| Venue | City | Matches |
| Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
|
Adelaide, South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
|
3 |
| Lavington Sports Oval |
AlburyAlbury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
|
1 |
| Eastern Oval Eastern Oval is a cricket ground in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The first recorded match on the ground in 1862 when Ballarat played HH Stephenson's XI. The ground was an important early centre of cricket in Victoria, hosting the Australia team, as well as personal teams from important...
|
Ballarat, VictoriaBallarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
|
1 |
| Berri Oval Berri Oval is a cricket ground in Berri, South Australia, Australia. The first recorded match on the ground came when South Australia Country played the touring West Indians in 1961. A number of Youth One Day Internationals were held at the ground in the late 1980s...
|
BerriBerri is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is 238 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town on the north bank of the Murray River...
, South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
|
1 |
The GabbaThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
|
Brisbane, QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
|
3 |
Manuka OvalManuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
|
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, ACTThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
|
1 |
Bellerive OvalBellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
|
Hobart, Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
|
2 |
| Ray Mitchell Oval Ray Mitchell Oval is a cricket ground in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. The first recorded match on the ground came when Queensland Country played the touring West Indians in 1968. In 1978 the ground held a single World Series Cricket match...
|
MackayMackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
, QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
|
1 |
Melbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
|
Melbourne, VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
|
5 |
| WACA Ground The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
|
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
|
3 |
Sydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
|
Sydney, New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
|
4 |
New Zealand
| Venue | City | Matches |
Eden ParkEden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
|
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, AucklandThe Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...
|
4 |
| Lancaster Park |
Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Canterbury |
2 |
CarisbrookCarisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
|
Dunedin Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, Otago |
1 |
| Trust Bank Park |
HamiltonHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Waikato |
2 |
| McLean Park McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand. The two main sports played at the ground are cricket and rugby. It is one of the 10 proper cricket grounds of New Zealand....
|
NapierNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, Hawke's Bay |
1 |
| Pukekura Park thumb|right|The main lake at Pukekura, with Poet's Bridge and [[Mount Taranaki/Egmont|Mount Taranaki]] in the backgroundPukekura Park is a Garden of National Significance, covering 52ha near the heart of New Plymouth, Taranaki in New Zealand....
|
New PlymouthNew Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
, Taranaki |
1 |
Basin ReserveThe Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...
|
WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, WellingtonThe Wellington region of New Zealand occupies the southern end of the North Island.-Governance:The official Wellington Region, as administered by the Wellington Regional Council covers the conurbation around the capital city, Wellington, and the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua, and Upper Hutt, each...
|
3 |
Round Robin Stage
Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They recovered somewhat to win four of the remaining six, but narrowly missed out on the semi-finals. The West Indies also finished with a 4-4 record, but were just behind Australia on run-rate. South Africa made a triumphant return to international cricket with a win over Australia at the SCG in their first match. They and England had solid campaigns and easily qualified for the semis, despite upset losses to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe respectively. India had a disappointing tournament and never looked likely to progress beyond the round robin. Sri Lanka were still establishing themselves at the highest level and beat only Zimbabwe (who did not yet have Test status) and South Africa. New Zealand were defeated only twice in the tournament, both times by Pakistan, in their final group match and in the semi-final. Pakistan had been lucky to be in the semi-finals at all: following only one victory in their first five matches, they were also fortunate to scrape a point from the washed-out match against England which appeared to be heading for a heavy English victory (Pak 74 all out, Eng 24/1): eventually they finished one point ahead of Australia with an inferior run-rate.
Points 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 |
Match Scores
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
Summary
In the first semi final, Pakistan defeated tournament favorites New Zealand in a high scoring encounter to win their first semi final in 4 attempts including this one and book a place in the World Cup Final for the first time. Inzaman-ul-Haq smashed a 37 ball 60 in the run chase to achieve the target with one over remaining and also won the Man of the Match award.
In the second semi final between South Africa and England, the match ended in controversial situation when, after a rain delay, the rule in use for revising target scores in rain-affected matches revised their target from 22 runs from 13 balls to an impossible 21 runs from one ball. This rule was replaced for One-day International matches in Australia after the World Cup, and it was eventually superseded by the
Duckworth-Lewis methodIn the sport of cricket, the Duckworth–Lewis method is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket or Twenty20 cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance...
for the 1999 World Cup onwards. According to the late Bill Frindall, the revised target, had the Duckworth-Lewis method been applied at that rain interruption, would have been four runs to tie or five to win from the final ball. (As a point of clarity, Cricinfo points out that England's innings was also shortened by rain, and that had Duckworth-Lewis been applied to the entire game, South Africa's target from the original 45 overs would have been 273, which would then have been reduced to 257 from 43 overs, i.e. five runs
more than they were set under the "highest scoring overs" rule)
In a thrilling final, Pakistan beat England by 22 runs at the
Melbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
(MCG), allowing the "cornered tigers" captain
Imran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
to lift the trophy.
Derek PringleDerek Raymond Pringle is an English former Test and ODI cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist.He was educated at Felsted School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University.-Life and career:...
took two early wickets for England before
Imran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
and
Javed MiandadMohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
added 139 for the third wicket to steady the Pakistan innings - although both were very slow to score early on, and Imran benefited from a dropped catch just as he was trying to increase the tempo, having up to that point scored only 9 in 16 overs. Late flourishes from
Inzamam-ul-haqInzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era...
(42 off 35 balls) and
Wasim AkramWasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
(33 off 18 balls) took Pakistan to a total of 6 for 249. England also struggled early in their innings with
Mushtaq AhmedMushtaq Ahmed is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specialised as a leg spin bowler. He was known for his hard-to-pick googly. He memorably trapped Graeme Hick in front with one during the 1992 World Cup final. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997...
's googly accounting for
Graeme HickGraeme Ashley Hick MBE is a Zimbabwean-born cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He played county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years, and in 2008 he surpassed Graham Gooch's record for...
.
Neil FairbrotherNeil Fairbrother is a former English cricket player, named by his mother after her favourite player, the Australian cricketer Neil Harvey. He was educated at Lymm High School....
and
Allan LambAllan Joseph Lamb is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player...
then took England to 4 for 141 when
Wasim AkramWasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
re-entered the attack and bowled from around the wicket. He bowled Lamb and
Chris LewisChris Lewis is an English cricketer, who played for Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Leicestershire in the 1990s. He played in thirty two Tests and fifty three ODIs for England from 1990 to 1998.Lewis was regarded as an aggressive lower-order batsman, fine fast-medium bowler and an able all-round fielder...
with consecutive deliveries. England fell 22 runs short with captain
Imran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
, in his final One Day International, taking the final wicket of
Richard IllingworthRichard Illingworth is an English former cricketer, who is currently a first-class cricket umpire. The bulk of his domestic cricketing career occurred with Worcestershire, although he had a spell with Derbyshire, and overseas with Natal...
to give Pakistan its first
World CupThe ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
title.
Bracket
Semi finals
----
Final
The final began with eerie resemblances to same fixture earlier in the tournament when England bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 74, as Derek Pringle dismissed both Pakistani openers at 24. However, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad settled down to see off the new ball. A crucial moment occurred when Imran Khan was dropped by
Graham GoochGraham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
at 9 runs. He later went on to score a match-winning 72. At the 25 over mark, Pakistan had only scored 70, but accelerated the score to 139 by the 31st over as Javed Miandad summoned a runner and Imran and him built a steady partnership. During his innings, Imran Khan hit a huge six off Richard Illingworth that landed far back into the members section. Imran went onto score 72 and Miandad 58 to steady the innings, expectedly followed by an onslaught from Inzamam (42) and Wasim Akram (35) enabling Pakistan to give England a fighting target of 250.
England's start was shaky. Ian Botham was dismissed for a duck by Wasim Akram, followed by Stewart, Hick and Gooch, which left England tumbling at 69/4. A solid partnership of 71 between
Allan LambAllan Joseph Lamb is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player...
and
Neil FairbrotherNeil Fairbrother is a former English cricket player, named by his mother after her favourite player, the Australian cricketer Neil Harvey. He was educated at Lymm High School....
left Imran with no choice but to give an early second spell to his main pacer Wasim Akram in the 35th over. The decision wrote the fate of the match. Two magical deliveries from the great left arm fast bowler showed
Allan LambAllan Joseph Lamb is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player...
and the dangerous
Chris LewisChris Lewis may refer to:*Chris Lewis , retired professional tennis player*Chris Lewis , Aboriginal Australian rules footballer with the West Coast Eagles...
the pavilion door. Soon Fairbrother was caught by
Moin KhanMohammad Moin Khan , popularly known as Moin Khan , is a former Pakistani cricketer, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He made his international debut against the West Indies at...
off
Aaqib JavedAaqib Javed is a Pakistani cricketer and coach. He was a right-handed medium-fast pace bowler with the ability to swing the ball both ways. He played 22 Tests and 163 One Day Internationals for Pakistan between 1988 and 1998.He was educated at Islamia College Lahore.Aaqib's best performances in...
to seal England's last hope. When the cards were laid down, Captain Imran Khan had the last laugh when
Richard IllingworthRichard Illingworth is an English former cricketer, who is currently a first-class cricket umpire. The bulk of his domestic cricketing career occurred with Worcestershire, although he had a spell with Derbyshire, and overseas with Natal...
was caught by Ramiz Raja off his delivery to finish off the final and crown Pakistan World Champions of cricket.
Statistics
EWLINE
Leading run scorers
| Runs | Player | Match |
| 456 |
 Martin CroweMartin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...
|
9 |
| 437 |
 Javed MiandadMohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
|
9 |
| 410 |
 Peter KirstenPeter Noel Kirsten is a former cricketer who represented South Africa in 12 Tests and 40 One Day Internationals from 1991 to 1994.-Cricket career:...
|
8 |
| 368 |
 David BoonDavid Clarence Boon MBE , nicknamed Boony, is a former Australian cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995...
|
8 |
| 349 |
Rameez Raja Rameez Hasan Raja is a former Pakistani right handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan cricket team during the 1980s and 1990s. He also worked as captain of the national team...
|
8 |
|
EWLINE
Leading wicket takers
| Wickets | Player | Matches |
| 18 |
Wasim Akram Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
|
10 |
| 16 |
 Ian BothamSir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
|
10 |
| 16 |
Mushtaq Ahmed Mushtaq Ahmed is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specialised as a leg spin bowler. He was known for his hard-to-pick googly. He memorably trapped Graeme Hick in front with one during the 1992 World Cup final. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997...
|
9 |
| 16 |
Chris Harris Chris Zinzan Harris is a former New Zealand cricketer who had become, over the course of the 1990s, a folk-hero in New Zealand cricket....
|
9 |
| 14 |
 Eddo BrandesEddo André Brandes is a former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 59 ODIs from 1987 to 1999, spanning four World Cups...
|
8 |
|
Tactical Innovations
A notable feature of this World Cup was the innovative tactics employed by New Zealand captain
Martin CroweMartin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...
, who opened his team's bowling with a spin bowler,
Dipak PatelDipak Narshibhai Patel played 37 Tests and 75 One Day Internationals for the New Zealand cricket team....
, rather than with a fast bowler as is usual practice. Another innovation was then unorthodox ploy of opening the batting with "pinch hitters", such as New Zealand's Mark Greatbatch.
External links