The first World Cup 1975 in England

Test playing countries England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan were joined by Sri Lanka and East Africa in the first World Cup in 1975. The World Cup matches were based on 60 overs.

Semi Finals
The first semi-final match was played between England and Austria. Gary Gilmour's left arm bowling reduced England to 37/6.  He took 6/14 in all. England's final total of 93 still offered a challenge in conditions that suited the English seamers, and with Australia at 35/5 they were still in with a chance. Steady batting by Walters and Australia's hero Gilmour saw them through. The bowlers dominated the other semi-final, with Julien leading the way for the West Indies with 4 wickets, but Roberts capturing the critical scalp of Turner. Kallicharran and Greenidge saw the West Indies to an easy victory.

The Final
The first World Cup final was played at Lord's, with a packed house.  The West Indies were put into bat, and struggled against Gilmour and Lillee, with Fredericks, Greenidge and Kallicharran back in the pavilion for 50. Fredericks had hit the first ball of the game for 6, but trod on his wicket attempting to repeat the shot. Lloyd played an innings worthy of the occasion, treating the bowling with disdain and racing to his century. He and Kanhai put on 149. Gilmour took 5 wickets, and poor Max Walker was hit for 70 runs off his 12 overs. Australia faced a stiff task chasing 291, and fell just short, with magnificent fielding from the West Indies resulting in 4 run outs. West Indies, acknowledged as the best Test team in the world also showed they could master the shorter version, and were worthy champions led by Clive Lloyd the man of the final.

Glenn Turner topped the batting averages for the tournament, with 333 runs, at an average of 166.5, still the record for the highest tournament average.
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The second  World  Cup 1979 in England

Semi Finals
Thus England took on New Zealand in the first semi-final in a closely contested match that saw New Zealand fall just 10 runs short. Gooch made a fine 71, and Brearley a half -century, but 221 did not seem a challenging total, especially with John Wright in form. However, four lbws and a run out saw off the New Zealand top order, and despite a valiant effort by the tail-enders, England went on to their first World Cup final. In the other semi-final Pakistan were up against it from the start when the redoubtable Greenidge-Haynes partnership put on 132 for the first wicket, followed by quick runs from Richards and Lloyd.

Asif Iqbal took four of the 6 wickets to fall, and Pakistan faced 293 to win. Sadiq Mohammed fell early, but a superb partnership between Majid Khan (81) and Zaheer Abbas (93) put Pakistan in sight of a famous victory. Croft took the critical wickets of Majid, Zaheer, and Javed Miandad, and the middle order faltered, and West Indies went to the final again.

The Final
The final of the second World Cup was marked by two stunning performances, Viv Richards at his most majestic with the bat, and Joel Garner ripping through the England batting just when it looked as they might have a chance. Richards made an unbeaten 138, supported by a hard hitting 86 from Collis King.

Richards hit 11 fours and 3 sixes, the last an imperious flick into the Mound Stand off the last ball of the innings. Brearley and Boycott made a cautious start putting on 129, but at a rate that required the later batsman to up the scoring rate. This proved a tough proposition against Garner. England fell from 183/2 to 194 all out. Garner's final spell consisted of five wickets for four runs in 11 balls. The West Indies side were worthy winners, with one of the strongest one-day sides of all time, balanced between aggressive batting, and fast accurate bowling.
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The third World Cup 1983 in England

The third World Cup matches were played in England in 1983. The teams were divided into A and B groups.

A group comprised England, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. The B group teams were from West Indies, India, Australia, and the newcomers Zimbabwe.

Semi finals
England were heavy favourites in the semi-final, but the experienced England line-up was incapable of scoring quick runs against steady medium paced bowling, and inspired fielding. 33 was the top score of an innings of 216, with Amarnath bowling his 12 overs for 27 runs and two wickets, and Kapil Dev mopping up the tail. Amarnath was run out for 46, and fifties for Yashbal Sharma and Patil saw India to their first World Cup final. The other semi-final was also one-sided, with Pakistan, put into bat, struggling against Marshall (3/28)and the other West Indies quicks. 188 was far too few runs against Viv Richards, who blasted 80*, supported by Gomes, as West Indies won by 8 wickets.

The Final
Most anticipated a one sided game, with the Indian team having exceeded expectations to make the final, against a powerful and experienced West Indian team, looking for its third consecutive Cup. All seemed to be progressing predictably when India were all out for only 183, Srikkanth top scoring (33), and Roberts (3/32) the best of the bowlers. When the West Indies batted, Greenidge fell early, and the unheralded Indian medium pacers bowled tight and accurately. Richards hit a composed 33, but when he was out to Madan Lal, India were in with a chance. Dujon and Marshall were both out to Amarnath when looking set, and when Amarnath trapped Holding lbw, India completed an astonishing win.

The Indians in this tournament showed that they had mastered the one-day game, bowling tightly, fielding better than any Indian team of the past, and never giving up. Binny with 18 (still a record for most wickets in a World Cup tournament, and Madan Lal with 17 wickets were their leading bowlers and Kapil Dev topped the batting averages. Overall Gower, Richards and Fowler were the most successful batsmen were, all with over 350 runs, and averages in the 70s.
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The fourth World Cup matches were played in India and Pakistan. The teams were divided into tow groups one A and other B. The A group consisted of Australia, India, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies played in Group B. Most of the games were played in Pakistan.

The semi-finals
The interesting prospect of an India - Pakistan final loomed as England took on India in Bombay, and Australia played in Lahore.

This was not to be, however. England batted first, and a magnificent 115 from Gooch, ably supported by Gatting allowed England to reach 254. Kapil Dev bowled well with 2/34 from his 10 overs. India lost early wickets, but Azharuddin put them in contention with 64 until the off-spinner Eddie Hemmings had him lbw. Hemmings snapped up three more wickets as the Indian tail desperately looked for quick runs, but India were all out in the 46th over, 35 runs short. The Australian top order had rarely failed, and they did not in their semi-final, with Boon leading the way with 65, and Velletta contributing a hard hit 48 to a final total of 267. Pakistan lost their most consistent bat Rameez Raja to a run out, and were 35/3 before Javed Miandad (70) and Imran Khan (56) built a partnership that took them within striking distance. The run rate was climbing however, Pakistan found it hard to accelerate against McDermott (5/44), and Australia won by 18 runs.

The final
Maybe it wasn't India v Pakistan but 80,000 people filled Eden Gardens to watch two other old enemies England and Australia contest the closest World Cup final to date. On a slow pitch it was an advantage to bat first, and this is what Border chose to do on winning the toss. Boon (75) and Marsh got Australia off to a flying start against wayward bowling from Defreitas and Small, and solid support from Border and Velletta took Australia to 253. Robinson fell early but Gooch and Athey (58) laid a solid foundation for England, and when Gooch was out Gatting (45) took up the chase. The turning point was when Border chose to bowl himself against his rival captain, and an unwise reverse sweep off his first ball only result in a catch to the keeper. The run rate rose to 8 per over, and then 36 required off the last three. Defreitas then hit four, six, and another four in the 48th over reducing the target to 19 off 12 balls. Steve Waugh bowled the 49th over, conceding only two runs, and having DeFreitas caught, and Australia won their first World Cup by just 7 runs.

It was a fine team effort by Australia, with Marsh, Boon, Waugh, Jones and Velletta all averaging over 40, and Boon and Marsh scoring over 400 runs. Boon had five half-centuries in 8 innings, a World Cup record. McDermott led all bowlers with 18 wickets, still a Cup record, and Gooch was the top run scorer.
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The 1992 World Cup was played in New Zealand and Australia. This time world match saw a revolutionary change as South Africa rejoined the Test ranks and Zimbabwe was given Test status.

The second major change was that day-night cricket made its debut in the cricket history, along with the white ball and coloured clothing.

With 9 teams a balanced schedule with two groups was not possible so each team played all the others once, with the top four advancing to the semi finals. This meant a greatly expanded tournament with 36 preliminary matches played over 4 weeks.

1st Semi Final
New Zealand had the advantage of playing at home, and were confident entering the semi-final against Pakistan, despite their preliminary round defeat. They batted well, let by a superb 83 ball 91 from Crowe, and supported by a Rutherford fifty. Crowe was particularly severe on Imran Khan who conceded 59 from his 10 overs. 268 looked like a winning total- apart from the Sri Lanka - Zimbabwe match no side had successfully chased anything close to that in the tournament. Pakistan however, paced their reply perfectly, with steady 44s from Imran Khan and Aameer Sohail building a platform from which Javed Miandad (57*), and then memorably Inzamam-ul-haq launched their assault. Inzi made 60 from just 37 balls, and when he was out Moin Khan partnered Javed as Pakistan reached their first ever World Cup final.

2nd Semi Final
The bizarre climax to this game possibly resulted in a change in cricket rain rules for the better, but that was no consolation to South Africa, or the crowd, deprived of a thrilling finish. England had set a tough target, after rain interruptions had reduced their allocation to 45 overs. Hick with 83 off 90 balls had batted superbly, and with apart from Gooch, all the other bats contributed useful runs taking England to 252. South Africa, however, were not intimidated, and were well up with the run rate throughout their innings. Hudson got things going with a quick 46, and Rhodes put South Africa in the hunt with 43 off 38 balls. McMillan and Richardson were at the wicket, and looking comfortable when rain fell after 5 balls of the 42nd over with South Africa needing 22 to win off 19 balls. Two overs were lost, but under the rain rule the target did not change. South Africa were faced with the impossible task of scoring the remaining runs off one ball, and England advanced to the final in circumstances not even they were happy with.

The Final
The final was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground under cloudless skies in front of a huge crowd of 85,000+, one of the largest attendances on record. Pakistan won the toss and batted, but were soon in trouble against Pringle. Rameez Raja was caught from a no-ball, but in the next over Pringle induced an edge from Aameer Sohail, taken comfortably by Stewart, and Rameez soon followed. This brought together the captain, Imran Khan, and the vastly experienced Javed Miandad, and they set about repairing the damage. Taking no chances (particularly against Pringle who finished with the excellent figures of 10-2-22-3) they scored at a modest pace, 50 coming up in the 21st over, and 100 in the 31st. Imran Khan, who had been dropped by Gooch when on 10, paced his innings admirably, and together with Javed Miandad put the pressure on the England bowlers as Pakistan entered the last 20 overs. The partnership was worth 139 when Javed Miandad fell to a poorly executed reverse sweep for 59. Inzamam-ul-haq took up the attack, and after Imran was caught off Botham for an admirable 70, was joined by Wasim Akram who hit hard, they added 51 off the last 5 overs to take Pakistan to 249.

Pakistan got off to a great start when Botham fell for 0, soon followed by Stewart. The opening pair of Wasim Akram and Aaqib Javed was extremely effective, Aaqib returning figures of 10-2-27-2. Gooch and Hick tried to emulate Imran and Javed, but Hick, always vulnerable to spin, was adjudged lbw to Mushtaq Ahmed, and shortly afterwards Gooch top edged a sweep to the same bowler, and England were 69/4 in the 21st over. Fairbrother and Lamb put together the best partnership of the England innings using their expertise to keep the runs coming without taking risks. The run rate was climbing however, and with 20 overs to go England needed 150. With the situation getting desperate, Wasim Akram effectively decided the match in the course of an over, dismissing Lamb and Lewis with consecutive balls. Fairbrother fought hard, falling on 62 to Aaqib, and the tail hit bravely, but England never recovered leaving Pakistan the World Cup champions by 22 runs. 

England were bitterly disappointed at failing yet again in a World Cup final, and New Zealand and South Africa also had cause for regrets. It was overall a fine World Cup for the New Zealand team, despite their semi-final loss, and their excellent fielding, aggressive batting, and innovative captaincy marked a high point in their cricket history. South Africa were robbed of a chance at the final by the rain rules, and it would be little consolation to know that their semi-final loss was the impetus towards a better, and fairer way of dealing with rain affected matches. Pakistan were worthy winners. They started the tournament slowly, but improved constantly, and under the superb leadership of Imran Khan, played as a team - something Pakistan sides have not always done. Wasim Akram was the tournament's leading wicket-taker (also leading the tournament in the less worthy statistics of no-balls and wides), and Javed Miandad scored 437 runs. Martin Crowe was the player of the tournament and the leading batsman, averaging over 100 and scoring most runs. New Zealand also produced the most economical bowler, with Patel conceding only 245 runs from 79 overs.
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This tournament returned to Asia, with the games spread over three countries, India, Pakistan and the newcomer, Sri Lanka. The team were group as A and B. Group A consisted of Australia, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe, with Sri Lanka already assured of two wins through the forfeits by Australia and the West Indies. The group got off to an undistinguished start with the West Indies, defeating Zimbabwe in a match marked by some good bowling.

Group B comprised one host nation, Pakistan, along with three other teams from England, New Zealand and South Africa), and two ICC associate teams (the Netherlands and UAE). 

Semi finals
Eden Gardens was packed to the rafters as India and Sri Lanka battled for a place in the final. The game got off to a sensational start as the star Sri Lankan openers both fell in the first over, skying catches to third man off the bowling of Srinath. This brought in de Silva who despite the scoreline of 1/2 went for his shots from the outset, playing an innings of scintillating brilliance. He played classic shots rather than slogging, yet made 66 off 47 balls. His 50 came off only 32 balls, with 11 fours, mostly from elegant drives through the covers. When he edged onto his stumps with the score on 85, Sri Lanka had the start they needed. From there on Mahanama, battling dehydration as the innings progressed, and Ranatunga were able to build a useful total. Tendulkar and Kapoor contained the scoring, taking 2 wickets and conceding 34 runs from his 10 overs, and Sri Lanka set India 251 to win. When India started their replay Sidhu fell early, but Tendulkar and Manjrekar made steady progress. Tendulkar was in top form, pacing his innings well, and had reached 65 when he over-balanced and was neatly stumped. The crowd watched the collapse that followed with silence, and then with rage. The spin of Dharmasena, Muralitheran, Jayasuriya and de Silva proved hard to hit, and the middle order collapsed, leaving just Kambli to resist. When Mongia and Kapoor was dismissed off successive deliveries, and India 120/8, the crowd erupted. A hail of bottles sailed onto the ground, and several fires were started in the stands. Match referee Clive Lloyd took the players from the field, but further play was impossible. In an unprecedented move that match was awarded to Sri Lanka, and India's World Cup ended on a sad and ugly scenes.

The other semi-final was in its way equally sensational but for cricketing reasons. The West Indies had never lost a World Cup semi -final, and in the first few overs, Ambrose and Bishop put them well on the way to winning another. A superb opening spell had Australia at 15/4 with the batsman of the tournament, Mark Waugh lbw 2nd ball. This brought together Law and Bevan who, batting responsibly, put on 138. They ran extremely well, putting pressure on the fielders, and improvised well. Healy chipped in with some useful runs at the end, and Australia ended up with 207 - good considering their start, but not an intimidating total. Chanderpaul played a sheet anchor role, and Lara played some lovely shots in making 45 at a run per ball. Steve Waugh dismissed Lara, but Richardson took up the challenge, and with 10 overs to go just 47 was required. The collapse that followed was unexpected and inexplicable. Chanderpaul and Harper fell to McGrath, and then Richardson watched in horror as Warne took 3/6, Fleming two wickets, and a run out ended the West Indies innings, losing by 5 runs in the last over. Richardson was stranded on 49*. 

The final
Thus Australia met Sri Lanka in the final in Lahore - a fitting end to a tournament that had started with Australia forfeiting their match in Colombo. All five previous finals had been one by the side batting first, but Ranatunga put Australia in after winning the toss.
Australia made a strong start. Mark Waugh failed, but Taylor was in fine form, and the pitch held no terrors. Supported by Ponting, he took Australia to 137/1 in the 27th over, and a big total looked likely. After Taylor holed out, however, Ranatunga used some astute bowling changes, and clever field placings to stifle the Australians. Muralitheran bowled his 10 overs for 31 runs, and Australia managed but one boundary in 25 overs. The total of 241 was respectable, and looked challenging after the two openers failed again. This brought together the phlegmatic Gurusinha, and the flamboyant de Silva, who with their partnership of 125, brought the Sri Lankans within striking distance. The dew made bowling difficult, but de Silva played an innings that was perfectly paced, laced with 13 fours and a six, and made with consummate ease. His 107* was the third century in a final, and every bit as good as the preceding innings of Lloyd and Richards. When Gurusinha was bowled by Reiffel, Ranatunga joined de Silva, and saw Sri Lanka to a famous victory with 3.4 overs to spare. Fittingly Ranatunga made the winning run, and the Sri Lankans became the first host team to win a World Cup.
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The seventh World Cup was played in England.  Twelve teams took part in this international event of the game. The teams were from South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies and Bangladesh. The two groups - A and B - were formed.

Group A comprised South Africa, India, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka and Kenya while group B teams were Pakistan, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Scotland.

The first semi-final
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 9 wickets in the first semi-final at Old Trafford, Manchester.

New Zealand played first and set a target of 242. Pakistan team hit brilliant 242 for 1 in 47.3 overs and won the match.
Man of the match award was presented to Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan.

The second semi-final
Australia met South Africa at Edgbaston, Birmingham in second semi-final of the World Cup. South Africa won the toss and elected to field first. Australia hit 213 runs all out in 49.2 overs. In reply, South Africa also made 213 runs all out in 49.4 overs. The match was tied. Man of the match award was given to Shane Warne.

The final
Australia won the global carnival of cricket when it took on Pakistan at Lord’s in the final of the 1999 World Cup. Pakistan decided to bat first. The Australian bowlers made the most of Wasim Akram’s surprising decision and dismissed them at 132 for all out in 39 overs. It was the lowest score ever recorded in a World Cup final. Australia surpassed the target as it hit 133 for 2 in 20.1 overs. Thus Australia won the global sport event by 8 wickets.
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