1992 Cricket World Cup
The 1991-92 cricket season was a first in many aspects:
*Day/night matches were introduced.
*White cricket balls and coloured team uniforms for one-dayers introduced.
*A controversial system of recalculating team totals for a reduced number of overs for matches affected by rain was introduced. See external link for rain-rules.
*It was the first World Cup to feature an African Test nation - South Africa.
*It was the first World Cup held in the Southern hemisphere.
*Many new techniques were invented
** pinch-hitters (Batsmen sent in the early stages (higher order) to step up the run-rate by hitting the ball all around).
** New Zealand opening with spin-bowlers to confuse the batsmen higher order who are used fast bowlers trying to extract much speed with the new ball.
The format was changed from 1987 to accommodate South Africa. 9 countries participated in the event. In the league stage every team played every other team. This resulted in the huge increase in the number of matches as there weren't groups. The top four teams qualified for the semifinals, whose winners played the final.
The countries participating were all Test nations, with the exception of Zimbabwe:
* Australia
* England
* India
* New Zealand
* Pakistan
* South Africa
* Sri Lanka
* West Indies
* Zimbabwe
The 1992 World Cup was lifted by Imran Khan, captain of Pakistan, who won against England by 22 runs in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), after initially faltering and barely managing to qualify for the semifinal. The other semifinalists were New Zealand and South Africa. South Africa lost to England after a target of 22 runs off 13 balls was changed by rain rules. Rules initially reduced play by one over. Bad weather further reduced the odds to 21 off 1 ball due to rain. South Africa lost, and thus did not make an appearance in the final of their first World Cup. Rules were changed after this to the Duckworth-Lewis method.
A notable feature of this World cup was the innovative tactics employed by New Zealand captain Martin Crowe, who opened his team's bowling with a spinner, Dipak Patel rather than with a quickie, as was the practice. Another innovation was the opening of the New Zealand batting by pinch hitters.
Group Stages
Group Stage Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | NR | T | RD | RR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.59 | 4.76 | |
| 11 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.47 | 4.36 | |
| 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.14 | 4.36 | |
| 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.17 | 4.33 | |
| 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.20 | 4.22 | |
| 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 4.14 | |
| 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.14 | 4.95 | |
| 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | −0.68 | 4.21 | |
| 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | −1.14 | 4.03 |
New Zealand 248-6 (50 ov); Australia 211 (48.1 ov). New Zealand won by 37 runs.
* England v India at Perth - February 22, 1992
England 236-9 (50 ov); India 227 (49.2 ov). England won by 9 runs.
* Pakistan v West Indies at Melbourne - February 23, 1992
Pakistan 220-2 (50 ov); West Indies 221-0 (46.5 ov). West Indies won by 10 wickets.
* Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at New Plymouth - February 23, 1992
Zimbabwe 312-4 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 313-7 (49.2 ov). Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets.
* New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Hamilton - February 25, 1992
Sri Lanka 206-9 (50 ov); New Zealand 210-4 (48.2 ov). New Zealand won by 6 wickets.
* Australia v South Africa at Sydney - February 26, 1992
Australia 170-9 (49 ov); South Africa 171-1 (46.5 ov). South Africa won by 9 wickets.
* England v West Indies at Melbourne - February 27, 1992
West Indies 157 (49.2 ov); England 160-4 (39.5 ov). England won by 6 wickets.
* Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Hobart - February 27, 1992
Pakistan 254-4 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 201-7 (50 ov). Pakistan won by 53 runs.
* India v Sri Lanka at Mackay - February 28, 1992India 1-0 (0.2 ov). No result.
* New Zealand v South Africa at Auckland - February 29, 1992
South Africa 190-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 191-3 (34.3 ov). New Zealand won by 7 wickets.
* West Indies v Zimbabwe at Brisbane - February 29, 1992
West Indies 264-8 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 189-7 (50 ov). West Indies won by 75 runs.
* Australia v India at Brisbane - March 1, 1992
Australia 237-9 (50 ov); India 234 (47 ov). Australia won by 1 run.
* England v Pakistan at Adelaide - March 1, 1992
Pakistan 74 (40.2 ov); England 24-1 (8 ov). No result.
* South Africa v Sri Lanka at Wellington - March 2, 1992
South Africa 195 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 198-7 (49.5 ov). Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets.
* New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Napier - March 3, 1992
New Zealand 162-3 (20.5 ov); Zimbabwe 105-7 (18 ov). New Zealand won by 48 runs.
* India v Pakistan at Sydney - March 4, 1992
India 216-7 (49 ov); Pakistan 173 (48.1 ov). India won by 43 runs.
* Australia v England at Sydney - March 5, 1992
Australia 171 (49 ov); England 173-2 (40.5 ov). England won by 8 wickets.
* South Africa v West Indies at Christchurch - March 5, 1992
South Africa 200-8 (50 ov); West Indies 136 (38.4 ov). South Africa won by 64 runs.
* Australia v Sri Lanka at Adelaide - March 7, 1992
Sri Lanka 189-9 (50 ov); Australia 190-3 (44 ov). Australia won by 7 wickets.
* India v Zimbabwe at Hamilton - March 7, 1992
India 203-7 (32 ov); Zimbabwe 104-1 (19.1 ov). India won by 55 runs.
* New Zealand v West Indies at Auckland - March 8, 1992
West Indies 203-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 206-5 (48.3 ov). New Zealand won by 5 wickets.
* Pakistan v South Africa at Brisbane - March 8, 1992
South Africa 211-7 (50 ov); Pakistan 173-8 (36 ov). South Africa won by 20 runs.
* England v Sri Lanka at Ballarat - March 9, 1992
England 280-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 174 (44 ov). England won by 106 runs.
* India v West Indies at Wellington - March 10, 1992
India 197 (49.4 ov); West Indies 195-5 (40.2 ov). West Indies won by 5 wickets.
* South Africa v Zimbabwe at Canberra - March 10, 1992
Zimbabwe 163 (48.3 ov); South Africa 164-3 (45.1 ov). South Africa won by 7 wickets.
* Australia v Pakistan at Perth - March 11, 1992
Pakistan 220-9 (50 ov); Australia 172 (45.2 ov). Pakistan won by 48 runs.
* England v South Africa at Melbourne - March 12, 1992
South Africa 236-4 (50 ov); England 226-7 (40.5 ov). England won by 3 wickets.
* New Zealand v India at Dunedin - March 12, 1992
India 230-6 (50 ov); New Zealand 231-6 (47.1 ov). New Zealand won by 4 wickets.
* Sri Lanka v West Indies at Berri - March 13, 1992
West Indies 268-8 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 177-9 (50 ov). West Indies won by 91 runs.
* Australia v Zimbabwe at Hobart - March 14, 1992
Australia 265-6 (46 ov); Zimbabwe 137 (41.4 ov). Australia won by 128 runs.
* India v South Africa at Adelaide - March 15, 1992
India 180-6 (30 ov); South Africa 181-4 (29.1 ov). South Africa won by 6 wickets.
* New Zealand v England at Wellington - March 15, 1992
England 200-8 (50 ov); New Zealand 201-3 (40.5 ov). New Zealand won by 7 wickets.
* Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Perth - March 15, 1992
Sri Lanka 212-6 (50 ov); Pakistan 216-6 (49.1 ov). Pakistan won by 4 wickets.
* Australia v West Indies at Melbourne - March 18, 1992
Australia 216-6 (50 ov); West Indies 159 (42.4 ov). Australia won by 57 runs.
* England v Zimbabwe at Albury - March 18, 1992
Zimbabwe 134 (46.1 ov); England 125 (49.1 ov). Zimbabwe won by 9 runs.
* New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch - March 18, 1992
New Zealand 166 (48.2 ov); Pakistan 167-3 (44.4 ov). Pakistan won by 7 wickets.
Semi-Finals
* New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland - March 21, 1992New Zealand 262-7 (50 ov); Martin Crowe 91 Ken Rutherford 50
Pakistan 264-6 (49 ov). Inzamam-ul-Haq 60 Javed Miandad 57 not out
Pakistan won by 4 wickets.
* England v South Africa at Sydney - March 22, 1992
England 252-6 (45 ov); Graeme Hick 83
South Africa 232-6 (43 ov).Andrew Hudson 46
England won by 19 runs.
Final
World Cup Final 1992: England v Pakistan at Melbourne - March 25, 1992Pakistan 249-6 (50 ov); Imran Khan 72 Javed Miandad 58 Derek Pringle 3-22England 227 (49.2 ov). Neil Fairbrother 62 Mushtaq Ahmed 3-41 Wasim Akram 3-49
Pakistan won by 22 runs. Leading run scorer Martin Crowe, New Zealand 456 runs
Leading wicket taker Wasim Akram, Pakistan 16 wickets
