket pic.twitter.com/X5YAf8jHIm
— Cricket Maniac (@cricket_maniacs) October 13, 2014
Next two editions 1979 and 1983 were also held in England. 1979 cricket World Cup was played from 9th to 23rd June with the same format of 1975 World Cup. The hosts England managed to reach the finals but they couldn't beat the mighty defending champs West Indies in the finals. Beating England by 92 runs, West Indies clinched two consecutive titles.
The 1983 World Cup which was again held in England, was full of ups and downs. Out of form teams like India and Zimbabwe defeated teams like West Indies and Australia respectively. To everyone's surprise; India defeated the favourites West Indies in the finals. Scoring just 183 runs India managed to defend that total by bowling out West Indies for just 140 runs.
1987, 1992 and 1996 - Let's play it somewhere else!
World Cup moved out of England for the first time. 1987 edition (Reliance World Cup) was played in India and Pakistan. The only change in the format this time was, 50 overs instead of 60. Played between 8th October to 8th November 1987, this edition saw England and Australia eliminating hosts India and Pakistan respectively in the semi-finals. Later Australia defeated England by just seven runs to lift the trophy.
1992 World Cup moved down under with Australia and New Zealand being the hosts. A colourful event - thanks to the coloured clothing; went to the wire when Pakistan played England in the finals Melbourne. England played as many as three finals without winning any. Meanwhile Pakistan emerged as winners this time - thanks to some exceptional captaincy from Imran Khan.
1996 was one of the most successful cricketing events ever played. Called as Wills World Cup, this edition was hosted by Srilanka, India and Pakistan. 37 matches were played between 12 teams. Played between 14th February and 12 March 1992, spectators saw some huge scores thanks to explosive batting from Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana. India lost to Srilanka in the first semis while West Indies lost to Australia in the second. Continuing their successful streak, Srilanka defeated Australia in the finals by 7 wickets to emerge as a new superpower in cricket.
1999 - Back home!
Cricket returned home as the world cup in 1999 was hosted by England. Some games were played in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Total 12 teams participated and this event was played from 14th May to 20th June 1999. Australia comprehensively defeated Pakistan in the finals to be second time World Cup winners. They never looked back after this and you would know why!
2003 - Safari time!
For the first time ever, cricket world cup was played in South Africa. The co-hosts were Zimbabwe and Kenya. With 14 teams and 54 matches, the world cup was played from 9th February till 23rd March 2003. India and Australia enjoyed the African safari the most as they reached the finals! Yet again Australia comprehensively defeated the opposition to lift the trophy for the third time in the history of cricket.
2007 - Caribbean music!
The captains of teams pose for the group photograph of 2007 world cup in West Indies. pic.twitter.com/wLuOPUY76z
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) May 6, 2013
Time for some fun, grooving on to the Caribbean music - cricket moved towards the west! This time the hosts were West Indies. This wasn't a very successful event due to early exit of big teams like Pakistan and India. This event was also plagued with death of Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer! Completely another episode which we would not like to discuss here. Even lack of ground preparation was a part of the controversy this time. Australia was still not satisfied with three world cup wins. They defeated Srilanka in the finals to clinch their fourth title. Yes you read it right! Fourth World Cup title.
2011 - Subcontinent cricket fever!
Nothing can match the cricket fever of Indian sub-continent. Cricket returned to the sub-continent in its biggest form. India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka hosted the cricket matches from 19th February to 2nd April. First ever world cup final to feature two Asian countries - India and Srilanka. Who can forget the mighty blow from Dhoni that landed right into the stands marking a glorious World Cup win for India - their second ever!
2015 - Down Under!
With the invent of T20 the young generation are proficient in hitting the ball hard and far! Flat pitches all over the world help the high scoring cause. Pool A was dominated by home team New Zealand (six wins out of six matches). Same was the case with Pool B where defending champions India topped the table with six wins out of six matches. It was the four top teams that made it to the semi finals. South Africa were defeated by New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland whereas India were outplayed by Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia emerged as world cup winners for the fifth time when they defeated co-hosts New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29th March 2015.
2019 Cricket World Cup - Returns Home!
The Cricket World Cup in 2019 will be played in England and Wales. The final will be held at the Mecca of Cricket - the Lord's!
With the invent of T20 the young generation are proficient in hitting the ball hard and far! Flat pitches all over the world help the high scoring cause. Pool A was dominated by home team New Zealand (six wins out of six matches). Same was the case with Pool B where defending champions India topped the table with six wins out of six matches. It was the four top teams that made it to the semi finals. South Africa were defeated by New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland whereas India were outplayed by Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia emerged as world cup winners for the fifth time when they defeated co-hosts New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29th March 2015.
2019 Cricket World Cup - Returns Home!
The Cricket World Cup in 2019 will be played in England and Wales. The final will be held at the Mecca of Cricket - the Lord's!
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