WITH 60 over format, white traditional costume & red cherry, the biggest colloseum of cricket started on June 7, 1975 in England. Yes the Cricket World Cup. The Cricket World Cup is an international One Day International (ODI) competition in men's cricket.
Organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament has taken place every four years since it was first held in 1975 in England. For the first three editions it was called as Prudential Cup which was consequently played in England.
History Of World Cup:
1975 : West Indies tasted the Glory of the First WC in 1975, continuing the trend in second edition as well in 1979. The 1975 world cup final was played between West Indies and Australia. Under the leadership of Clive Lloyd, WI won the finals by 17 runs.
1979: In 1979, again under the leadership of Clive Lloyd, West Indies reached the finals. This time, they defeated the host England by 92 runs.
1983: In 1983, a new rule of field circle within 30 yards away from stumps was introduced. It was mandatory to have 4 fieldsmen inside the circle at all times. Basking in the glory of victory for the first two Wc finals, West Indies entered the finals of third edition. To spoil their party and shatter their dream run, Kapil’s Devils gave a big jolt to Clive Llyod & co. We clearly remember the sight of Joel Garner falling flat on the ground and weeping following the defeat.
1987: By 1987, Reliance group had grown big time world wide. This was for the first time,the tournament was played outside England and moved to Indian Subcontinent and was called Reliance Cup. Considering the sub continental conditions, the format was reduced to a 50 over format. It was Australia who defeated Englandwith a close margin of 7 runs.
1992: The popularity of WC was immensely increasing. Considering that, 1992 event saw lots of changes in the format. The traditional whites made way to colored clothing. The red cherry was replaced by the white balls. Day & Night matches came into picture. South Africa was allowed to participate in the event following the end of the ban on them due to racism. Out of no where; Pakistan rose to the occasion and defeated England by 22 runs. To England’s plight, it was their third time defeat in the Finals.
1996: In 1996, the cup came back to the subcontinent. Under an inspirational leadership of Ranatunga, Srilanka emerged with flying colors due to their attacking cricket by flamboyant opening pair of Jayasuriya & Kaluwitharana and awesome Aravinda D’silva. They defeated Australia by 7 wickets in Finals at Lahore.
1999: In 1999 the event was hosted by England, with some matches also being held in Scotland, Ireland, Wales. Australia entered the Semifinals.There were many anxious moments in the match. The most famous incidence was when Herscelle Gibbs dropped a easy catch of Steve Waugh. Waugh was quick enough to tell him “You have dropped the World Cup Mate’ . In the final, Australia dismissed Pakistan for 132 and then reached the target in less than 20 overs, with eight wickets in hand.
2003: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya hosted the 2003 World Cup. Australia again featured in the finals. This time against India. This was for the first time after 1983 when India featured in finals of World cup. Australia made a quick fire 359 runs for the loss of two wickets, the largest ever total in a final, defeating India by 125 runs. It was at Wanderers where Ricky Ponting played a super attacking innings scoring an unbeatable 140 runs
2007: In 2007 the tournament was hosted by the West Indies. This cup saw some serious and shameful defeats for India and Pakistan. Bangladesh defeated India and entered to the second round for the first time and they later went on to defeat South Africa in the second round. Pakistan faced similar shameful defeat by the minnows Ireland.
Following the defeat against Ireland, the Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room; it was later found out that he died of heart failure. Australia defeated Sri Lanka in the final by 53 runs (D/L), extending their undefeated run in the World Cup to 29 matches and winning three straight World Cups.
ICC Trophy
Trophy Design: The current trophy is made of Silver and gold. The Golden Globe is held up by 3 Silver Columns. These columns are in shape of Stumps& Bails that represent 3 fundamentals of cricket ie, Batting, Bowling and fielding. The Globe characterizes cricket ball. It stands 60 cm tall & weighs approximately 11 kgs. The names of winners of previous editions are engraved on the base of the trophy. The original trophy is kept by ICC and a replica is awarded to the winning team
Prior to 1999, different trophies were designed for each world cup. In 1999, the ICC world Cup trophy was created. It was designed in London by a team of craftsman from Garrard & Co in over 2 months.
Individual Performances: Swashbuckling Master blaster from India Sachin Tendulkar holds a bouquet of individual records in the World . Tendulkar has made more scores over fifty, hit more centuries and scored more runs than any other cricketer in World Cup history. In his 36 appearance in World Cup, he has 4 centuries, 13 half centuries against his name.
In the bowling department, Australian Glenn McGrath (Pegion) dominates the individual bowling records, having featured for his country in four World Cups. He has taken more wickets at a higher strike rate with a better economy rate than any other bowler, and has the best individual bowling figures in the history of the tournament.7/15 is his best record and in his 39 appearance, he hs taken 79 wickets.
Australians Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist lead the individual fielding records. Ponting is the leading fielder in terms of catches made, in both an individual World Cup tournament and in the competition's history. Wicketkeeper Gilchrist has made the most dismissals in a single match, an individual tournament and in World Cup history.
Australia hold several team records, including those for the most wins, the highest win percentage, the most consecutive wins and are the current holders; they were undefeated in the 2007 Cricket World Cup campaign.
Let’s wait and watch whats in store for every one in this world cup that will be held in the Subcontinent again. The opening ceremony will be held in Bangladesh and the Final match will be played at Mumbai's very own Wankhade.
Till then lets keep our fingers crossed.
