Ask any cricket lover about their passion for the most reputed, renowned and popular form of one-day cricket. What do you expect the reply to be? Invariably, the super exciting World Cup. But, you would also come across quite a few wailing apropos the frequency of the most coveted international tournament.
The ICC determining, announcing and awarding Cricket World Cup winners once every four years stands simply not enough for some of the ultimate “maniacs”. Just how the World Cup competitions have come all the way shaping and reshaping the bat-and-ball frenzy is truly remarkable.
The “Leap” Tournament Bears Its Own Charm
World Cup is always going to be the most important tournament in world cricket. It is a global tournament, and the significance and the charm of the tournament are simply beyond measure. Concisely speaking, we cannot place a World Cup victory below anything else. In the eleven ICC Cricket World Cups held so far, five different teams have won the tournament. Australia is the most successful World Cup team, having won the tournament five times. They were runner up another two times.
Ecstatic World Cup Moments For The Pakistani Fans
The 1992 World Cup competition holds unique importance for our green shirts. It was the occasion that left an indelible mark on the psyche of followers of the nation’s team. And, it isn’t without a good reason to it. The 1st international tournament was held in 1975, and it wasn’t until the year 1992 that our green maestros could register themselves among cricket World Cup winners. Those were proud moments for the entire nation to be the recipient of the crystal-glass trophy. Most of us can well remember the extent of jubilations and rejoicing that had gripped us all fans, wherever we were.
The Majestic Cricket World Cup Winners Of All Times
Emerging victorious in a cricket World Cup final is no less than a populated territory conquered. All wins in a World Cup tournament count, but walking away with the much sought after award is excellence apart. Beginning from 1975, the global competition has seen five different cricketing nations winning it in a span of 40 years and 11 tournaments. In the below section, we present all cricket World Cup winners in chronological sequence.
1975, England
This was the first ever Cricket World Cup, officially called the Prudential Cup, and was held from June 7 to June 21, 1975, in England.
- Unlike today, all players wore a traditional white uniform.
- Red balls were used instead of white balls.
- There were only day games with no night ones.
- There were eight participating countries, which were Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and East Africa.
- The final was played at the Lord’s ground, between West Indies and Australia.
- The favorites, West Indies, won by 17 runs.
- The West Indies scored 291 runs in 60 overs at a loss of 8 wickets. In reply, Australia could only reach 274 runs in 58.4 overs all out.
- The West Indian captain was Clive Lloyd.
World Cup 1975 Winning Squad: The Unbeatable West Indies!
Source: Quora
1979, England
This was the second Cricket World Cup, called the Prudential Cup, held in England between June 9 to June 23, 1979.
- This tournament saw the introduction of the ICC Trophy, a competition used to determine which non-Test playing teams qualified for the World Cup.
- The West Indies were pre-competition favorites, captained by Clive Lloyd.
- There were 8 participating countries, namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Canada.
- The final was played at the Lord’s cricket ground in London between the West Indies and England.
- The West Indies won by 92 runs.
- West Indies batted first and made 286 runs in 60 overs at a loss of 9 wickets. In reply, England could only manage 194 runs before being all out after 51 overs.
World Cup 1979 Winning Squad: Winners Yet Once Again!
Source: ICC Cricket
1983, England
This was the third Cricket World Cup, called the Prudential Cup. The tournament was held in England for the third consecutive time, between 9 and 25 June 1983.
- There were 8 participating countries, namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe.
- The final was played between India and the West Indies at the Lord’s ground, in England.
- India scored 183 runs in 54.4 overs all out. In reply, the West Indies stumbled at 140 runs in 52 overs all out.
- India won by 43 runs in a low-scoring match.
- The World Cup trophy which India received was damaged during a violent rampage on the Indian cricket board’s headquarters by a Hindu nationalist group.
World Cup 1983 Winning Squad: The Indians Become The Champions!
Source: Pinterest
1987, Pakistan-India
This was the fourth Cricket World Cup event, called the Reliance Cup. It was held jointly in India and Pakistan, from October 9 to November 8, 1987.
- The number of overs a team played reduced from 60 to 50.
- The first hat-trick at the World Cup was by an Indian, Chetan Sharma, in a game against New Zealand.
- There were 8 participating countries, namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
- The final was played between Australia and England at the Eden Gardens stadium in Calcutta India.
- Australia scored 253 in their 50 overs with a loss of 5 wickets. In reply, England just fell short, making 246 in their 50 overs for a loss of 8 wickets.
- Australia won by a close margin of 7 runs.
- The winning captain was Allan Border, while Australian David Boon was man of the final match.
World Cup 1987 Winning Squad: Australia Emerge As The World Champions!
Source: dailytelegraph.com.au
1992, Australia-New Zealand
This was the fifth World Cup event and the first cricket World Cup tournament held in the Southern hemisphere.
- This tournament featured many firsts in the World Cup history. This was the first time there were day/night matches, white cricket balls for bowling sides and colored uniforms for the teams.
- There was one group for all the contesting teams who played each other once. The top four qualified for the knockout stage.
- There were 9 participating countries, namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
- The leading run scorer of the tournament was Martin Crowe of New Zealand, with 456 runs to his tally.
- The leading wicket-taker of the tournament was Wasim Akram of Pakistan, with 16 wickets to his credit.
- The final was played between Pakistan and England in Melbourne, Australia.
- Pakistan made 249 runs in 50 overs for 6 wickets, limiting England to a total of 227 runs in 49.2 all out.
- Pakistan won the final by 22 runs.
World Cup 1992 Winning Squad: The Green Shirts Rejoicing Unrestrained!
Source: Pinterest
Related reading: Prime Minister Imran Khan – The Inspiring Journey From Cricket To Politics And His Personal Life!
Cricket World Cup 1992 All Squads: Bringing In The Sportive Harmony!
Source: Sportskeeda
1996, Pakistan-India-Sri Lanka
- At the World Cup, Australia and West Indies refused to play their matches against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka due to security issues.
- This caused Sri Lanka collecting points for both the matches by default, without even playing.
- Also, Sri Lanka acquired a victory for their semi-final by default against India owing to crowd disturbance.
- The final match saw Sri Lanka against Australia in Lahore, Pakistan.
- Australia made 241 runs in 50 overs for a loss of 7 wickets. In reply, Sri Lanka made 245 runs in 46.2 overs losing only 3 wickets on the way.
- The final result presented as Sri Lanka win by 7 wickets.
World Cup 1996 Winning Squad: The Victorious Sri Lankan Heroes!
Source: islandcricket.lk
1999, England
The Cricket World Cup event returned to England after sixteen years. Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands were also the hosts for some of the matches.
- There was a striking change in the second stage, where a “Super Six” round replaced the quarter-finals.
- One of the greatest matches in the ICC World Cup history was the Australia vs South Africa that tied in the semi-final game.
- Australia and Pakistan came face-to-face in the final at Lords, London.
- Pakistan batted first with 132 All out in 39 overs. In reply, Australia scored 133 runs in 20.1 overs for 2 wickets.
- Australia won convincingly by 8 wickets.
World Cup 1999 Winning Squad: World Champions Again After 12 Years!
Source: Cricket World
2003, South Africa-Zimbabwe-Kenya
The 2003 World Cup began on 9 February and ended on 24 March 2003.
- The number of teams participating in the event increased from twelve to fourteen.
- Due to security concerns, Zimbabwe and Kenya won their matches against England and New Zealand, respectively by default.
- Australia and India played the final in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Australia batted first and made 359 runs in 50 overs losing only 2 wickets. In reply, India made 234 after getting all out in 39.2 overs.
- Australia became the world champions after beating India by 125 runs.
World Cup 2003 Winning Squad: The Aussies Continue Their Winning Streak!
Source: ESPNcricinfo.com
2007, West Indies
The 2007 ICC World Cup of Cricket sparked off in April 2007, being the 9th World Cup tournament.
- The tournament consisted of 16 teams, including all 10 Test playing nations and 6 qualifiers.
- Sri Lankan, Lasith Malinga, was the first to achieve hat-trick plus one (4 wickets in 4 balls) in World Cup history against South Africa.
- Australia and Sri Lanka met against each other in the final at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
- Australia, batting first, piled up 281 for the loss of 4 wickets in the allocated 38 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka finished off at 215 for the loss of 8 wickets in 36 overs.
- Australia won the final game by 53 runs (D/L method).
World Cup 2007 Winning Squad: The Australians Complete Their Victory Hat Trick!
Source: thenewdaily.com.au
2011, Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka
Pakistan were originally going to also co-host this event. But, due to security reasons in the years leading up to the event, Pakistan lost its hosting rights. The competition took place from 19 February 2011 to 2 April 2011.
- The 14 national cricket teams which competed in 2011 were Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe.
- The finalists were India and Australia who faced head-on at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
- Sri Lanka batted first, piling up 274 for 6 in their 50 overs. In reply, India achieved the target by scoring 277 for 4 in 48.2 overs.
- India won the match by 4 wickets and 10 balls to spare.
World Cup 2011 Winning Squad: The Indians Celebrate Victory The 2nd Time!
Source: Sportskeeda
2015, Australia-New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand both hosted half of the games. The event took place from 14 February to 29 March 2015.
- The 10 test playing nations (and automatic qualifiers) were: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
- In addition, there were four associate or affiliate member nations who proceeded through qualifying. These were Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.
- The finalists, Australia, and New Zealand, met each other at the famous MCG.
- New Zealand performed badly with 183 all out in 45 Overs. Replying, Australia achieved the target in the 32nd over with 3 wickets down.
- In a one-sided contest, Australia lifted the 2015 World Cup trophy, with 7 wickets and 101 balls in their store.
World Cup 2015 Winning Squad: The Aussies Can Never Be Bogged Down!
Source: News18.com
This sums up our brief history of cricket World Cup winners. Although, this year’s winner is yet to come up which requires another write-up to discuss.
