2007 Cricket World Cup

2007 ICC Cricket World Cup
Logo of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	One Day International
Tournament format(s)	Round robin and knockout
Host(s)	West Indies
Champions	Australia (4th title)
Participants	16 (from 97 entrants)
Matches played	51
Attendance	672,000 (13,176 per match)
Man of the Series	Glenn McGrath
Most runs	Matthew Hayden (659)
Most wickets	Glenn McGrath (26)
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The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the tournament and took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2003 World Cup (despite a field larger by two teams).

The 16 competing teams were initially divided into four groups, with the two best-performing teams from each group moving on to a "Super 8" format. From this, 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.^[1]

Contents 1 Host selection 1.1 Venues 2 Qualification 3 Media coverage 4 Leadup 4.1 Warm-up matches 4.2 Opening ceremony 5 Rules and regulations 5.1 Matches 5.2 Tournament points 6 Groups 6.1 Seeds 6.2 System 7 Group stage 7.1 Group A 7.2 Group B 7.3 Group C 7.4 Group D 8 Super 8 stage 8.1 Matches 9 Knockout stage 9.1 Semi-finals 9.2 Final 10 Records 11 Overview 11.1 Statistical Highlights 11.2 Death of Bob Woolmer 11.3 Criticism 11.4 Preparation problems 12 See also 13 Notes 14 External links

Host selection

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.^[2]

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.

Venues

Eight venues across the West Indies were selected to host the World Cup final tournament. All host countries hosted six matches with the exceptions of St Lucia, Jamaica and Barbados (the last of which hosted the final) which each hosted seven matches.

The stadium capacities shown are all seated capacities.

Antigua and Barbuda	Barbados	Grenada	Guyana
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Capacity: 20,000	Kensington Oval Capacity: 31,000	Queen's Park Capacity: 20,000	Providence Stadium Capacity: 20,000
Jamaica	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Lucia	Trinidad and Tobago
Sabina Park Capacity: 20,000	Warner Park Stadium Capacity: 10,000	Beausejour Stadium Capacity: 20,000	Queen's Park Oval Capacity: 25,000

Four additional venues hosted warm-up matches.

Country	City	Stadium	Capacity	Cost
Barbados	Bridgetown	3Ws Oval	8,500
Jamaica	Falmouth, Jamaica	Greenfield Stadium	25,000	US$35 Million[3]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	Arnos Vale Stadium	12,000
Trinidad and Tobago	St. Augustine	Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground	22,000

The Jamaican Government spent US$81 million for "on the pitch" expenses.^[4] This included refurbishing Sabina Park and constructing the new multi-purpose facility in Trelawny - through a loan from China. Another US$20 million is budgeted for 'off-the-pitch' expenses, putting the tally at more than US$100 million or JM$7 billion.

This put the reconstruction cost of Sabina Park at US$46 million whilst the Trelawny Stadium will cost US$35 million.^[5][6] The total amount of money spent on stadiums was at least US$301 million.

The Brian Lara Stadium, in Trinidad, lost its status as a pre-tournament warm-up match venue on 21 September 2006.^[7]

Qualification

The field of sixteen teams, the largest ever for the Cricket World Cup, consists of all sixteen teams which currently hold One Day International status. This includes the ten full members of the ICC (which all have Test and permanent ODI status):

Australia  Bangladesh

England  India

New Zealand  Pakistan

South Africa  Sri Lanka

West Indies  Zimbabwe

The other six (associate) ODI nations are Kenya (which has ODI status until 2009) and five further teams which qualified via the 2005 ICC Trophy (gaining ODI status until 2009, in the process):

Bermuda

Canada

Kenya

Ireland

Netherlands

Scotland

Media coverage

The World Cup has grown as a media event with each tournament. The sponsorship and television rights that were awarded primarily to cover the 2003 and 2007 World Cups raised over US$550 m.^[8] The 2007 World Cup was televised in over 200 countries to a viewing audience estimated at more than two billion television viewers and was expected to generate more than 100,000 unique visitors to the West Indies who traveled solely for the tournament.^[9][10]

The 2007 Cricket World Cup featured an orange raccoon-like creature named "Mello" as its mascot. It has been announced during matches that Mello has no race, species, age or gender- it is an attitude, the attitude of the young people of the West Indies. The official song for the World Cup was "The Game of Love and Unity" by Jamaican-born Shaggy, Bajan entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons.

The 2007 tournament recorded the highest ticketing revenue for a Cricket World Cup, selling more than 672,000.^[11] Although, attendance leading into the semi finals for the 2007 World Cup was 403,000; an average of 8,500 supporters per match.^[12]

Leadup

All major Test-playing nations had schedules allowing them to play a large number of One Day International against other major ODI teams just prior to the World Cup. Australia, New Zealand and England took part in the Commonwealth Bank Series where England defeated Australia in the finals. Australia then went to New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, losing 3-0. South Africa played five ODIs against India (South Africa won 4-0) and five against Pakistan (South Africa won 3-1) while India also played four ODIs against the West Indies (India won 3-1) and four ODIs against Sri Lanka (India won 2-1). Bangladesh played four ODIs against Zimbabwe (Bangladesh won 3-1) and won a tri-series against Canada and Bermuda. The associate ODI teams took part in the World Cricket League, which Kenya won, and were also involved in other series prior to the World Cup.

The rankings of the teams at the beginning of the Cricket World Cup were:

Ranking	Team	Points		Ranking	Team	Points
1	South Africa	128		9	Bangladesh	42
2	Australia	125		10	Zimbabwe	22
3	New Zealand	113		11	Kenya	0
4	Pakistan	111		12	Scotland	0% / 69%
5	India	109		13	Netherlands	0% / 50%
6	Sri Lanka	108		14	Ireland	0% / 44%
7	England	106		15	Canada	0% / 33%
8	West Indies	101		16	Bermuda	0% / 28%

Note:Teams 12-16 did not have official ODI rankings leading up to the World Cup; they are ranked based on their win percentage against full members and then wins against associate members prior to the tournament.^[13]

Warm-up matches

Prior to the main tournament all 16 nations played a series of warm-up matches to prepare, experiment with different tactics and to help them get acclimated to conditions in the West Indies. The warm-up matches were not considered as official ODIs.^[14] The matches were played from Monday 5 March until Friday 9 March. The matches included a surprise victory by Bangladesh over New Zealand.

Opening ceremony

The Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony was held on Sunday, 11 March 2007, at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica.^[15]

It featured over 2000 dancers and performers representing all strands of West Indian music, from calypso and ragga to reggae and soca; among the performers were Sean Paul, Byron Lee, Kevin Lyttle, Beres Hammond, Lucky Dube, Buju Banton, Half Pint, Arrow, Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Tony Rebel, Third World, Gregory Isaacs, David Rudder, Shaggy, the I Threes and Jimmy Cliff.

The ceremony, attended by several heads of state including the Governor-General of Jamaica started with an address by Sir Garfield Sobers; there were messages from the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Grenada.

Rules and regulations

Matches

All matches were held from 0930 to 1715 local time. The first innings were held from 0930 to 1300 and the second innings were held from 1345 to 1715. For all venues other than Jamaica, local time was UTC-4, while Jamaican venues had local time UTC-5.

The matches were One Day Internationals and operated under normal ODI rules. All matches were to be 50 overs a side unless stated otherwise by the umpires or match referee. A bowler was able to bowl a maximum of 10 overs per match.

In the event of bad weather, each side must have batted a minimum of 20 overs for a result to be declared (if the match was not otherwise won, for example if the team batting second was dismissed before the completion of 20 overs). In the event of bad weather, the Duckworth-Lewis method was applied to determine the result or target. If no result was declared on the scheduled day, the teams returned the next day to complete the game, with the same situation as when the game was abandoned.

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.^[16]

Tournament points

In the Group Stage and in the Super 8 Stage points were awarded as follows:

Points

Results	Points
Win	2 points
Tie/No Result	1 point
Loss	0 points

The top two teams from each group advanced to the Super 8 stage and any points they earned against the other qualifier from their own group was carried through. Points earned against the non qualifying teams in the same pool were not carried over. In the Super 8s, each team played the six remaining qualifiers from the other groups and the top four teams went through to the semi-finals. Positions were decided by most points. Where two or more teams were tied on points, the following methods in turn were used to decide which team went through:^[16]

1. Most wins in their group or in Super 8 whichever is applicable
2. Higher net run rate
3. Higher number of wickets taken per ball
4. Winners of head to head matches
5. The drawing of lots

Groups

Seeds

The tournament began with a league stage consisting of four groups of four. Each team played each of the other teams in its group once. Australia, India, England and West Indies were placed in separate pools for logistical reasons, as they were expected to have the most supporters in attendance, and transport and accommodation capacity in the West Indies is limited.^[17]

The groups are listed below, with seedings (rankings from April 2005) shown in brackets. Each group played all of its matches at a single ground.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Australia (1)  South Africa (5)  Scotland (12)  Netherlands (16)	Sri Lanka (2)  India (6)  Bangladesh (11)  Bermuda (15)	New Zealand (3)  England (7)  Kenya (10)  Canada (14)	Pakistan (4)  West Indies (8)  Zimbabwe (9)  Ireland (13)

System

The tournament was preceded by a number of warm-up matches to acclimatise the players. The Group Stage matches started on Tuesday 13 March and finished on Sunday 25 March. There were a total of 24 matches played in the group stage.

The top two teams in each group proceeded to the "Super 8" stage which will also use a league system. Each team carried forward its result against the other team qualifying from its preliminary stage group, and will play the other six qualifying teams once each. The top four teams in the league will qualify for the semi-finals. This system has been modified since the last World Cup, which had a "Super 6" stage rather than a Super 8. The Super 8 stage matches will be played from Tuesday 27 March until Saturday 21 April. A total of 24 matches will be played in the Super 8 stage.

The top four teams in the "Super 8" will advance to the Semi-Finals. This is the knockout stage, with the #1 team playing the #4 team, and the #2 team playing the #3 team in the tournament. The winners of the two semi-finals will play each other in the Final.

All tournament matches will have one reserve day (the day after the scheduled day of the match) to allow for matches to be completed in the event of bad weather.

Group stage

Group A

All matches start at 1330 UTC.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
Australia	6	3	3	0	0	0	+3.433
South Africa	4	3	2	0	1	0	+2.403
Netherlands	2	3	1	0	2	0	-2.527
Scotland	0	3	0	0	3	0	-3.793

14 March 2007 (scorecard)	Australia 334/6 (50 overs)	v	Scotland 131/9 (40.1 overs)	Australia won by 203 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 2,568 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Asoka de Silva Player of the match: Ricky Ponting
	Ricky Ponting 113 (93) Majid Haq 2/49 (7 overs)		Colin Smith 51 (76) Glenn McGrath 3/14 (6 overs)

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16 March 2007 (scorecard)	South Africa 353/3 (40 overs)	v	Netherlands 132/9 (40 overs)	South Africa won by 221 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 1,442 Umpires: Mark Benson and Tony Hill Player of the match: Herschelle Gibbs
	Jacques Kallis 128* (109) Billy Stelling 1/43 (8 overs)		R ten Doeschate 57 (75) Justin Kemp 2/18 (4 overs)
Match reduced to 40 overs a side because of rain/ground conditions.

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18 March 2007 (scorecard)	Australia 358/5 (50 overs)	v	Netherlands 129 all out (26.5 overs)	Australia won by 229 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 4,104 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Tony Hill Player of the match: Brad Hodge
	Brad Hodge 123 (89) Tim de Leede 2/40 (10 overs)		Daan van Bunge 33 (33) Brad Hogg 4/27 (4.5 overs)

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20 March 2007 (scorecard)	Scotland 186/8 (50 overs)	v	South Africa 188/3 (23.2 overs)	South Africa won by 7 wickets Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 4,591 Umpires: Mark Benson and Asoka de Silva Player of the match: Graeme Smith
	Dougie Brown 45* (64) Andrew Hall 3/48 (10 overs)		Graeme Smith 91 (65) Majid Haq 2/43 (6 overs)

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22 March 2007 (scorecard)	Scotland 136 all out (34.1 overs)	v	Netherlands 140/2 (23.5 overs)	Netherlands won by 8 wickets Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 5,295 Umpires: Asoka de Silva and Tony Hill Player of the match: Billy Stelling
	Glenn Rogers 26 (30) Billy Stelling 3/12 (8 overs)		R ten Doeschate 70* (68) John Blain 2/29 (5 overs)

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24 March 2007 (scorecard)	Australia 377/6 (50 overs)	v	South Africa 294 all out (48 overs)	Australia won by 83 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Att: 7,168 Umpires: Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Matthew Hayden
	Matthew Hayden 101 (68) Andrew Hall 2/60 (10 overs)		AB de Villiers 92 (70) Brad Hogg 3/61 (10 overs)

Group B

All matches start at 1330 UTC.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
Sri Lanka	6	3	3	0	0	0	+3.493
Bangladesh	4	3	2	0	1	0	-1.523
India	2	3	1	0	2	0	+1.206
Bermuda	0	3	0	0	3	0	-4.345

15 March 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 321/6 (50 overs)	v	Bermuda 78 all out (24.4 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 243 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 2,200 Umpires: Daryl Harper and Ian Howell Player of the match: Mahela Jayawardene
	Mahela Jayawardene 85 (90) Saleem Mukuddem 2/50 (10 overs)		Lionel Cann 28 (32) Farveez Maharoof 4/23 (7 overs)

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17 March 2007 (scorecard)	India 191 all out (49.3 overs)	v	Bangladesh 192/5 (48.3 overs)	Bangladesh won by 5 wickets Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 9,500 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Steve Davis Player of the match: Mashrafe Mortaza
	Sourav Ganguly 66 (129) Mashrafe Mortaza 4/38 (9.3 overs)		Mushfiqur Rahim 56* (107) Virender Sehwag 2/17 (5 overs)

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19 March 2007 (scorecard)	India 413/5 (50 overs)	v	Bermuda 156 all out (43.1 overs)	India won by 257 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 2,478 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Ian Howell Player of the match: Virender Sehwag
	Virender Sehwag 114 (87) Delyone Borden 2/30 (5 overs)		David Hemp 76* (105) Ajit Agarkar 3/38 (10 overs)

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21 March 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 318/4 (50 overs)	v	Bangladesh 112 all out (37 of 46 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (DL) Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 9,500 Umpires: Steve Davis and Daryl Harper Player of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya
	Sanath Jayasuriya 109 (87) Mohammad Rafique 1/48 (10 overs)		Mohammad Ashraful 45* (63) Lasith Malinga 3/27 (6 overs)
Match shortened due to rain; Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 311 runs in 46 overs for Bangladesh.

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23 March 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 254/6 (50 overs)	v	India 185 all out (43.3 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 69 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 16,678 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Daryl Harper Player of the match: Muttiah Muralitharan
	Upul Tharanga 64 (90) Zaheer Khan 2/49 (10 overs)		Rahul Dravid 60 (82) Muttiah Muralitharan 3/41 (10 overs)

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25 March 2007 (scorecard)	Bermuda 94/9 (21 overs)	v	Bangladesh 96/3 (17.3 of 21 overs)	Bangladesh won by 7 wickets (DL) Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Att: 2,365 Umpires: Steve Davis and Ian Howell Player of the match: Mohammad Ashraful
	Dean Minors 23 (25) Abdur Razzak 3/20 (4 overs)		Mohammad Ashraful 29* (32) Saleem Mukuddem 3/19 (5 overs)
Match reduced to 21 overs a side due to rain during Bermuda's innings; Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 96 runs for Bangladesh.

Group C

All matches start at 1330 UTC.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
New Zealand	6	3	3	0	0	0	+2.138
England	4	3	2	0	1	0	+0.418
Kenya	2	3	1	0	2	0	-1.194
Canada	0	3	0	0	3	0	-1.389

14 March 2007 (scorecard)	Canada 199 all out (50 overs)	v	Kenya 203/3 (43.2 overs)	Kenya won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 8,700 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Peter Parker Player of the match: Steve Tikolo
	Geoff Barnett 41 (50) Jimmy Kamande 2/25 (10 overs)		Steve Tikolo 72* (76) Sunil Dhaniram 1/34 (9 overs)

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16 March 2007 (scorecard)	England 209/7 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 210/4 (41 overs)	New Zealand won by 6 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 12,500 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Scott Styris
	Kevin Pietersen 60 (92) Shane Bond 2/19 (10 overs)		Scott Styris 87 (113) James Anderson 2/39 (8 overs)

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18 March 2007 (scorecard)	England 279/6 (50 overs)	v	Canada 228/7 (50 overs)	England won by 51 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 9,727 Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Peter Parker Player of the match: Paul Collingwood
	Ed Joyce 66 (103) Sunil Dhaniram 3/41 (10 overs)		Asif Mulla 58 (60) Ravinder Bopara 2/43 (9 overs)

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20 March 2007 (scorecard)	New Zealand 331/7 (50 overs)	v	Kenya 183 all out (49.2 overs)	New Zealand won by 148 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 4,300 Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Ross Taylor
	Ross Taylor 85 (107) Thomas Odoyo 2/55 (10 overs)		Ravindu Shah 81 (89) James Franklin 2/20 (7.2 overs)

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22 March 2007 (scorecard)	New Zealand 363/5 (50 overs)	v	Canada 249/9 (49.2 overs)	New Zealand won by 114 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 6,100 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Billy Doctrove Player of the match: Lou Vincent
	Lou Vincent 101 (107) Kevin Sandher 2/58 (10 overs)		John Davison 53 (31) Jeetan Patel 3/25 (9.2 overs)

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24 March 2007 (scorecard)	Kenya 177 all out (43 overs)	v	England 178/3 (33 of 43 overs)	England won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 10,800 Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Peter Parker Player of the match: Ed Joyce
	Steve Tikolo 76 (97) James Anderson 2/27 (9 overs)		Ed Joyce 75 (90) Thomas Odoyo 1/27 (6 overs)
Overnight rain delayed the start. Match reduced to 43 overs per side.

Group D

All matches start at 1430 UTC.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
West Indies	6	3	3	0	0	0	+0.764
Ireland	3	3	1	1	1	0	-0.092
Pakistan	2	3	1	0	2	0	+0.089
Zimbabwe	1	3	0	1	2	0	-0.886

13 March 2007 (scorecard)	West Indies 241/9 (50 overs)	v	Pakistan 187 all out (47.2 overs)	West Indies won by 54 runs Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 16,575 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Dwayne Smith
	Marlon Samuels 63 (70) Iftikhar Anjum 3/44 (10 overs)		Shoaib Malik 62 (54) Dwayne Smith 3/36 (10 overs)

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15 March 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 221/9 (50 overs)	v	Zimbabwe 221 all out (50 overs)	Match tied Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 2,011 Umpires: Ian Gould and Brian Jerling Player of the match: Jeremy Bray
	Jeremy Bray 115* (139) Elton Chigumbura 2/21 (6 overs)		Stuart Matsikenyeri 73* (77) Kyle McCallan 2/56 (9 overs)

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17 March 2007 (scorecard)	Pakistan 132 all out (45.4 overs)	v	Ireland 133/7 (41.4 overs)	Ireland won by 3 wickets (DL) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 3,855 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Brian Jerling Player of the match: Niall O'Brien
	Kamran Akmal 27 (53) Boyd Rankin 3/32 (9 overs)		Niall O'Brien 72 (106) Mohammad Sami 3/29 (10 overs)
Match shortened due to bad light and rain; Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 128 runs in 47 overs for Ireland.

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19 March 2007 (scorecard)	Zimbabwe 202/5 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 204/4 (47.5 overs)	West Indies won by 6 wickets Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 9,636 Umpires: Ian Gould and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Sean Williams
	Sean Williams 70* (88) Jerome Taylor 2/42 (10 overs)		Brian Lara 44* (68) Christopher Mpofu 1/34 (9 overs)

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21 March 2007 (scorecard)	Pakistan 349 all out (49.5 overs)	v	Zimbabwe 99 all out (19.1 of 20 overs)	Pakistan won by 93 runs (DL) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 1,997 Umpires: Brian Jerling and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Imran Nazir
	Imran Nazir 160 (121) Gary Brent 3/68 (10 overs)		Elton Chigumbura 27 (11) Shahid Afridi 3/20 (4 overs)
Match shortened due to rain; Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 193 runs in 20 overs for Zimbabwe.

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23 March 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 183/8 (48 overs)	v	West Indies 190/2 (38.1 of 48 overs)	West Indies won by 8 wickets (DL) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 11,997 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Ian Gould Player of the match: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
	Jeremy Bray 41 (71) Chris Gayle 2/23 (10 overs)		Shivnarine Chanderpaul 102* (113) Kyle McCallan 1/35 (10 overs)
Match shortened due to rain; Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 190 runs in 48 overs for West Indies.

Super 8 stage

The top two teams in each first-round group moved on to a "super eight" stage which is scored as a complete round-robin. But each of the eight teams played only six new matches, rather than seven— each group's two representatives carried forward their result against each other rather than play again. Thus the table below, showing seven matches for each team, covers all matches between the Super 8 qualifiers, including those from the Group Stage.

Teams depicted in green backgrounds qualified for the semi-finals.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	RF	OF	RA	OB	NRR
Australia	14	7	7	0	0	0	1725	266.1	1314	322	+2.4
Sri Lanka	10	7	5	0	2	0	1586	301.1	1275	337	+1.483
New Zealand	10	7	5	0	2	0	1378	308	1457	345.1	+0.253
South Africa	8	7	4	0	3	0	1561	299.1	1635	333.2	+0.313
England	6	7	3	0	4	0	1557	344.4	1511	307.4	-0.394
West Indies	4	7	2	0	5	0	1595	338.1	1781	337.1	-0.566
Bangladesh	2	7	1	0	6	0	1084	318	1398	284	-1.514
Ireland	2	7	1	0	6	0	1111	333	1226	242	-1.73

Abbreviations:

Pts = Points W = Won T = Tied L = Lost

RF = Runs for OF = Overs faced RA = Runs against OB = Overs bowled

NR = No result NRR = Net run rate Pld = Played

Super 8 Matchup by Teams

	Australia	South Africa	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh	New Zealand	England	Ireland	West Indies
Australia		AUS 83 runs	AUS 7 wkts	AUS 10 wkts	AUS 215 runs	AUS 7 wkts	AUS 9 wkts	AUS 103 runs
South Africa	AUS 83 runs		RSA 1 wkt	BAN 67 runs	NZL 5 wkts	RSA 9 wkts	RSA 7 wkts	RSA 67 runs
Sri Lanka	AUS 7 wkts	RSA 1 wkt		SRI 198 runs	SRI 6 wkts	SRI 2 runs	SRI 8 wkts	SRI 113 runs
Bangladesh	AUS 10 wkts	BAN 67 runs	SRI 198 runs		NZL 9 wkts	ENG 4 wkts	IRL 74 runs	WI 99 runs
New Zealand	AUS 215 runs	NZL 5 wkts	SRI 6 wkts	NZL 9 wkts		NZL 6 wkts	NZL 129 runs	NZL 7 wkts
England	AUS 7 wkts	RSA 9 wkts	SRI 2 runs	ENG 4 wkts	NZL 6 wkts		ENG 48 runs	ENG 1 wkt
Ireland	AUS 9 wkts	RSA 7 wkts	SRI 8 wkts	IRL 74 runs	NZL 129 runs	ENG 48 runs		WI 8 wkts
West Indies	AUS 103 runs	RSA 67 runs	SRI 113 runs	WI 99 runs	NZL 7 wkts	ENG 1 wkt	WI 8 wkts

Matches

All matches start at 1330 UTC.

27 March 2007 (scorecard)	Australia 322/6 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 219 all out (45.3 overs)	Australia won by 103 runs Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 8,409 (day 1), 4,809 (day 2) - Total: 13,218 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf Player of the match: Matthew Hayden
	Matthew Hayden 158 (143) Daren Powell 2/53 (10 overs)		Brian Lara 77 (83) Glenn McGrath 3/31 (8 overs)
Play was postponed due to rain after the Australian innings on 27 March. Match concluded on 28 March.

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28 March 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 209 all out (49.3 overs)	v	South Africa 212/9 (48.2 overs)	South Africa won by 1 wicket Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 5,220 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Daryl Harper Player of the match: Charl Langeveldt and Lasith Malinga .[18]
	Tillakaratne Dilshan 58 (76) Charl Langeveldt 5/39 (10 overs)		Jacques Kallis 86 (110) Lasith Malinga 4/54 (9.2 overs)

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29 March 2007 (scorecard)	West Indies 177 all out (44.4 overs)	v	New Zealand 179/3 (39.2 overs)	New Zealand won by 7 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 5,414 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Jacob Oram
	Chris Gayle 44 (56) Jacob Oram 3/23 (8 overs)		Scott Styris 80* (90) Daren Powell 2/39 (10 overs)

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30 March 2007 (scorecard)	England 266/7 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 218 all out (48.1 overs)	England won by 48 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 4,800 Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Paul Collingwood
	Paul Collingwood 90 (82) Boyd Rankin 2/28 (7 overs)		Niall O'Brien 63 (88) Andrew Flintoff 4/43 (8.1 overs)

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31 March 2007 (scorecard)	Bangladesh 104/6 (22 overs)	v	Australia 106/0 (13.5 of 22 overs)	Australia won by 10 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 5,788 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden Player of the match: Glenn McGrath
	Mashrafe Mortaza 25* (17) Glenn McGrath 3/16 (5 overs)		Adam Gilchrist 59* (44) Abdur Razzak 0/15 (3 overs)
Wet outfield delayed start. Match reduced to 22 overs a side.

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1 April 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 303/5 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 190 all out (44.3 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 113 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 12,208 Umpires: Mark Benson and Daryl Harper Player of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya
	Sanath Jayasuriya 115 (101) Daren Powell 2/38 (10 overs)		Shivnarine Chanderpaul 76 (110) Sanath Jayasuriya 3/38 (8.3 overs)

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2 April 2007 (scorecard)	Bangladesh 174 all out (48.3 overs)	v	New Zealand 178/1 (29.2 overs)	New Zealand won by 9 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 4,755 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Shane Bond
	Mohammad Rafique 30* (36) Scott Styris 4/43 (10 overs)		Stephen Fleming 102* (92) Syed Rasel 1/22 (7 overs)

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3 April 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 152/8 (35 overs)	v	South Africa 165/3 (31.3 of 35 overs)	South Africa won by 7 wickets (DL) Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 5,763 Umpires: Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Jacques Kallis
	Andrew White 30 (30) Charl Langeveldt 3/41 (7 overs)		Jacques Kallis 66* (86) Boyd Rankin 2/26 (7 overs)
Rain during Irelands innings reduced play to 35 overs. Duckworth-Lewis revised target to win: 160 runs in 35 overs for South Africa.

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4 April 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 235 all out (50 overs)	v	England 233/8 (50 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 2 runs Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 7,817 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Billy Bowden Player of the match: Ravi Bopara
	Upul Tharanga 62 (103) Sajid Mahmood 4/50 (9 overs)		Kevin Pietersen 58 (80) Dilhara Fernando 3/41 (9 overs)

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7 April 2007 (scorecard)	Bangladesh 251/8 (50 overs)	v	South Africa 184 all out (48.4 overs)	Bangladesh won by 67 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 9,460 Umpires: Mark Benson and Billy Doctrove Player of the match: Mohammad Ashraful
	Mohammad Ashraful 87 (83) Andre Nel 5/45 (10 overs)		Herschelle Gibbs 56* (59) Abdur Razzak 3/25 (9.4 overs)

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8 April 2007 (scorecard)	England 247 all out (49.5 overs)	v	Australia 248/3 (47.2 overs)	Australia won by 7 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Att: 11,900 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Shaun Tait
	Kevin Pietersen 104 (122) Nathan Bracken 3/33 (10 overs)		Ricky Ponting 86 (106) Andrew Flintoff 1/35 (10 overs)

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9 April 2007 (scorecard)	New Zealand 263/8 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 134 all out (37.4 overs)	New Zealand won by 129 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana, Att: 6,500 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Peter Fulton
	Peter Fulton 83 (110) Kyle McCallan 2/35 (10 overs)		Kevin O'Brien 49 (45) Daniel Vettori 4/23 (8.4 overs)

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10 April 2007 (scorecard)	South Africa 356/4 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 289/9 (50 overs)	South Africa won by 67 runs Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 9,652 Umpires: Mark Benson and Daryl Harper Player of the match: AB de Villiers
	AB de Villiers 146 (129) Corey Collymore 2/41 (10 overs)		Ramnaresh Sarwan 92 (75) Shaun Pollock 2/33 (8 overs)

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11 April 2007 (scorecard)	Bangladesh 143 all out (37.2 overs)	v	England 147/6 (44.5 overs)	England won by 4 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 10,423 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Sajid Mahmood
	Shakib Al Hasan 57* (95) Monty Panesar 3/25 (7 overs)		Michael Vaughan 30 (59) Syed Rasel 2/25 (10 overs)

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12 April 2007 (scorecard)	New Zealand 219/7 (50 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 222/4 (45.1 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 5,748 Umpires: Asad Rauf and Billy Doctrove Player of the match: Chaminda Vaas
	Scott Styris 111* (157) M Muralitharan 3/32 (10 overs)		Kumar Sangakkara 69* (104) Daniel Vettori 2/35 (10 overs)

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13 April 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 91 all out (30 overs)	v	Australia 92/1 (12.2 overs)	Australia won by 9 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 12,178 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Glenn McGrath
	John Mooney 23 (44) Glenn McGrath 3/17 (7 overs)		Adam Gilchrist 34 (25) Trent Johnston 1/18 (3 overs)

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14 April 2007 (scorecard)	South Africa 193/7 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 196/5 (48.2 overs)	New Zealand won by 5 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 10,692 Umpires: Mark Benson and Daryl Harper Player of the match: Craig McMillan
	Herschelle Gibbs 60 (100) Craig McMillan 3/23 (5 overs)		Scott Styris 56 (84) Andre Nel 2/33 (9.2 overs)

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15 April 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 243/7 (50 overs)	v	Bangladesh 169 all out (41.2 overs)	Ireland won by 74 runs Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 15,541 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: William Porterfield
	William Porterfield 85 (136) Mashrafe Mortaza 2/38 (10 overs)		Mohammad Ashraful 35 (36) Kyle McCallan 2/25 (8 overs)

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16 April 2007 (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 226 all out (49.4 overs)	v	Australia 232/3 (42.4 overs)	Australia won by 7 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 10,663 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Billy Doctrove Player of the match: Nathan Bracken
	Mahela Jayawardene 72 (88) Nathan Bracken 4/19 (9.4 overs)		Ricky Ponting 66* (80) Russel Arnold 2/20 (4 overs)

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17 April 2007 (scorecard)	England 154 all out (48 overs)	v	South Africa 157/1 (19.2 overs)	South Africa won by 9 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 17,013 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Andrew Hall
	Andrew Strauss 46 (67) Andrew Hall 5/18 (10 overs)		Graeme Smith 89* (58) Andrew Flintoff 1/36 (6 overs)

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18 April 2007 (scorecard)	Ireland 77 all out (27.4 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 81/2 (10 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 7,335 Umpires: Mark Benson and Billy Doctrove Player of the match: Farveez Maharoof
	Jeremy Bray 20 (29) Farveez Maharoof 4/25 (10 overs)		Mahela Jayawardene 39* (27) Boyd Rankin 1/36 (4 overs)

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19 April 2007 (scorecard)	West Indies 230/5 (50 overs)	v	Bangladesh 131 all out (43.5 overs)	West Indies won by 99 runs Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 14,000 Umpires: Billy Bowden and Rudi Koertzen Player of the match: Ramnaresh Sarwan
	Ramnaresh Sarwan 91* (90) Mashrafe Mortaza 1/39 (10 overs)		Mushfiqur Rahim 38* (75) Daren Powell 3/38 (10 overs)

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20 April 2007 (scorecard)	Australia 348/6 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 133 all out (25.5 overs)	Australia won by 215 runs Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada, Att: 12,229 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf Player of the match: Matthew Hayden
	Matthew Hayden 103 (100) James Franklin 3/74 (8 overs)		Peter Fulton 62 (72) Brad Hogg 4/29 (6.5 overs)

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21 April 2007 (scorecard)	West Indies 300 all out (49.5 overs)	v	England 301/9 (49.5 overs)	England won by 1 wicket Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 22,452 Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Kevin Pietersen
	Chris Gayle 79 (58) Michael Vaughan 3/39 (10 overs)		Kevin Pietersen 100 (91) Dwayne Bravo 2/47 (9.5)

Knockout stage

	Semi-finals				Final
	24 April - Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
	2  Sri Lanka	289/5
	3  New Zealand	208
					28 April - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
					Sri Lanka	215/8
					Australia	281/4
	25 April - Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
	1  Australia	153/3
	4  South Africa	149

Semi-finals

24 April 2007 1430 UTC (scorecard)	Sri Lanka 289/5 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 208 all out (41.4 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 81 runs Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, Att: 9,231 Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Simon Taufel Player of the match: Mahela Jayawardene
	Mahela Jayawardene 115* (109) James Franklin 2/46 (9 overs)		Peter Fulton 46 (77) Muttiah Muralitharan 4/31 (8 overs)

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25 April 2007 1330 UTC (scorecard)	South Africa 149 all out (43.5 overs)	v	Australia 153/3 (31.3 overs)	Australia won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Att: 13,875 Umpires: Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Glenn McGrath
	Justin Kemp 49* (91) Shaun Tait 4/39 (10 overs)		Michael Clarke 60* (86) Shaun Pollock 1/16 (5 overs)

Final

28 April 2007 1330 UTC (scorecard)	Australia 281/4 (38 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 215/8 (36 overs)	Australia won by 53 runs (DL) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, Att: 20,108 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar Player of the match: Adam Gilchrist
	Adam Gilchrist 149 (104) Lasith Malinga 2/49 (8 overs)		Sanath Jayasuriya 63 (67) Michael Clarke 2/30 (4 overs)
Rain before play reduce the game to 38 overs per side. Sri Lanka's innings interrupted by rain and reduced to 36 overs.

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.^[19] The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row.

Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat. 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.^[20]

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 way.^[20] 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. 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. 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

Australia won the tournament undefeated, concluding a streak of 29 World Cup games without a loss.^[23] Australian bowler Glenn McGrath was named 'Player of the Series'.^[24]

Records

2007 Cricket World Cup Records

Record	Performance	Player	Country
Most runs
	659	M Hayden	Australia
	548	M Jayawardene	Sri Lanka
	539	R Ponting	Australia
Most wickets
	26	G McGrath	Australia
	23	M Muralitharan	Sri Lanka
		S Tait	Australia
Most dismissals (wicketkeeper)
	17	A Gilchrist	Australia
	15	K Sangakkara	Sri Lanka
	14	B McCullum	New Zealand
Most catches (fielder)
	8	P Collingwood	England
		G Smith	South Africa
	7	H Gibbs	South Africa
		E Morgan	Ireland
		M Hayden	Australia
		R Ponting	Australia
Source: Cricinfo.com

Overview

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.
• 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 Bermuda.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.^[25]
• 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.^[26]
• 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 officated 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.
• Glenn McGrath retired from all forms of international cricket following the successful campaign.

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.^[27] The following day police announced that the death was suspicious and ordered a full investigation.^[28] Further investigation revealed the cause of death was "manual strangulation",^[29] and that the investigation would be handled as a murder.^[30] After a lengthy investigation the Jamaican police rescinded the comments that he was murdered, and confirmed that he died from natural causes.^[31]

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,^[32] as well as the authorities being accused of "running [cricket and cricketing traditions] out of town, then sanitising it out of existence".^[33] Sir Viv Richards echoed the concerns.^[34] 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.^[35] ICC CEO, Malcolm Speed, said that the ICC recognized the problem but said it was the local organizers' fault.^[36] However, the later matches had more crowds as the tournament progressed with the local organizers easing restrictions.^[37] 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.^[11][12][38]

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.^[39] The BCCI later claimed it would see to it that the ICC will alter its World Cup format for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.^[39]

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. Holding expressed doubts over the benefit to less established teams of turning up and being heavily defeated.^[40] 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.^[41] The majority of the experts and players participating in the tournament backed up the smaller teams taking part in the World Cup.^[42] This was further backed up with Ireland and Bangladesh making the Super 8s and being competitive and sportsmanlike throughout the tournament.^[43]

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. And so in farcical light conditions, Sri Lanka batted out the 3 overs following a gentleman's agreement between the two captains.^[44] The umpires and ICC apologized for the unnecessary situation and cited it as an unnecessary fundamental error due to the pressure of the situation.^[45] In June the ICC announced that the officials involved — onfield umpires Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar, reserve umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden, and match referee Jeff Crowe — would all be suspended from the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship.^[46]

Preparation problems

A number of preparation problems surfaced before the start of the World Cup. Some of the venues were not complete by the opening ceremony on 11 March 2007.^[47] At Sabina Park, seats had to be removed at the newly constructed north-stand due to safety concerns.^[48] At Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica, ground staff were unable to gain admission to the ground during the warm up matches due to accreditation problems.^[49] Additionally, South Africa and Australia both expressed concerns over practice facilities.^[50]

See also

• West Indies Cricket Board
• CARICOM Visa and Freedom of Travel during Cricket World Cup
• 2007 Cricket World Cup venues

Notes

External links

• 2007 Cricket World Cup website
• ICC Overview of 2007 World Cup
• ICC website - Cricket World Cup page
• Cricinfo - Cricket World Cup 2007

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International cricket in 2006-07 }} Preceding season International cricket in 2006 September 2006 DLF Cup  · South Africa v Zimbabwe October 2006 Champions Trophy November 2006 Pakistan v West Indies  · Kenya v Bermuda  · South Africa v India  · Australia v England  · Associates Tri-Series (South Africa)  · Bangladesh v Zimbabwe December 2006 New Zealand v Sri Lanka  · Bangladesh v Scotland January 2007 South Africa v Pakistan  · Commonwealth Bank Series  · India v West Indies  · Associates Tri-Series (Kenya)  · World Cricket League Div One February 2007 Zimbabwe v Bangladesh  · India v Sri Lanka  · Chappell–Hadlee Trophy  · Tri-Series in West Indies {{!-} March 2007 2007 Cricket World Cup Following season International cricket in 2007