60 Fun Facts About Cricket World Cup

Which ground hosted the first three World Cup finals?

Lord's staged the 1975, 1979 and 1983 finals and later the 1999 and 2019 finals, five in all, more than any other ground.

The first three World Cups were officially known by the name of which sponsor?

Prudential, the insurer, gave the tournament its first name, the Prudential Cup; the 1987 edition was officially the Reliance Cup.

Which opener batted through 60 overs for an unbeaten 36 against England in 1975?

Sunil Gavaskar faced 174 balls for his 36 while chasing 335, and his team finished about 200 runs short.

Which composite team joined the six Test nations and Sri Lanka in the eight-team 1975 tournament?

East Africa went in as 1,500-1 outsiders and lost all three of its matches, its only World Cup appearance.

Which bowler took five wickets as England lost eight for 11 in the 1979 World Cup final?

Joel Garner's burst bowled England out for 194 in 51 overs, and the holders won by 92 runs to keep the title.

Which captain scored a century off 82 balls in the 1975 final?

Clive Lloyd was dropped on 26 and went on to make 102, sharing a 149-run stand with Rohan Kanhai in the veteran's last international.

Which Australian left-arm seamer took 5/48 in the 1975 World Cup final, following six wickets in the semi-final?

Gary Gilmour's five wickets still couldn't stop Australia losing the final by 17 runs.

Which opener was the first batsman dismissed hit-wicket in an ODI, in the 1975 final?

Roy Fredericks hooked a Dennis Lillee bouncer for six but lost his balance and knocked the bails off.

Who scored 138 in the 1979 final and was named man of the match?

Viv Richards added 139 with Collis King, who hit 86 off 66 balls after the holders had slipped to 99/4.

Who captained India, rank outsiders, to the 1983 World Cup title?

Kapil Dev's India had won just one match across the two previous World Cups, yet beat the two-time champions in the final.

Who was man of the match in the 1983 final for 26 runs and three wickets?

Mohinder Amarnath was also man of the match in the semi-final, and his 3/12 helped bowl out the two-time champions for 140.

Which team did India beat in 1983 after slumping to 17/5, rescued by their captain's 175 not out?

Zimbabwe, who had already stunned Australia in that tournament, lost by 31 runs as India recovered to 266/8.

Which Indian seamer took the first hat-trick in World Cup history, against New Zealand in 1987?

Chetan Sharma clean bowled Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield with consecutive balls, also India's first ODI hat-trick.

Which Australian made 75 to be man of the match in the 1987 final?

David Boon's 75 anchored Australia's 253/5, and they beat England by seven runs to win their first World Cup.

Which England captain fell to a reverse sweep off Allan Border in the 1987 final?

Mike Gatting, on 41, was caught by wicketkeeper Greg Dyer off the occasional left-arm spin of the opposing captain.

Whose breakaway series gave cricket the coloured kit and floodlights of the 1992 World Cup?

Kerry Packer set up World Series Cricket to win TV rights for his Nine Network, and top players from several countries joined him.

Which England captain hit 17 sixes in one innings against Afghanistan at the 2019 World Cup?

Eoin Morgan's 17 sixes set a new ODI record in an innings of 148 off 71 balls at Old Trafford.

Who captained Pakistan to the 1992 title at the MCG?

Imran Khan took the final wicket with his last ball in international cricket, and later served as Pakistan's prime minister.

Who was man of the match in the 1992 final for 3/49 and 33 off 18 balls?

Wasim Akram bowled Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis with successive balls, breaking England's resistance at the MCG.

Which New Zealand captain opened the bowling with spinner Dipak Patel in 1992?

Crowe's tactics took New Zealand to the semi-final, where an injury kept him off the field during Pakistan's chase.

Which Sri Lankan opener, whose early-overs hitting transformed ODI batting, was named player of the 1996 World Cup?

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana lofted the new ball over the infield, the opening tactic that became standard in one-day cricket.

In which city was the 1996 final played, the first World Cup final won by the chasing side?

In Lahore, Sri Lanka beat Australia, the side that had forfeited their Colombo group match over security fears.

Who scored 107 not out and took three wickets to be man of the match in the 1996 final?

Aravinda de Silva took 3/42 and then made 107 not out as Sri Lanka won by seven wickets with 22 balls to spare.

Besides England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, which country staged a match at the 1999 World Cup?

The Netherlands hosted one match, at Amstelveen, even though the Dutch team had failed to qualify for the tournament.

Which South African was run out to tie the 1999 semi-final after a mix-up with Lance Klusener?

Allan Donald, who had dropped his bat, was run out by yards, and Australia went through having beaten South Africa earlier in the tournament.

Who took four wickets to be man of the match in the 1999 final?

Shane Warne took 4/33 as Pakistan were bowled out for 132, and Australia won by eight wickets.

The permanent ICC World Cup trophy, introduced in 1999, was made in London by which firm?

Garrard & Co's craftsmen took two months to make it, with three silver columns shaped as stumps and bails holding a golden globe.

The World Cup trophy's golden ball has its seam tilted to represent what?

The Earth's axis inspired the tilt, and the three silver columns holding up the ball stand for batting, bowling and fielding.

Which associate nation reached the semi-finals in 2003, the best result ever by a non-Test team?

New Zealand's refusal to travel to Nairobi handed Kenya a forfeit that helped them through.

At which South African ground did Australia make 359/2, the highest total in a World Cup final, in 2003?

The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg crowned an Australian side that won all 11 of its matches at the tournament.

Which India captain's decision to bowl first in the 2003 final was widely criticised?

Sourav Ganguly chose to field, and India were bowled out for 234, losing by 125 runs.

Whose 7/15 at the 2003 World Cup are the best bowling figures in World Cup history?

Glenn McGrath also holds the record for most World Cup wickets, 71, and won three straight titles with Australia.

Which team was bowled out for 36 by Sri Lanka in 2003, the lowest World Cup total?

Canada also held the previous low of 45, set against England in 1979.

Which Pakistan coach was found dead in his hotel room after the shock loss to Ireland in 2007?

Bob Woolmer's death was first treated as murder, then police ruled natural causes, and an inquest returned an open verdict.

Which Australian wicketkeeper made 149 in the 2007 World Cup final, still the highest score in a final?

Adam Gilchrist's hitting set up a 53-run win in a match cut to 38 overs a side and finished in near darkness.

Which captain led Pakistan when they ended Australia's World Cup unbeaten run, dating back to 1999, in 2011?

Shahid Afridi's side won by four wickets, handing Australia their first World Cup defeat since Pakistan beat them at Headingley in 1999.

Who scored 103 for Sri Lanka in the 2011 final, a century in a losing cause?

Mahela Jayawardene's 103 not out came off 88 balls, but India still won by six wickets.

Who scored 97 for India in the 2011 final, sharing a 109-run stand with MS Dhoni?

Gautam Gambhir fell three runs short of a century, and Yuvraj Singh was named player of the tournament.

Which Irishman hit a 50-ball century, then the fastest in World Cup history, to beat England in 2011?

Kevin O'Brien came in with Ireland 111/5 chasing 328, and they won by three wickets, then the biggest chase in World Cup history.

Who hit the first double century in World Cup history, 215 in 2015?

Chris Gayle's 215 included a 372-run stand with Marlon Samuels, then the highest partnership in ODI history.

Which Australian captain made 74 in his last ODI, the 2015 World Cup final at the MCG?

Michael Clarke retired from one-day cricket after the final and dedicated the win to Phillip Hughes.

After the 2019 final tied at 241 and the super over tied at 15, on what basis did England win?

England won on boundary count, 26 to 17, and the ICC replaced the rule months later with repeated super overs.

Who was run out off the final ball of the 2019 super over trying to scamper a second run?

Martin Guptill was run out by Jason Roy's throw to Jos Buttler, so the super over was tied and England took the title.

Which Afghan leg-spinner conceded 110 runs in nine overs against England in 2019, then a World Cup record?

Rashid Khan's 110 was the most expensive spell in World Cup history until Bas de Leede conceded 115 in 2023.

Which two-time champion failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time in 2023?

West Indies were knocked out at the qualifier after losing to Scotland, the first World Cup without them.

Whose 201 not out against Afghanistan in 2023 rescued Australia from a losing position?

Glenn Maxwell, barely able to run through cramps, made the first ODI double century in a chase, adding an unbroken 202 with Pat Cummins.

Who scored 137 in the 2023 final to become the third Australian with a century in a World Cup final?

Travis Head fell two runs short of victory after a 192-run stand with Marnus Labuschagne, beating an India side unbeaten all tournament.

Who set the record for most runs in a single World Cup with 765 in 2023?

Virat Kohli was named player of the tournament and passed the record for ODI centuries with his 50th.

As of 2025, which spinner is second on the all-time World Cup wicket list, behind the record of 71?

Muttiah Muralitharan, a 1996 World Cup winner, also holds the record for most ODI wickets, 534.

Who has scored the most World Cup runs, 2,278, and is the only player past 2,000?

Sachin Tendulkar played a record six World Cups, shared with Javed Miandad, and finally won the title in 2011.

Who has played the most World Cup matches, 46, and captained in the most, 29?

Ricky Ponting captained Australia to titles in 2003 and 2007, making 140 not out in the first of those finals.

Who holds the record for most World Cup centuries, seven?

Rohit Sharma hit five centuries at the 2019 World Cup alone, the most in a single tournament.

Which wicketkeeper holds the World Cup record for most dismissals, with 54?

Kumar Sangakkara also holds the World Cup stumpings record, 13, and became the first to hit four straight World Cup hundreds, in 2015.

In which city did South Africa post 428/5 against Sri Lanka in 2023, the highest World Cup total?

In Delhi, Aiden Markram reached a century off 49 balls, then the fastest in World Cup history.

Which stadium, the largest cricket ground in the world, hosted the 2023 World Cup final?

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad holds 132,000, and 92,453 watched Australia beat previously unbeaten India.

Which 2027 World Cup co-host was denied an automatic place because it is an ICC associate member?

Namibia co-hosts the tournament but, as a non-full member, must earn its place through the standard qualifying pathway.

Which England captain helped launch the first Women's World Cup, two years before the men's?

Rachael Heyhoe Flint secured funding from businessman Jack Hayward, then made a half-century as England beat Australia in the deciding round-robin match.

Which England fast bowler, who made his ODI debut that May, bowled the super over in the 2019 World Cup final?

Jofra Archer, born in Barbados, bowled New Zealand's super over, and they could only match England's 15.

Which captain made 69 not out and took 4/42 in his side's shock 1983 World Cup win over Australia?

Duncan Fletcher was man of the match at Trent Bridge, in an upset Wisden called a bigger surprise than any in the previous two World Cups.

At which stadium did MS Dhoni hit the six that sealed India's 2011 World Cup title?

At Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India became the first team to win the World Cup on home soil.