Cricket World Cup History

Test cricket was the only format played at an international level until 1971.

The length of test matches made any sort of knockout competition a logistical nightmare, as proved by the failure of the earliest attempts at organising a triangular test series between England, South Africa and Australia.

It took the invention of one-day international cricket at a rained-out test between Australia and England, to create the possibility of international cricket teams contesting anything other than the bi-lateral series’ that dominate test cricket to this day.

The Birth of ODI Cricket

In 1971 a test match between England and Australia was rescheduled as a single-day match to placate a crowd who had become frustrated by four days of rained out cricket. Each side was permitted to bowl for a maximum of 40 overs, with 8 balls bowled in each over.

This experiment proved to be a big hit with fans, and just 4 years later the first Cricket World Cup was held in England using the new one day format.

The early Cricket World Cups were known as the Prudential Cups and featured 8 teams playing in the traditional, white test regalia and using red cricket balls. The West Indies won the first two tournaments, before India announced its arrival as a cricketing power with a victory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

The Modern Game Takes Hold

In the next 3 Cricket World Cups, the tournament, as well as the one- day international format, evolved rapidly. The first modification to the tournament format came at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, where matches were cut to 50 over events to compensate for the shorter days on the Indian subcontinent, which hosted the event.

In the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the tournament was subjected to a massive face-lift by hosts Australia and New Zealand. The 1992 tournament also witnessed the first appearance by South Africa in a Cricket World Cup.

With the tournament format now established, cricket fans enjoyed a series of intriguing tournaments, which included Sri Lanka emerging as champions in an incident-packed World Cup on the subcontinent in 1996. Australia lost in the final of this World Cup, but was about to launch a record-breaking run in the tournament.

The Australian Treble

The Australians claimed the first Cricket World Cup title of their hat-trick at the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. The tournament featured one of the most famous matches in Cricket World Cup history, when South Africa bungled a winning position in the final over of their semi-final match against Australia. Australia went on to win their first title by defeating Pakistan in the final.

Australia won again in 2003, this time winning the tournament in the backyard of their biggest ODI rivals, South Africa. Australia and India progressed to the final in which the Aussies took apart the Indian attack, eventually winning the match by 125 runs. This tournament was also notable for Kenya’s performance, as the minnows reached the semi-finals for the first time.

The 2007 Cricket World Cup was overshadowed by the death of Pakistan’s coach, Bob Woolmer, after his team’s unexpected group-stage loss to Ireland. Whilst a pall was cast over the tournament, the Australians were once again relentless, defeating Sri Lanka in a controversial final.