New Zealand in the 1983 Cricket World Cup (Part 1)

The 1983 Cricket World Cup was also called as the Prudential Cup, 1983. It was played from 9th June 1983 to 25th June 1983. Similar to the earlier two World Cups, eight nations took part in this championship. Eventually, India won this cup by beating West Indies in the final. England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand were the teams in Group A.

Group match against England

The first group match of New Zealand was against England. It was played on 9th June 1983 at the Oval, London. England batted first and amassed 322 runs after losing 6 wickets in 60 overs. The main contributor was Allan Lamb who faced 105 balls and made 102. Martin Snedden took 2 wickets in 12 overs, but was hit for 105 runs. New Zealand could not stand up to the challenge and collapsed to 216 runs in 59 overs. However, Martin Crowe sparkled and hit 97 runs in 118 deliveries. Bob Willis took 2 wickets for just 9 runs in 7 overs. Allan Lamb was honored as the Man of the Match. England won this match by 106 runs.

Group match against Pakistan

New Zealand played its second group match on 11th June 1983 at Edgbaston, Birmingham and the opponent was Pakistan. Only 56 overs of the New Zealand innings were played on 11th June and the remaining match was played on 12th June. In 60 overs, New Zealand could post a total of 238 for the loss of 9 wickets. The top scorer was Bruce Edgar who made 44 in 107 balls. Abdul Qadir took 4 wickets for 21 runs in 12 overs. Pakistan was all out for 186 in 55.2 overs. Abdul Qadir, who remained unbeaten on 41 after facing 68 deliveries, was the top scorer for Pakistan. Richard Hadlee bowled 9 overs, conceded 20 runs and took 3 wickets. New Zealand won this match by 52 runs but Qadir was chosen as the Man of the Match.

Group match against Sri Lanka

On 13th June 1983 at County Ground, Bristol, New Zealand played its third group match against Sri Lanka. In 56.1 overs, Sri Lanka was all out for 206, mainly due to the spell of Richard Hadlee who took 5 wickets in 10.1 overs while conceding 25 runs. Ranjan Madugalle displayed a brave effort and scored 60 runs in 87 balls. New Zealand replied by accruing 209 runs for 5 wickets in 39.2 overs. The main scorer was Geoff Howarth who faced 79 deliveries and accumulated 76 runs. Ashantha de Mel took 2 wickets in 8 overs during which 30 runs were scored. The Man of the Match award was given to Hadlee. New Zealand won this match by 5 wickets.

In its first 3 group matches, New Zealand won 2 matches and had 8 points. It stood a good chance of entering the semi final.