ICC World Cup 2019

The ICC Men’s World Cup is international cricket’s 50-over tournament held every four years. Australia are five-time champions, while India and the West Indies have both won two titles.

The ICC Men’s World Cup used to played over 60-overs a side, that mirrored the international cricket featured at that time, and this happened over the first three editions in 1975, 1979 and 1983. West Indies won the first two tournaments and would have made it three victories in a row had it not been for India’s stunning showing in the final of the 1983 edition.

After beating Australia and England respectively in the first two editions, West Indies failed to chase down India’s 183 in the final of the third. All these tournaments were played in England.

The fourth edition was held in India and Pakistan, the first time it was played outside of the UK and the hosts were favourites to make it to the final. Instead, Australia beat India and England beat Pakistan in the final to qualify for the title-decider in which the Aussies came up trumps.

In 1992, a competition held in Australia and New Zealand, Pakistan overcame a difficult start and with the help of some luck, overturned things to go on to win the title. They beat England in the final.

The 1996 edition was held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka became the first host nation to win the title, beating the Aussies in the final. They also won the World Cup by going through the tournament without defeat, beating India twice in India in the process.

Following this, Australia went on a three-tournament long title-winning streak. In 1999, they had their issues but like Pakistan in 1992, they completed a brilliant comeback to beat Pakistan in the final. This was followed by the 2003 edition in which they beat India in the final and then crushed Sri Lanka in the 2007 final to register their fourth title overall and third in a row.

India bucked this Aussie trend by winning the 2011 World Cup, beating Australia in the quarter-finals, Pakistan in the semi-finals and Sri Lanka in the final. This was their second title, joining West Indies and Australia as the only sides to have won the title more than once.

The previous World Cup was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015. New Zealand beat Australia in the league stage of the tournament but Australia bounced back to rout New Zealand in the final to win their fifth World Cup title.

Previous Winners:

• 1975: West Indies
• 1979: West Indies
• 1983: India
• 1987: Australia
• 1992: Pakistan
• 1996: Sri Lanka
• 1999: Australia
• 2003: Australia
• 2007: Australia
• 2011: India
• 2015: Australia
• 2019: England

Current ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Format & Schedule

Ten teams will participate in the 2019 World Cup. Seven of these 10 teams along with the eighth, hosts England, were given a direct entry into the World Cup based on their rankings while two others, Afghanistan and West Indies came through a qualifying tournament to make it through to the World Cup main.