The Evolution of the Cricket World Cup

One of the many moments that lit the Cup up in 1992.

Thanks to the T20 World Cup, which hits our television screens every second year now, cricket lovers these days are never short of World Cup excitement. However, when one talks of THE World Cup, the only World Cup that comes to mind is the ODI World Cup. No T20 World Cup or big money franchise league can match the tournament in its aura. Despite attracting criticism and evoking debates over the years, the ODI Cricket World Cup remains the tournament that cricket lovers across the world wait for with bated breath. Until and unless the ICC Test Championship materializes and becomes a spectacular success, its position as the Numero Uno of cricket tournament remains unchallenged. It is for this particular reason that this Cup means so much for the teams who fight for it.

From its infancy days in the 70’s to its 12^th edition Down Under, the tournament has seen a sea of change. What started off as an exciting experiment is now the biggest prize in the cricketing world. Like every experiment, there were some apprehensions as well as some nay-sayers to begin with for the Cricket World Cup. This became well evident in the first match of the competition’s history itself when in response to England’s mammoth 334, India, and especially Sunil Gavaskar showed little intention to chase down the total and win the game. However this is not to say the tournament wasn’t competitive. Despite some incredible performances like those by Gilmour with the ball and Vivian Richards with the bat, it must be noted that 70’s was a time when teams were still coming to terms with the new format, and also with the concept of a multilateral competition. The first few editions thus saw the team successful in the longer version of the game take the honors in this tournament of the shorter version as well. 

It was in the 80’s that the Cricket World Cup started shaping up as the premier tournament it would become in a couple of decades. India’s toppling of the mighty and seemingly infallible West Indies on that fateful day of 25^th June, 1983 not only added half a billion lovers to the game but also ended West Indian dominance on Cricket, paving way for more open and competitive editions in future. By 1987, there was no doubting that the tournament was here to stay and that too in its new 50 over avatar. With the West Indies surprisingly failing to advance beyond the group stage, the Reliance World Cup in the subcontinent opened up in a big way. The competition standards went a notch higher in this edition as it was lit up by some incredible finishes (a special mention to Lamb’s Gujranwala jailbreak against West Indies) and brilliant individual performances (Richards 181 and Gavaskar’s redemptive ton against Kiwis). 

In 1992, fifteen years after rejecting Kerry Packer’s ‘Pyjama Cricket’, Cricket finally took the plunge as it sought to reinvent itself with a grand tournament that was as much a celebration in itself as it was a tournament. No previous World Cup matched the 92 World Cup in its visual appeal. It was a World Cup made for the TV viewers. The white ball and the colored clothing complimented the vast floodlit stadiums with lush green outfields beautifully well. Not only did the color of the ball and jersey change but of the game too. Field restrictions were put in place to facilitate faster run scoring and higher scores. Two new balls from both the ends were employed to keep the swing alive till the back end of the innings. Besides, the cricket grounds of Australia and New Zealand were a sight to behold. While the G’ under lights looked as special a spectacle as any in the world, the small park like grounds of New Zealand with their grassbanks provided for nice amusement along with high scoring opportunities. In all, the stage was perfectly set for some thrilling action on the field. And it was duly delivered by the players in the middle.

B&H World Cup set a new benchmark in terms of innovations as well as performances. It was special in the way in which yesterday’s rookies turned into champions of tomorrow in this World Cup. The names that were to dominate Cricket in the next decade left their first mark on the big stage here. Sachin Tendulkar(283 runs @ 47.18), Brian Lara(333 runs @ 47.57), Inzamam-ul-Haq(60 off 37 balls in semi final), Wasim Akram (18 wickets @ 18.77), Allan Donald (13 wickets @ 25.30)) all announced themselves on the big stage in the 92 World Cup.

The 1992 WC contributed in a big way to the development of ODI Cricket in the coming decades. The innovation brought in by the administrators of the game was duly matched by the captains as they came up with innovations like the Pinchhitter, the spinner opening the bowling, slower balls (Pakistan’s Aqib Javed’s slower ball to dismiss Greatbach is one of my most favorite memories of the tournament!).

The next four tournaments held in four different continents added their own unique colors to the tournament. The biggest improvement came in the technology department. However, it must be pointed out that as much as it was expected to keep controversies at bay, technology brought with itself its own share of controversies to the World Cup. South Africa, robbed by Benaud’s Rain Rule in 92 and found heartbreakingly behind on net run rate in 1999 would testify. Yet, the TV Umpire’s intervention has definitely brought more fairness to the game.

However, with regard to the playing standards, two important issues of debate came up with these World Cups. ICC’s attempts to expand the game to new frontiers has been met with flak as many are of the opinion that more test playing versus non test playing nation matches bring down the standard of the Cricket in the tournament, the World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 a case in point. Yet, the exposure received by the Associates in such tournaments is imperative for their development. Besides, the unequal contest between the bat and ball has become a source of worry for cricket lovers all around the world. The game, with its new rules, flat pitches, small grounds and heavy bats is gradually tilting towards the batsmen. This makes it a little difficult to judge whether the playing standards have actually gone up or is it the way the administrators want it to be to attract more eyeballs. 

It is time the governing body of the game takes both the issues seriously to dish out a fair and competitive tournament every four years. Surely, Cricket World Cup has come a long way from its first edition in 1975. Yet to think that all the changes that it has seen have been in the right direction would be wrong. Its imperative that ICC acts fast to save the game from turning to mere entertainment.