A brief history
New Zealand's Black Caps were 1 of 16 teams competing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies during March and April 2007. The teams are divided into four groups of four, with the top two teams in each group then competing in a 'Super 8' format to determine the semi-finalists.
The first men's world tournament was played in 1975. The first three tournaments were all held in England, with the final played at Lord's in London, which is regarded as the home of cricket. The World Cup has since been played in other countries, with New Zealand co-hosting the 1992 tournament with Australia. Playing in front of enthusiastic home crowds, New Zealand won its first seven games, but was beaten in the semi-finals by the eventual winners, Pakistan. New Zealand has reached the semi-finals final of the World Cup on four other occasions (1975, 1979, 1999 and 2007).
Five nations have won the World Cup.
A Women's Cricket World Cup has been held since 1973. New Zealand lost the 1993 and 1997 finals, before triumphing over Australia in 2000. The Australian women have dominated this event, appearing in seven of the eight finals and winning it on five occasions.
Some individual and team records in the World Cup
Cricket is a sport dominated by statistics; records are kept on every aspect of the game. Here are a few highlights from World Cup history.
Batting records
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) has the highest run total, with 1796 runs overall, and he also holds the record for the most runs in a single tournament, scoring 673 in the 2003 World Cup.
- New Zealand's most successful World Cup batsman is Stephen Fleming with a total of 1075 runs. During the 2007 World Cup, Scott Styris became the most successful New Zealand batsman in a single tournament, scoring 499 runs and surpassing Martin Crowe's previous record of 456 runs, which were scored during the 1992 World Cup. Crowe was the 1992 tournament's top run scorer, a feat rewarded with the Player of the Tournament title.
- Gary Kirsten (South Africa) scored 186 not out against the United Arab Emirates in 1996.
- New Zealand's highest scorer in a game is Glenn Turner, with 171 not out against East Africa in 1975.
- Matthew Hayden of Australia scored the fastest century in World Cup history, taking only 66 balls to reach the milestone against South Africa in 2007.
- Brendan McCullum of New Zealand took only 20 balls to score the fastest 50 in World Cup history, in 2007 against Canada.
- Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly of India put on 318 runs for the second wicket against Sri Lanka in 1999.
- New Zealand's highest partnership is for the fourth wicket versus Australia in 1996 when Lee Germon and Chris Harris combined to score 168 runs.
Bowling records
- Glenn McGrath of Australia has dominated the bowling records for the World Cup, having captured more wickets than anybody else (71), and he has taken the most wickets in a single tournament, capturing 26 wickets in his final World Cup in 2007. He also holds the record for the best match figures of 7/15.
- New Zealand's best match figures belong to Shane Bond who took 6/23 against Australia in 2003.
- Chris Harris (32 wickets) holds the record for the most World Cup wickets by a New Zealander.
Highs and lows
- India piled on 413/5 against Bermuda in 2007. India's winning margin – 257 runs – is the highest of all one-day international games.
- Canada was bowled out for just 36 against Sri Lanka in 2003.
- New Zealand's highest total at the World Cup is 363/5, scored against Canada in 2007.
- New Zealand's lowest total is 112, scored against Australia in 2003.
