Cricket World Cup 2019: Know Origin And Facts About The Sporting Event

One of the most awaited sporting events around the world, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will start from today. All the cricket frenzies will be glued to their television set to keep themselves updated with the match. The event is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) every four years. The rules of the game see preliminary qualification rounds that lead to the finals. The first World Cup was contested as a series of one-day matches comprising of 60 overs per side. The finals of the first World Cup saw West Indies defeat Australia by 17 runs to take home the inaugural trophy. Interestingly, the first cricket World Cup for women was held in England in 1973, two years before the men's format even started! The cricket World Cup for men was first held on June 7, 1975 and was hosted by England.

The year 1979 saw the introduction of the ICC Trophy competition to select non-Test playing teams for the World Cup. While Sri Lanka and Canada qualified, ultimately West Indies went on to lift the trophy for a second consecutive time, defeating hosts England. The 1983 event was once again hosted by England. The year saw the introduction of Zimbabwe to the league and also saw the introduction of the fielding circles. This was the year, under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, India defeated West Indies by 43 runs to life the World Cup trophy.

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The first World Cup organised outside England was held in India and Pakistan in 1987. The 1987 event also saw a reduction in the number of overs for both sides to 50. Australia beat England by 7 runs to win the trophy.

In 2007, Australia became the first and only country to have won the coveted trophy for three consecutive years when they defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs. They had earlier won in 1999 by defeating Pakistan and in 2003 by defeating India.

Here Are Few Other Facts About ICC World Cup

Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the World Cup in 1992. This was the first ever world cup which was hosted by the Southern Hemisphere countries.

Chetan Sharma of India is the first bowler to claim a hat trick in a World Cup in 1987. He dismissed New Zealand's Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Evan Chatfield in three successive deliveries.

Clive Lloyd and Ricky Ponting are the only captains who have won the world cup twice. Lloyd in 1975 and 1979, and Ponting in 2003 and 2007.

The venues for the World Cup finals are Lord’s (1975, 1979, 1983, 1999), Eden Gardens (1987), Melbourne Cricket Stadium (1992), Gaddafi Stadium (1996), The Wanderers (2003), Kensington Oval (2007) and Wankhede Stadium (2011)

Sachin Tendulkar of India is the highest run getter in the World Cup history with 2, 278 runs in 6 World Cups, while Glenn McGrath of Australia has claimed the highest number of wickets in the history of world cups which is standing at 72.