The most prestigious championship of One-Day International cricket, the Cricket World Cup is organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's premier governing body. Held every four years, this mega tournament has an illustrious history.
The history of Cricket World Cup can be traced back to the year 1975, the first time this championship was organized at an international level. Considered to be the biggest achievement in cricket, the World Cup has been held nine times since 1975. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies is the ninth edition of Cricket World Cup.
Before the history of Cricket World Cup was being written, cricket was passionately followed in a few countries of the world। The first-ever Test match was played in the year 1877, between Australia and England. In 1889, South Africa was also awarded with Test status.
By 1952, India, West Indies, New Zealand and Pakistan also joined the ICC and played regular Test series against each other. However, for a world championship in the league of Cricket World Cup, a five-day format was considered unsuitable.
In the early 1960s, One-day cricket started gaining popularity, courtesy English county cricket। The first-ever ODI was played in 1971 between England and Australia at Melbourne. The astounding success of the shorter version of the game led to the formation of the World Cup.
The first three Cricket World Cups were held in England, the home of cricket, as it was the only country that had the kind of infrastructure and resources required for such a big event. Sponsored by a financial services company called Prudential, the first three Cricket World Cups were known as Prudential Cup.
Eight teams participated in Cricket World Cup 1975, which was won by the inimitable West Indies. Captained by the brilliant Clive Lloyd, West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs in a thrilling final match.
In the second Cricket World Cup in 1979, the ICC allowed inclusion of non-Test playing nations, selected from a qualifier tournament. West Indies won their second World Cup, defeating England by 92 runs in the final match. After this event, the ICC decided to make the Cricket World Cup a quadrennial competition.
The last Cricket World Cup was held in West Indies in the year 2007. Won by Australia, who defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs, this World Cup was contested by 16 teams.
The following is a list of winners of previous Cricket World Cups:
1st world cup won by 1975 – West Indies
2nd world cup won by 1979 – West Indies
3rd world cup won by 1983 – India
4th world cup won by 1987 – Australia
5th world cup won by 1992 – Pakistan
6th world cup won by 1996 – Sri Lanka
7th world cup won by 1999 – Australia
8th world cup won by 2003 - Australia
9th world cup won by 2007 - Australia
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