The World Cup has travelled places in 15 countries so far. The first three and the 2007 World Cup were four occasions when a single country hosted the event but the rest have been co-hosted with two or more countries getting together to organise the tournament. In this article, I will present the illustrious history of the Cricket World Cup.
# 1975 in England: The first ever tournament was played in England with 8 teams participating in the tournament namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and East Africa. The tournament had 15 games in total with West Indies beating Australia in the finals at the historic Lords to become the inaugural World Champions.
# 1979 in England: in the second edition The East Africa was replaced by Canada. Billed as favourites to win the tournament, West Indies once again matched expectations to lift their second successive World Cup under Clive Lloyd.
# 1983 in England: Zimbabwe made their maiden array in this tournament and though the number of teams still remained 8, the matches increased from 15 to 27. West Indies were outright favourites to win the trophy for a third successive time but underdogs India upset them in the finals to become the second nation to win the World Cup.
#The World Cup of 1987 was played in India and Pakistan co-hosting the event. The game was also shortened from 60 to 50 overs but the format remained the same as that of the 1983 World Cup. The final still remains the closest to date as Allan Border's Australia trounced England by 7 runs to lift their first ever World Cup title.
#In this edition that was played in Australia and New Zealand in 1992, There were several changes such as the introduction of white balls and black sight screens. This was also the first cup where the game would be played out under floodlights.the name of the game at the 1992 World Cup as cricket changed from its traditional white flannels to coloured clothing. The tournament would also see its fair share of controversies as long returnee South Africa was knocked out of the semi-finals after rain rules left them requiring 21 of just 1 delivery. Pakistan under Imran Khan beat England in the finals thus becoming the second Asian country to lift the trophy.
#The 1996 World Cup organized in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka once again found its way into the Indian sub continent with the teams significantly increasing from 9 to 12. Sri Lanka's brain child of going all out attack in the first 15 overs when the field was up would henceforth go on to revolutionise the game. Sri Lanka went on to win the tournament and in the process also became the first host country to have achieved the feat of a winning a World Cup.
#The 1999 World Cup was primarily hosted in England but Wales, Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland also organised a few games. This tourney is however remembered for the semi-final game between Australia and South Africa where needing 1 run to win, a horrible mixup between last wicket pair Klusener and Donald resulted in the latter being run out and the game being tied. Australia would qualify for the final by virtue of a superior net run rate and eventually be crowned World Champions.
#in The 2003 World Cup that organized in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe, The teams participating in the tournament increased to 14 but the format was the same as that of the 1999 edition. The tournament started controversially with star leg spinner Shane Warne being sent back after being tested positive for drug usage and it was also one full of upsets as South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England failed to make it past the first round while underdogs Kenya went on to make it to the semi-finals. However in this tournament, Australia was a cut above the rest as they proceeded to lift the cup without being beaten even once in the tournament.
#This 2007 tournament organized in West Indies was severely criticised for its longevity as it had 51 games, the longest to be played at World Cups. The fact that two of the most followed teams, India and Pakistan were knocked out in the group stages also didn't help matters. 16 teams participated in the tournament and just like Super Sixes, the Super Eight concept would involve which would be followed by the semi-final and final. Australia once again remained unbeaten throughout the tournament as they went on to pick up their third successive crown.
#The 2011 World Cup organized in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka was originally planned to be co-hosted by the four Asian giants, the political turmoil in Pakistan forced ICC to remove the nation from the list. The tournament with 14 participants proved to be a grand success with India under MS Dhoni going on to lift their second World Cup after 28 long years.
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