60 free Cricket World Cup trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been played thirteen times since England hosted the first Prudential Cup in 1975, and this quiz walks through all of them. It covers the West Indies' back-to-back wins under Clive Lloyd, India's 66-1 upset at Lord's in 1983, Pakistan's 1992 triumph at the MCG, Sri Lanka's chase in Lahore, Australia's three titles in a row under Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, Dhoni's six at the Wankhede, the tied 2019 final settled on boundaries, and Travis Head's century in Ahmedabad. There are questions on the trophy itself, on the odd formats the tournament has tried (Super Sixes, Super Eights, the 1992 rain rule), on the associate nations who upset the big teams, and on the record holders: Sachin Tendulkar's 2,278 runs, Glenn McGrath's 71 wickets, Martin Guptill's 237 not out, Rohit Sharma's seven centuries and Virat Kohli's 765 runs in a single tournament. If you want the wider sport, our general cricket quiz covers Tests, the laws and the T20 game. About a third of the questions are easy for anyone who follows the tournament, a third are medium and the rest are for people who remember who was player of the match in each final. Every answer is checked against the tournament and final reference pages, and each question carries its source.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which ground hosted the first three World Cup finals?
Lord's
England hosted the first three tournaments because it was the only nation with the resources to stage them.
Q 02The first three World Cups were officially known by the name of which sponsor?
Prudential
The insurer's name gave the tournament its first identity, the Prudential Cup, before Reliance sponsored the 1987 edition in India and Pakistan.
Q 03How many overs did each side receive in the 1975, 1979 and 1983 World Cups?
60
Matches were played in whites with red balls; the cut to 50 overs came in 1987 because of shorter subcontinental daylight.
Q 04Which composite team joined the six Test nations and Sri Lanka in the eight-team 1975 tournament?
East Africa
South Africa was the notable absentee, banned from international cricket because of apartheid.
Q 05By how many runs did the holders beat England in the 1979 final to retain the title?
92
England lost their last eight wickets for 11 runs chasing 287.
Q 06Which captain scored a century off 82 balls in the 1975 final?
Clive Lloyd
He was dropped on 26 and went on to make 102, sharing a 149-run stand with Kanhai in the veteran's last international.
Q 07Which Australian left-arm seamer took 5/48 in the 1975 final, following six wickets in the semi-final?
Gary Gilmour
Gilmour's 6/14 against England at Headingley remained the best World Cup figures for years.
Q 08Which opener was the first batsman dismissed hit-wicket in an ODI, in the 1975 final?
Roy Fredericks
He hooked Dennis Lillee for six but trod on his stumps in the follow-through.
Q 09Who scored 138 in the 1979 final and was named man of the match?
Viv Richards
England then collapsed from 183/2 to 194 all out, losing eight wickets for 11 runs.
Q 10What odds were India given at the start of the 1983 final?
66-1
India had won only one match in the previous two World Cups, against East Africa.
Q 11Who was man of the match in the 1983 final for 26 runs and three wickets?
Mohinder Amarnath
India defended just 183, bowling the two-time champions out for 140.
Q 12Kapil Dev's famous 175 not out in 1983 came against which team, after India had slumped to 17/5?
Zimbabwe
The BBC was on strike that day at Tunbridge Wells, so no footage of the innings exists.
Q 13The 1987 tournament, the first outside England, was co-hosted by which two nations?
India and Pakistan
It was also the first World Cup played over 50 overs a side.
Q 21Which hosts were losing the 1996 semi-final at Eden Gardens when crowd trouble handed it to Sri Lanka?
India
India had lost eight wickets for 120 chasing 252 when bottles started flying.
Q 22In which city was the 1996 final played, the first World Cup final won by the chasing side?
Lahore
Sri Lanka chased 242 with 22 balls to spare at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Q 23Who scored 107 not out and took three wickets to be man of the match in the 1996 final?
Aravinda de Silva
Jayasuriya, whose hitting at the top of the order redefined the format, was named man of the series.
Q 14By how many runs did Australia beat England in the 1987 final at Eden Gardens?
7
It stayed the closest final for 32 years, until the 2019 tie.
Q 15Which England captain fell to a reverse sweep off Allan Border in the 1987 final?
Mike Gatting
The shot ended a 69-run stand with Bill Athey and swung the match Australia's way.
Q 16Which World Cup was the first to feature coloured clothing, white balls and day/night matches?
1992
It was also the first held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first to include a readmitted South Africa.
Q 17The 1992 rain rule left South Africa needing how many runs off the last ball against England?
22
The target had been a gettable 23 off 13 balls before the interruption.
Q 18Who captained Pakistan to the 1992 title at the MCG?
Imran Khan
It was his last international match; his final ball dismissed Richard Illingworth to seal the win.
Q 19Who was man of the match in the 1992 final for 3/49 and 33 off 18 balls?
Wasim Akram
His two wickets in successive balls, Lamb and Lewis, broke England's resistance.
Q 20Which New Zealand captain opened the bowling with spinner Dipak Patel in 1992?
Martin Crowe
Crowe's tactics took New Zealand to the semi-final, where an injury kept him off the field during Pakistan's chase.
Q 24The 1999 tournament, mostly in England, also visited four other countries. Which was NOT one?
Denmark
Wales also staged matches; it was the first World Cup to use the Super Six stage.
Q 25Which South African was run out to tie the 1999 semi-final after a mix-up with Lance Klusener?
Allan Donald
Australia went through on their superior Super Six finish and beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the final.
Q 26Who took four wickets to be man of the match in the 1999 final?
Shane Warne
Pakistan were bowled out for 132 and Australia won inside 21 overs.
Q 27The permanent ICC World Cup trophy, introduced in 1999, was made in London by which firm?
Garrard & Co
Its three silver columns are shaped as stumps and bails, and the golden globe's seam is tilted like the Earth's axis.
Q 28The base of the World Cup trophy introduced in 1999 has space for how many winners' names?
20
It stands 60 centimetres tall and weighs about 11 kilograms; the ICC keeps the original and the winners get a replica.
Q 29Which associate nation reached the semi-finals in 2003, the best result ever by a non-Test team?
Kenya
New Zealand's refusal to travel to Nairobi handed Kenya a forfeit that helped them through.
Q 30The 2003 final produced the largest total ever made in a World Cup final. What was it?
359/2
The captain's 140 not out and Damien Martyn's 88 not out came in an unbroken stand of 234; India were bowled out for 234, losing by 125 runs.