Cricket World Cup: Sort of interesting facts

[AlwaysGreen]

12th edition of the world cup which started back in 1975, hosted by England.

In 1975:
There were 8 teams and the whole thing ran for just two weeks.

The teams: the 6 test playing nations- Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies. (South Africa had been banned from international sport due to apartheid).

Sri Lanka and East Africa(?!) were the other 2 sides. SL didn't get test status until 1983.

Games were 60 overs a side.

Sunil Gavaskar infamously scored 36 no off 174 balls v England in the first game.

Australia lost in the final to the Windies by 17 runs. We had 5 players run out!

Glen Turner from NZ scored 333 runs to be highest tournament scorer. 2 centuries.

Australian Gary Gilmour was leading wicket taker with 11 including 6/14 in the semifinals and 5/48 in the final, his only 2 games in the competition.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Australia lost to Pakistan on May 23 1999 and didn't lose another WC match (winning 3 World Cups in the process) until March 19 2011...once again vs Pakistan.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

1979, exactly same format as the first edition and same result - won by the West Indies.

Canada replaced East Africa as the 8th team.

West Indies beat England in the final, Australia didn't get past the group stage.

Highest run scorer: Gordon Greenidge 253.

Leading wicket taker: Mike Hendrick of ENG with 11.

The king, Viv Richards scored a hundred in the final.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

1983, England hosted once again. 60 overs a side, a 16 day tournament witheach team playing each other twice in the group stage

Newly appointed test nation Sri Lanka joined fellow test playing nations Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies. Zimbabwe made up The 8th spot.

The zimbots had a famous victory winning ny 13 runs over Australia who failed to make the semis again.

David Gower was top run scorer with 384 Viv Richards was close behind with 367. Roger Binny took 18 wickets to top the charts.

The West Indies made their third successive final and were huge favourites to win but were upset by India in a result that would change the game forever and make the world cup not only the tournament everyone wanted to win but also wanted to host.

India 183 defeated West Indies 143 by 43 runs.

 

[Meth]

These facts are interesting, sort of

 

[Meth]

My favourite world cup memory is World Cup 1992- specifically Crowe's 100 and our opening win over Australia. Amazing to think that 248 was a big total back then.

The semi final win over the South Africans would probably rate up there as well.

Being a Kiwi, great world cup memories are admittedly few and far between.

What about you lot? *Aside from 'all those times we won'/ 'McCullum's innings at the MCG'

 

[Timbo]

I remember watching Jon Davison's deeply improbable fastest world cup hundred of all-time in the 2003 World Cup. Then to dismiss him Vasbert Drakes took one of the greatest catches I'd ever seen -


I was also watching live when Big Dwayne Leverock wrote himself into cricketing history forever and put a crater in the outfield in the Caribbean.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

@Meth , anytime there's an upset by a minnow is a great moment for me .

Unfortunately with the new India proof format we won't see as many.

Australia's 1999 win was awesome as we had to dig deep to get to the final with those two memorable games v South Africa a highlight.

Pakistan's 1992 win was a great memory too as it was probably the 1st WC that a lot of people had access to, certainly the first world cup I watched

 

[TheParraboy]

I was also watching live when Big Dwayne Leverock wrote himself into cricketing history forever and put a crater in the outfield in the Caribbean.

I want you all to sit back, put your feet up, and be in awe

the greatest moment in WC history for mine

Bumble: "He has flown like a gazelle"

 

[Timbo]

Ireland beating England on St. Patricks Day was phenomenal.

 

[Meth]

The world cup I followed most keenly was 1992, being that it was in Australia and New Zealand and I was a young fulla. It was also the first world cup I followed.

I remember Greatbach having the best series of his life. Crowe was on fire. We opened up with Dipak Patel and Gavin Larsen wasn't far behind him.

Chris Harris' fielding was superb. But the star of the Cup, fielding wise, was Jonty Rhodes. He had that iconic run out of Inzi.

It was probably the first time I became aware of Pakistan too. Imran Khan, Waqar and Wasim, Aamir Sohail, Rameez Raja

 

[Bazal]

Seeing as we've seemingly gone onto WC memories...

My absolute favourite was sitting in the front room of my family's place on Lake Macquarie, watching Andrew Symonds score his first (and possibly finest) ODI hundred against Pakistan in 2003. He was basically a one man band in guiding us to 310 and his celebration was awesome.

 

[Meth]

Seeing as we've seemingly gone onto WC memories...

My absolute favourite was sitting in the front room of my family's place on Lake Macquarie, watching Andrew Symonds score his first (and possibly finest) ODI hundred against Pakistan in 2003. He was basically a one man band in guiding us to 310 and his celebration was awesome.

Symonds actually averages 103.00 with the bat in World Cup innings- 2nd highest average of anyone.

 

[Bazal]

Symonds actually averages 103.00 with the bat in World Cup innings- 2nd highest average of anyone.

That knock against Pakistan made him as a player.

Before that he was a dangerous player but you knew he'd likely get out for 20-odd. Before that 2003 knock his highest score was 68* and he had 2 half centuries and an average of 24. After that he went on to score 5 more hundreds and 28 more half centuries.

If he failed at that WC his career might have been over...so it's not surprising to me that his WC stats are so good, he must have loved them after 2003.

 

[Twizzle]

I want you all to sit back, put your feet up, and be in awe

the greatest moment in WC history for mine

Bumble: "He has flown like a gazelle"

it was only a matter of time before this got posted again

#cricketporn

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

I was at the South Africa vs West Indies 2015 World Cup game at the SCG. Many records were smashed, SA's highest World Cup Score on the back of AB De Villier's smashing records left right and centre as we smashed the windies attack to all parts... My words don't do it justice but for the record;

AB De Villiers 162 off 66 was the single greatest sporting feat i've ever seen live in any sport, and I struggle to think of anything else i've seen on TV that would rival it.

De Villiers;

• Reached his 50 off 30 balls
• Reached his century off 52 balls (the second fastest in WC history). Which is when he really went Supersonic....
• 67 off his final 16 balls.
• Total 162 off 66 balls.

And he wasn't facing a minnow team or mug bowling, but he made them look like mugs, dispatching them effortlessly to all parts of the SCG. I was actually sitting in the Windies fan bay - and even all the Windies fans were applauding AB. It was phenominal.

There's a video and I've also copied in the espn cricinfo commentary link for those cricket nerds out there. The last over says it all...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...ool-b-icc-cricket-world-cup-2014-15?innings=1

https://www.icc-cricket.com/video/194934

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Sorry, love ABDV but the Windies were a minnow at the 2015 WC.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Sorry, love ABDV but the Windies were a minnow at the 2015 WC.

Geez mate next you'll tell me Santa Claus doesnt exist.... !!

Yeah the Windies were in a low point, especially the cricket board issues (they had two hats selling for the WC - one official showing their cricket board and another without it). But I wouldn't call them minnows as such. That said - the bowling wasn't that bad. As silly as that might seem.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Geez mate next you'll tell me Santa Claus doesnt exist.... !!

Yeah the Windies were in a low point, especially the cricket board issues (they had two hats selling for the WC - one official showing their cricket board and another without it). But I wouldn't call them minnows as such. That said - the bowling wasn't that bad. As silly as that might seem.

I think their bowling attack copped a shellacking from Martin Guptil too, he scored 237* in the same tourney against them.

 

[Bazal]

The Windies attack was rubbish but I don't think that takes too much away from ABDVs knock

Some of the shots he played were absolutely insane. Like, "how the hell did he physically do that??" level insane