Cricket World Cup 2023 is about to start on 5 October in an exciting match-up between England and New Zealand. Fans have been waiting for this for the past four years for the World Cup again. It is the time when everyone can enjoy cricket to the fullest. It is a festival.
Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Predictions
And what makes this festival even more interesting are cricket stats. These numbers are interesting. They tell a story words cannot describe. You can look at the strike rate of a batsman or the economy rate of a bowler and can tell what was happening to both of them on the cricket ground.
Check: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Venues
Analysts use cricket stats to assess a player’s performance or perform a SWOT analysis. We will look at these numbers and see what they are cooking. Who has the most runs, who picked the most wickets, and which player has been the best fielder?
Related: ICC World Cup Schedule 2023 PDF Download |Men’s one Day World Cup
The Cricket World Cup has been around since 1975, and trust me, there are a lot of numbers to look for. So let’s get right into it and waste no more time on this jibber jabber.
An Overview of Cricket World Cup Statistics
Since 1975, there have been 12 world cups. The Aussies have been the most successful team in the history of this tournament, bagging five titles so far. Will they also pick up the title in the 2023 edition of this tournament? That is a question for another day.
Check: 2023 Cricket World Cup Teams List – UPDATED
Here is a small overview of all the Cricket World Cups so far.
| Year | Participants | Winners | Runners up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 8 | West Indies | Australia |
| 1979 | 8 | West Indies | England |
| 1983 | 8 | India | West Indies |
| 1987 | 8 | Australia | England |
| 1992 | 9 | Pakistan | England |
| 1996 | 12 | Sri Lanka | Australia |
| 1999 | 12 | Australia | Pakistan |
| 2003 | 14 | Australia | India |
| 2007 | 16 | Australia | Sri Lanka |
| 2011 | 14 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 2015 | 14 | Australia | New Zealand |
| 2019 | 10 | England | New Zealand |
Team Performances
Without even an ounce of doubt, Australia has been the most dominant force in the World Cup. No team has ever won the tournament consecutively three times in a row. The only team that is second to Australia in that regard is West Indies. They won the first two editions of the tournament consecutively.
However, we never talk about the team that has been runners-up for the times, have we? England, the current world champion, has been the ranked 2 team for three teams. Australia, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand have been the runners-up two times.
Regarding the highest total, Australia scored 417/6 against Afghanistan in the 2015 World Cup. Here are some of the first innings scores set by different teams.
| Team | Score | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 417/6 | Afghanistan |
| India | 413/5 | Bermuda |
| South Africa | 411/4 | Ireland |
| South Africa | 408/5 | West Indies |
| Sri Lanka | 398/5 | Kenya |
It is important to note that South Africa scored these runs in the 2015 World Cup. THEY DID ALL OF THIS IN A SINGLE TOURNAMENT. South African is a dangerous team in group stages.
Here are some of the lowest totals by the teams in World Cups throughout the years.
| Team | Score | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 36 | Sri Lanka |
| Canada | 45 | England |
| Namibia | 45 | Australia |
| Bangladesh | 58 | West Indies |
| Scotland | 68 | West Indies |
Batting records
ICC loves batters. Somehow, the rules have become batting-friendly over the years because the sponsors and broadcasters think this is what attracts the audience.
Partly, yes. But can you take out the exciting Fast bowling from the game?
Hey, wait, I just had a banter on batting-friendly conditions here for nothing. Let’s talk about the batting records. You will see the numbers going up in recent years. I thought you might want to know the reason.
I AM NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE BATTER’S HARD WORK.
These are the players that have the most runs in World Cups.
| Player | Runs | Innings |
|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2278 | 44 |
| Ricky Ponting | 1743 | 42 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 1532 | 35 |
| BC Lara | 1225 | 33 |
| AB de Villiars | 1207 | 22 |
Here are the highest individual scores.
| Player | Runs | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| MJ Guptill | 237 (223) | West Indies |
| Chris Gayle | 215 (212) | Zimbabwe |
| G Kirsten | 188 (210) | UAE |
| SC Ganguly | 183 (210) | Sri Lanka |
| Viv Richards | 181 | Sri Lanka |
Here’s the record for the most runs in a single World Cup edition.
| Player | Runs | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 673 | 2003 |
| Mathew Hayden | 659 | 2007 |
| Rohit Sharma | 648 | 2019 |
| David Warner | 647 | 2019 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 606 | 2019 |
Sachin Tendulkar is an undisputed King of the batsmen in the World Cups.
Bowling records
Something is exciting about the bowlers. That swing of the white ball, the spin in the middle overs, the reverse swinging yorkers, the bouncers at 90 MPH, and the sound of the wickets falling. You cannot have a perfect match without a proper display from the bowlers.
Let’s have some bowling records in the World Cups. First of all, here are the top wicket-takers in the history of this tournament.
| Players | Innings | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| GD McGrath | 39 | 71 |
| M Muralidaran | 39 | 68 |
| L Malinga | 28 | 56 |
| Wasim Akram | 36 | 55 |
| M Starc | 18 | 49 |
Most of these bowlers are from the old days, except Starc. You can count Malinga as someone who has witnessed both eras.
While McGrath stands at the pinnacle of bowling in the World Cups. Although you could debate, Wasim Akram could have double the number of wickets he has right now if Pakistan’s fielders did a decent job and DRS was in the play.
Here is the record for best bowling figures in a single World Cup match
| Player | Figures | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| GD McGrath | 7-15 | Namibia |
| AJ Bichel | 7-20 | England |
| TG Southee | 7-33 | England |
| WW Davis | 7-51 | Australia |
| GJ Gilmour | 6-14 | England |
Wow, it seems like England likes to be the punching bag of these bowlers all the time.
Here are the most wickets in a single World Cup tournament
| Player | Wickets | Strike Rate | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Starc | 27 | 20.51 | 2019 |
| GD McGrath | 26 | 18.65 | 2007 |
| Chaminda Vaas | 23 | 22.95 | 2003 |
| M Muralidaran | 23 | 22.08 | 2007 |
| SW Tait | 23 | 22.04 | 2007 |
Fielding and wicketkeeping records
Here are some of the best fielders in the history of this tournament
| Players | Innings | Catches |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | 46 | 28 |
| Joe Root | 17 | 20 |
| ST Jayasuriya | 38 | 18 |
| Chris Gayle | 35 | 17 |
| Faf du Plessis | 22 | 16 |
Now, it’s time for the best wicketkeepers so far.
| Player | Innings | Dismissals |
|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara | 36 | 54 |
| Adam Gilchrist | 31 | 52 |
| MS Dhoni | 29 | 42 |
| Brendon McCullum | 25 | 32 |
| Mark Bouncher | 25 | 31 |
| Moin Khan | 20 | 30 |
Conclusion
These were some World Cup stats over the years. But keep in mind, there are many unsung heroes that we couldn’t include in the list. Numbers cannot tell the whole story. Some innings can have a more profound impact on the audience than the highest score. Or, certain wickets can have shaped cricket culture in specific teams for decades.
This was just a fun little article for cricket nerds like me. I hope you like it. If you did, share it with your friends and turn on our notifications.