2007

2007

Details:

Ø     Officially called the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Ø     The ninth edition of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricket world cup.

Ø     Held from 13 March to 28 April 2007,

Ø      Took place in the West Indies.

Ø      The 16 competing teams Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe(Test playing status), Bermuda, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland(2005 ICC Trophy Qualifier).

Ø      Were initially divided into four groups, with the two best-performing teams from each group moving on to a "Super 8" format.

Ø      There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2003 World Cup (despite a field larger by two teams).

Ø      The World Cup was awarded to the West Indies via the International Cricket Council's rotational policy. It is the first time the Cricket World Cup has been held in the Caribbean despite the fact that the West Indies cricket team have been the second most successful team in past World Cups.

Ø      The United States contingent lobbied strongly for matches to be staged at its newly built cricket ground in Lauderhill, Florida, but the ICC decided to award all matches to Caribbean nations. Bids from Bermuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a second bid by Jamaica were also rejected.

Ø      There were sixteen teams in 2007 Cricket World Cup. The sixteen teams were asked to announce their final squads by 13 February 2007. Changes were allowed after this deadline at the discretion of the ICCs Technical Committee in necessary cases, such as due to player injury.

Administrator	ICC
Format	ODI
Tournament Format	Round Robin and Super 8
Host	West Indies
Winners	Australia
Teams	16
No of Matches	51
Most Runs	Matthew Hayden (AUS)(659)
Most Wickets	Glenn McGrath (AUS)(26)
Man of the Series	Glenn McGrath(AUS)
No of spectators	672,000 (13,176 per match)

Semi Finals:

SL VS NZ: 24 April 2007

Sri Lanka                                                                          289-5 (50 overs)

Mahela Jayawardene 115* (109)
James Franklin 2/46

New Zealand                                                                    208(all out, 41.4 overs)

Peter Fulton 46 (77)
Muttiah Muralitharan 4/31

Result: Sri Lanka won by 81 runs (D/L)

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene 115* (109)

SA VS AUS: 25 April 2007

South Africa                                                                     149(all out, 43.5 overs)

Justin Kemp 49* (91)
Shaun Tait 4/39

Australia                                                                           153-3(31.3 overs)

Michael Clarke 60* (86)
Shaun Pollock 1/16

Result: Australia won by 7 wickets.

Man of the Match: Glenn McGrath

Final:

AUS VS SL: 28 April 2007

Australia                                                                           281-4(38 overs)

Adam Gilchrist 149 (104)
Lasith Malinga 2/49

Sri Lanka                                                                          215-8(36 overs)

Sanath Jayasuriya 63 (67)
Michael Clarke 2/30

Result: Australia won by 53 runs (DL).

Man of the Match: Adam Gilchrist 149 (104)

Final (SL vs. AUS) Summary:

Ø      This was the first World Cup final to be a repeat – the sides previously met in the 1996 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won. Australia has won every World Cup match against Sri Lanka apart from that loss. The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row. Ricky won the toss and elected to bat.

Jayawardane

Ø      However, the start of play was delayed due to rain, and the match was reduced to 38 overs per side. Adam Gilchrist played an incredible innings of 149 - the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final - to give Australia an imposing total going in at to break. A large crowd of over 10,000 fans welcome the Australian team on completing the first World Cup hat-trick - Martin Place, Sydney.

Ø      While Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka's chances slowly washed away. Further rain forced the reduction of Sri Lanka's innings to just 36 overs, with the target revised to 269. At the culmination of the 33rd over, with Sri Lanka still trailing the adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target by 37 runs, the umpires suspended the game due to bad light.

Sangakkara

Ø      While Australia's players began to celebrate their victory (since the minimum 20 overs had been reached), the umpires incorrectly announced that because the match was suspended due to light and not rain, the final three overs would have to be bowled the following day.

Ø      With Sri Lanka needing 61 runs from 18 deliveries, Mahela Jayawardene agreed there was no need to return the following day, and instructed his team to resume batting, with Ricky Ponting agreeing to play only spinners. Umpires later apologized for their error, and that the match should have ended then with Australia winning by 37 runs.

Joyful Australia!!!!

Ø      The last three overs were played in almost complete darkness, during which Sri Lanka added nine runs, giving Australia a 53-run victory via the DL method, as Sri Lanka had batted 2 overs fewer than Australia. Australia won the tournament undefeated, concluding a streak of 29 World Cup games without a loss. Australian bowler Glenn McGrath was named 'Player of the Series'.


Tit Bits:

·        There was a new rule regarding referral of catches to the TV replay official (third umpire): if the standing umpires were unable to determine whether a catch had been taken cleanly, and/or whether a claimed catch was a "bump ball", they had discretion to refer the decision to the third umpire. Also, whilst reviewing such a catch via TV replay if it was clear to the third umpire that the batsman did not hit the ball, he was to indicate that the batsman was not out

·        Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa won through to the semi-finals, with Australia defeating Sri Lanka in the final to win their third consecutive World Cup. Australia's unbeaten record in the tournament increased their total to 29 consecutive World Cup matches without loss, a streak dating back to 23 May 1999, during the group stage of the 1999 World Cup.

·        Following the tournament the ICC distributed surplus tournament revenues of USD 239 million to its members.

Statistical Highlights

·        Ireland tied their first match against Zimbabwe, only the third time a tie had occurred in the World Cup.

·        Ricky Ponting's 113 against Scotland was his 4th century in World Cup matches. He joined Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the list of highest century makers in World Cups.

Gibbs 666666

• Herschelle Gibbs hit six sixes in one Daan van Bunge over for South Africa against the Netherlands in their Group A match in Warner Park, Saint Kitts and Nevis, becoming the first player to achieve the feat in ODI cricket.
• South African batsmen hit 18 sixes in the game against the Netherlands; This is the highest number of sixes hit in an innings of a World Cup ODI. This record was equalled by India in the game against Brermuda.
• Brendon McCullum scored the fastest World Cup fifty (off 20 balls) for New Zealand against Canada, beating Mark Boucher's 21-ball record set against the Netherlands six days earlier.
• Bangladesh earned qualification from the group stage in a World Cup for the first time, by beating India and Bermuda. Bangladesh later went on to beat South Africa in the Super 8 stage.
• Ireland defeated Pakistan in their group match and knocked them out of the tournament in the process. Ireland proceeded to qualify for the Super 8 stages in their first ever World Cup.
• Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room the day after his team's defeat against Ireland. A murder investigation was launched due to the circumstances of Woolmer's death, but Jamaican police have since confirmed Woolmer died from natural causes.
• Imran Nazir scored 160 for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in their final Group Stage match; this was the highest individual List A innings ever made in the West Indies.
• Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his retirement from one-day cricket, and resigned from the Pakistan captaincy, effective from the conclusion of Pakistan's involvement in the tournament.



I Nazir 160 Vs ZIM

• Disciplinary action was taken against several English players for breaking their curfew: several players were fined and Andrew Flintoff was stripped of the English vice-captaincy and left out of their group match against Canada.

L Malinga WWW

• India scored 413-5 in 50 overs against Bermuda, breaking the World Cup record for the highest team total, and became the first team to score 400 runs in a World Cup innings. It was also the highest List A team total ever made in the West Indies. India bowled out Bermuda for 156 to win by 257 runs, the largest winning margin in ODIs.
• Malachi Jones of Bermuda and Mohammed Yousuf of Pakistan became the 2nd and 3rd players respectively to take a wicket with their 1st ball in World cup cricket. Ian Harvey being the 1st against Pakistan in 2003.
• Matthew Hayden scored the fastest World Cup hundred (off 66 balls) for Australia against South Africa, one ball quicker than the previous record held by John Davison whilst representing Canada against the West Indies at the 2003 event.
• Both Herschelle Gibbs and Matthew Hayden were awarded honorary citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis after their individual record-breaking feats.
• Lasith Malinga became the fifth player to record a hat-trick in the World Cup, taking three wickets in succession for Sri Lanka against South Africa, and with his next delivery proceeded to become the first player ever to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in One Day International cricket. The other four are Chetan Sharma (India vs NewZealand, 1987), Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 1999), Chaminda Vaas(Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, 2003) and Brett Lee (Australia vs Kenya, 2003).
• Glenn McGrath became the leading wicket taker in the history of the World Cup, taking his 56th World Cup wicket against Bangladesh, overtaking Wasim Akram's 55 wicket total.
• West-Indies captain Brian Lara announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
• Following Ireland's successful World Cup debut: defeating two full members (Pakistan and Bangladesh), Ireland was promoted to the main ODI championship table.
• Ireland's wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh boosted their team's ODI rank to number 10 ahead of Kenya and full member Zimbabwe.
• Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden put on 76 for the first wicket in the Super-8 game against Sri Lanka. This was their 40th partnership of over 50 runs. The previous highest was 39 partnerships of over 50 runs between Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge of the West Indies.
• Matthew Hayden's century against New Zealand was the 100th time a century was scored in the World Cup and the third time any individual player scored three centuries in one tournament. He joins Mark Waugh and Sourav Ganguly as the only players to score three centuries in a World Cup.
• By officating in the England - West Indies match Rudi Koertzen overtook David Shepherd as the most capped umpire in ODI's. The match was Koertzen's 173^rd ODI. Shepherd officiated in 172 ODIs.
• Steve Bucknor officiated in a record fifth consecutive World Cup final.
• Sri Lankan player Russel Arnold announced his retirement from international cricket.
• After more than a decade at the helm, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming resigned the captaincy of New Zealand's one-day team in the wake of his team's defeat in the Semi-Final of the World Cup against Sri Lanka at Sabina Park. He captained New Zealand team in 218 one-day matches.
• Australia created history by participating in their 4th consecutive Cricket World Cup final.
• South Africa's score of 149 all out against Australia in the semi-final was their lowest World Cup score ever.
• Glenn McGrath's haul of 3 wickets against South Africa lifted his wicket tally to 25 in the tournament, the most in a World Cup so far.
• Matthew Hayden's innings of 41 against South Africa brought up the remarkable 600 runs in a tournament, becoming the 2nd person to do so. He achieved a further 38 runs in the final against Sri Lanka, leaving him 14 short of Sachin Tendulkar's record of 673 runs.
• The 172-run partnership between Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden is the highest opening partnership in a World Cup final.
• Adam Gilchrist became the 5th batsman to score a century in the Cricket World Cup final in 2007 after Clive Lloyd in 1975, Viv Richards in 1979, Aravinda de Silva in 1996 and Ricky Ponting in 2003. His score of 149 is the highest individual score ever in the final of the World Cup beating the previous highest of 140* by Ricky Ponting in 2003.
• Australia became the first team to win 3 consecutive World Cups.



S Bucknor

• Glenn McGrath retired from all forms of international cricket following the successful campaign.

v      Death of Bob Woolmer-Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead on 18 March 2007, one day after his team's defeat to Ireland put them out of the running for the World Cup. Jamaican police performed an autopsy which was deemed inconclusive.          

Bob's Dead

v      The following day police announced that the death was suspicious and ordered a full investigation.Further investigation revealed the cause of death was "manual strangulation",and that the investigation would be handled as a murder.After a lengthy investigation the Jamaican police rescinded the comments that he was murdered, and confirmed that he died from natural causes.

v      Criticism-The 2007 World Cup organizers were criticized early on for being over-commercialized and, in particular, the generally smaller crowds have been blamed on the ICC's security restrictions on things such as outside food, signs, replica kits and musical instruments, despite Caribbean cricketing customs,as well as the authorities being accused of "running [cricket and cricketing traditions] out of town, then sanitising it out of existence".

v       Sir Viv Richards echoed the concerns.The ICC were also condemned for high prices for tickets and concessions, which were considered unaffordable for the local population in many of the locations.ICC CEO, Malcolm Speed, said that the ICC recognized the problem but said it was the local organizers' fault.However, the later matches had more crowds as the tournament progressed with the local organizers easing restrictions.Although they did not meet the target of US$42m, the revenue from ticket sales was double the ticket sales revenue from the last world cup and recorded the highest ticketing revenue for a Cricket World Cup with more than $32 million in ticket revenue.

v      The World Cup was also criticized for its format, with India and Pakistan failing to move on from the group stage after losing two matches. This led to Ireland and Bangladesh entering the long Super Eights stage and consistently being defeated (bar another upset by Bangladesh over South Africa). The elimination of India and Pakistan also caused a large exodus of subcontinental fans from the Caribbean, and removed the prospect of an India vs Pakistan Super Eights match, generally considered one of the most revenue generating and electric matches in the tournament.The BCCI later claimed it would see to it that the ICC will alter its World Cup format for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.The tournament was also criticised as being too long. At 6 weeks, it was the same length as the 2003 World Cup, but longer than the 5 week 1999 World Cup and the 4 week 1996 World Cup. The famous West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding also criticised the qualification process for the 2007 World Cup.

v      Holding expressed doubts over the benefit to less established teams of turning up and being heavily defeated.However, former Scotland captain George Salmond claims that the opportunity to play one-day cricket against the bigger teams is invaluable for smaller teams such as his own, and questioned the validity of Holding's statements.The majority of the experts and players participating in the tournament backed up the smaller teams taking part in the World Cup.

v      This was further backed up with Ireland and Bangladesh making the Super 8s and being competitive and sportsmanlike throughout the tournament.

v      Further criticism was generated by the confusion at the end of the final match, during which the umpires suspended play due to bad light and while official announcements and the scoreboard declared Australia the winners and the Australian team celebrated, while the umpires incorrectly insisted that the game was only suspended not completed, and that 3 overs remained to be played.

v      And so in farcical light conditions, Sri Lanka batted out the 3 overs following a gentleman's agreement between the two captains.The umpires and ICC apologized for the unnecessary situation and cited it as an unnecessary fundamental error due to the pressure of the situation.

• The ICC World Cup was lifted by Ricky Ponting, captain of the Australia who got second time by him for his country after Allan border in 1987 and Steve Waugh in 1999 and himself in 2003.
• Glenn McGrath, for his demolition of batsmen, was named Player of the Series.