1992 Cricket World Cup

Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992
Dates 22 February – 25 March
Administrator(s) International Cricket Council
Cricket format One Day International
Tournament format(s) Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s) Australia Australia
New Zealand New Zealand
Champions  Pakistan (1st title)
Runners-up  England
Participants 9
Matches played 39
Player of the series New Zealand Martin Crowe
Most runs New Zealand Martin Crowe (456)
Most wickets Pakistan Wasim Akram (18)

The 1992 Cricket World Cup (officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was the fifth staging of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in Australia and New Zealand from 22 February to 25 March 1992, and finished with Pakistan beating England in the final to become the World Cup champions for the first time.

Firsts

The 1992 World Cup was the first to feature coloured player clothing, white cricket balls and black sightscreens with a number of matches being played under floodlights.[1] The 1992 World Cup was also the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also the first World Cup to include South Africa, who had been allowed to re-join the International Cricket Council as a Test-playing nation after the end of apartheid.

Format

The format was changed from previous tournaments, with a complete round-robin replacing the former two qualifying groups. The initial draw was released with eight competing countries and 28 round-robin matches, plus two semi-finals and a final. In late 1991, South Africa were re-admitted to the International Cricket Council after 21 years of exclusion due to apartheid, and the draw was amended to include them, adding another eight matches to the round-robin.

The rule for calculating the target score for the team batting second in rain-affected matches was also changed. The previous rule simply multiplied the run rate of the team batting first by the number of overs available to the team batting second, but this rule had been deemed to give an unfair advantage to the team batting second.

In an attempt to rectify this, the target score would now be calculated by the "highest scoring overs" formula. In this system, if the team batting second had 44 overs available, their target score would be one greater than the 44 highest scoring overs of the team batting first.

While the reasoning behind the system was sound, the timing of rain interruptions remained problematic: as the semi-final between England and South Africa demonstrated, where a difficult but eminently reachable 22 runs off 13 balls was reduced to 22 runs off 7 (the least productive over, a maiden, being deducted) and finally, a preposterous 21 off 1 ball (the next least productive over having given 1 run). It was seen that, if the interruption came during the second innings, the side batting second was at a significant disadvantage – one which was only overcome once, in fact, in England's group-stage victory over South Africa.

Teams

The 1992 World Cup featured the seven Test teams at that time.

For the first time, South Africa competed, and would play their first Test in 22 years in the West Indies a month after the World Cup. Zimbabwe appeared for the third time, having qualified by winning the 1990 ICC Trophy, and would play their first Test match later in 1992. Teams who entered were:[2]

Full Members
 Australia
 England
 India
 New Zealand
 Pakistan
 South Africa
 Sri Lanka
 West Indies
Associate Member
 Zimbabwe

Venues

Australia

VenueCityMatches
Adelaide OvalAdelaide, South Australia3
Lavington Sports OvalAlbury, New South Wales1
Eastern OvalBallarat, Victoria1
Berri OvalBerri, South Australia1
The GabbaBrisbane, Queensland3
Manuka OvalCanberra, ACT1
Bellerive OvalHobart, Tasmania2
Ray Mitchell OvalMackay, Queensland1
Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne5
WACA GroundPerth, Western Australia3
Sydney Cricket GroundSydney4

New Zealand

VenueCityMatches
Eden ParkAuckland, Auckland4
Lancaster ParkChristchurch, Canterbury2
CarisbrookDunedin, Otago1
Trust Bank ParkHamilton, Waikato2
McLean ParkNapier, Hawke's Bay1
Pukekura ParkNew Plymouth, Taranaki1
Basin ReserveWellington, Wellington3

Officials

Umpires

Eleven umpires were selected to officiate at the World Cup: two from each of the host nations, Australia and New Zealand, and one from each of the other participating nations.

West Indies' Steve Bucknor and England's David Shepherd were chosen as the umpires for the first semi-final,[3] while New Zealand's Brian Aldridge and Australia's Steve Randell were chosen for the second.[4] Bucknor and Aldridge were chosen for the final.[5]

S.No. Umpire Country Matches
1 Steve Bucknor  West Indies 9
2 Brian Aldridge  New Zealand 9
3 David Shepherd  England 8
4 Steve Randell  Australia 8
5 Khizer Hayat  Pakistan 7
6 Piloo Reporter  India 7
7 Dooland Buultjens  Sri Lanka 6
8 Peter McConnell  Australia 6
9 Steve Woodward  New Zealand 6
10 Ian Robinson  Zimbabwe 6
11 Karl Liebenberg  South Africa 6

Referees

Two match referees were also selected to supervise the semi-finals and final. Australia's Peter Burge supervised the first semi-final and the final,[3][5] while New Zealand's Frank Cameron supervised the second semi-final.[4]

Referee Country Matches 1992 WC
Peter Burge  Australia 63 2
Frank Cameron  New Zealand 5 1

Squads

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, one of the pre-tournament favourites 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 Sydney Cricket Ground 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, after Pakistan had been bowled out for 74: eventually they finished one point ahead of Australia with a superior run-rate.

Points table

Team Pld W L NR T RD RR Pts
 New Zealand 871000.594.7614
 England 852100.474.3611
 South Africa 853000.144.3610
 Pakistan 843100.174.339
 Australia 844000.204.228
 West Indies 844000.074.148
 India 825100.144.955
 Sri Lanka 82510−0.684.215
 Zimbabwe 81700−1.144.032

Match scores

22 February 1992
Scorecard
New Zealand 
248/6 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
211 (48.1 overs)
Martin Crowe 100* (134)
Craig McDermott 2/43 (10 overs)
David Boon 100 (133)
Gavin Larsen 3/30 (10 overs)
New Zealand won by 37 runs
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Khizer Hayat and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Martin Crowe
22 February 1992
Scorecard
England 
236/9 (50 overs)
v
 India
227 (49.2 overs)
Robin Smith 91 (108)
Manoj Prabhakar 2/34 (10 overs)
Ravi Shastri 57 (112)
Dermot Reeve 3/38 (6 overs)
England won by 9 runs
WACA Ground, Perth, Australia
Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Peter McConnell
Player of the match: Ian Botham
23 February 1992
Scorecard
Zimbabwe 
312/4 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
313/7 (49.2 overs)
Andy Flower 115* (152)
Pramodya Wickramasinghe 2/50 (10 overs)
Arjuna Ranatunga 88* (61)
Eddo Brandes 3/70 (10 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets
Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Andy Flower
23 February 1992
Scorecard
Pakistan 
220/2 (50 overs)
v
 West Indies
221/0 (46.5 overs)
Rameez Raja 102* (158)
Roger Harper 1/33 (10 overs)
Desmond Haynes 93* (144)
Wasim Akram 0/37 (10 overs)
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson
Player of the match: Brian Lara
25 February 1992
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
206/9 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
210/4 (48.2 overs)
Roshan Mahanama 80 (131)
Willie Watson 3/37 (10 overs)
Ken Rutherford 65* (71)
Ruwan Kalpage 2/33 (10 overs)
New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Trust Bank Park, Hamilton, New Zealand
Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Ken Rutherford
26 February 1992
Scorecard
Australia 
170/9 (49 overs)
v
 South Africa
171/1 (46.5 overs)
David Boon 27 (31)
Allan Donald 3/34 (10 overs)
Kepler Wessels 81* (148)
Peter Taylor 1/32 (10 overs)
South Africa won by 9 wickets
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Kepler Wessels
27 February 1992
Scorecard
Pakistan 
254/4 (50 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
201/7 (50 overs)
Aamir Sohail 114 (136)
Iain Butchart 3/57 (10 overs)
Andy Waller 44 (36)
Wasim Akram 3/21 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 53 runs
Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia
Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Aamir Sohail
27 February 1992
Scorecard
West Indies 
157 (49.2 overs)
v
 England
160/4 (39.5 overs)
Keith Arthurton 54 (101)
Chris Lewis 3/30 (8.2 overs)
Graham Gooch 65 (101)
Winston Benjamin 2/22 (9.5 overs)
England won by 6 wickets
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Chris Lewis
28 February 1992
Scorecard
India 
1/0 (0.2 overs)
v
No result
Ray Mitchell Oval, Mackay, Australia
Umpires: Ian Robinson and David Shepherd
  • The match was initially reduced to 20 overs a side due to rain. A helicopter was used to dry the pitch but as play began, rain fell again and the match was abandoned.
29 February 1992
Scorecard
South Africa 
190/7 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
191/3 (34.3 overs)
Peter Kirsten 90 (129)
Willie Watson 2/30 (10 overs)
Mark Greatbatch 68 (60)
Peter Kirsten 1/22 (7 overs)
New Zealand won by 7 wickets
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter
Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch
29 February 1992
Scorecard
West Indies 
264/8 (50 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
189/7 (50 overs)
Brian Lara 72 (71)
Eddo Brandes 3/45 (10 overs)
Ali Shah 60* (87)
Winston Benjamin 3/27 (10 overs)
West Indies won by 75 runs
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Brian Lara
1 March 1992
Scorecard
Australia 
237/9 (50 overs)
v
 India
234 (47 overs)
Dean Jones 90 (108)
Kapil Dev 3/41 (10 overs)
Mohammed Azharuddin 93 (102)
Tom Moody 3/56 (9 overs)
Australia won by 1 run (revised target)
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Ian Robinson
Player of the match: Dean Jones
  • Rain interrupted play after 16.2 overs in the Indian innings (45/1). India's target recalculated to 236 off 47 overs.
1 March 1992
Scorecard
Pakistan 
74 (40.2 overs)
v
 England
24/1 (8 overs)
Saleem Malik 17 (20)
Derek Pringle 3/8 (8.2 overs)
Ian Botham 6* (22)
Wasim Akram 1/7 (3 overs)
No result
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Peter McConnell
2 March 1992
Scorecard
South Africa 
195 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
198/7 (49.5 overs)
Peter Kirsten 47 (81)
Don Anurasiri 3/41 (10 overs)
Roshan Mahanama 68 (121)
Allan Donald 3/42 (9.5 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets
Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Arjuna Ranatunga
3 March 1992
Scorecard
New Zealand 
162/3 (20.5 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
105/7 (18 overs)
Martin Crowe 74* (43)
Kevin Duers 1/17 (6 overs)
Andy Flower 30 (28)
Chris Harris 3/15 (4 overs)
New Zealand won by 48 runs (revised target)
McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Dooland Buultjens
Player of the match: Martin Crowe
  • New Zealand innings interrupted at 9/1 (2.1 overs). Match reduced to 35 overs per side. Further interruption at 52/2 (11.2 ov). Match reduced to 24 overs per side. Innings ended by a third interruption after 20.5 overs. Zimbabwe set a target of 154 from 18 overs.
4 March 1992
Scorecard
India 
216/7 (49 overs)
v
 Pakistan
173 (48.1 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 54* (62)
Mushtaq Ahmed 3/59 (10 overs)
Aamir Sohail 62 (95)
Manoj Prabhakar 2/22 (10 overs)
India won by 43 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
Umpires: Peter McConnell and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar
  • Match reduced to 49 overs per side due to a slow over rate by Pakistan.
5 March 1992
Scorecard
South Africa 
200/8 (50 overs)
v
 West Indies
136 (38.4 overs)
Peter Kirsten 56 (91)
Malcolm Marshall 2/26 (10 overs)
Gus Logie 61 (69)
Meyrick Pringle 4/11 (8 overs)
South Africa won by 64 runs
Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Meyrick Pringle
5 March 1992
Scorecard
Australia 
171 (49 overs)
v
 England
173/2 (40.5 overs)
Tom Moody 51 (88)
Ian Botham 4/31 (10 overs)
Graham Gooch 58 (112)
Mike Whitney 1/28 (10 overs)
England won by 8 wickets
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Khizer Hayat
Player of the match: Ian Botham
7 March 1992
Scorecard
India 
203/7 (32 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
104/1 (19.1 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 81 (88)
John Traicos 3/35 (6 overs)
Andy Flower 43 (56)
Sachin Tendulkar 1/35 (6 overs)
India won by 55 runs (revised target)
Trust Bank Park, Hamilton, New Zealand
Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar
  • After rain forced the early close of the Indian innings, the target was recalculated to 159 runs in the 19 overs.
7 March 1992
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
189/9 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
190/3 (44 overs)
Aravinda de Silva 62 (83)
Peter Taylor 2/34 (10 overs)
Geoff Marsh 60 (113)
Pramodya Wickramasinghe 2/29 (10 overs)
Australia won by 7 wickets
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Ian Robinson
Player of the match: Tom Moody

8 March 1992
Scorecard
West Indies 
203/7 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
206/5 (48.3 overs)
Brian Lara 52 (81)
Gavin Larsen 2/41 (10 overs)
Martin Crowe 81* (81)
Winston Benjamin 2/34 (9.3 overs)
New Zealand won by 5 wickets
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell
Player of the match: Martin Crowe

8 March 1992
Scorecard
South Africa 
211/7 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
173/8 (36 overs)
Andrew Hudson 54 (77)
Imran Khan 2/34 (10 overs)
Inzamam-ul-Haq 48 (44)
Adrian Kuiper 3/40 (6 overs)
South Africa won by 20 runs (revised target)
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Andrew Hudson
  • When Pakistan was 74/2 after 21.3 overs, rain halted the play for an hour and the target was revised to 194 in 36 overs.

9 March 1992
Scorecard
England 
280/9 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
174 (44 overs)
Neil Fairbrother 63 (70)
Asanka Gurusinha 2/67 (10 overs)
Arjuna Ranatunga 36 (51)
Chris Lewis 4/30 (8 overs)
England won by 106 runs
Eastern Oval, Ballarat, Australia
Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter
Player of the match: Chris Lewis
10 March 1992
Scorecard
India 
197 (49.4 overs)
v
 West Indies
195/5 (44 overs)
Mohammed Azharuddin 61 (84)
Anderson Cummins 4/33 (10 overs)
Keith Arthurton 58 (99)
Javagal Srinath 2/23 (9 overs)
West Indies won by 5 wickets (revised target)
Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
Umpires: Steve Randell and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Anderson Cummins
10 March 1992
Scorecard
Zimbabwe 
163 (48.3 overs)
v
 South Africa
164/3 (45.1 overs)
Eddo Brandes 20 (28)
Peter Kirsten 3/31 (5 overs)
Kepler Wessels 70 (137)
Malcolm Jarvis 1/23 (9 overs)
South Africa won by 7 wickets
Manuka Oval, Canberra, Australia
Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Peter Kirsten
11 March 1992
Scorecard
Pakistan 
220/9 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
172 (45.2 overs)
Aamir Sohail 76 (104)
Steve Waugh 3/36 (10 overs)
Dean Jones 47 (79)
Aaqib Javed 3/21 (8 overs)
Pakistan won by 48 runs
WACA Ground, Perth, Australia
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Piloo Reporter
Player of the match: Aamir Sohail
12 March 1992
Scorecard
India 
230/6 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
231/6 (47.1 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 84 (107)
Chris Harris 3/55 (9 overs)
Mark Greatbatch 73 (77)
Manoj Prabhakar 3/46 (10 overs)
New Zealand won by 4 wickets
Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand
Umpires: Peter McConnell and Ian Robinson
Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch
12 March 1992
Scorecard
South Africa 
236/4 (50 overs)
v
 England
226/7 (40.5 overs)
Kepler Wessels 85 (126)
Graeme Hick 2/44 (8.2 overs)
Alec Stewart 77 (88)
Richard Snell 3/42 (7.5 overs)
England won by 3 wickets (revised target)
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Dooland Buultjens
Player of the match: Alec Stewart
  • Rain disrupted play in England's innings for 43 minutes when they were 62/0 after 12.0 overs. The target was revised to 226 in 41 overs.
13 March 1992
Scorecard
West Indies 
268/8 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
177/9 (50 overs)
Phil Simmons 110 (125)
Chandika Hathurusinghe 4/57 (8 overs)
Athula Samarasekera 40 (41)
Carl Hooper 2/19 (10 overs)
West Indies won by 91 runs
Berri Oval, Berri, Australia
Umpires: David Shepherd and Steve Woodward
Player of the match: Phil Simmons
14 March 1992
Scorecard
Australia 
265/6 (46 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
137 (41.4 overs)
Mark Waugh 66* (39)
John Traicos 1/30 (10 overs)
Eddo Brandes 23 (28)
Peter Taylor 2/14 (3.4 overs)
Australia won by 128 runs
Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Steve Waugh
  • Rain stopped play with Australia 72/1 after 15 overs. Match reduced to 46 overs per side.
15 March 1992
Scorecard
England 
200/8 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
201/3 (40.5 overs)
Graeme Hick 56 (70)
Dipak Patel 2/26 (10 overs)
Andrew Jones 78 (113)
Ian Botham 1/19 (4 overs)
New Zealand won by 7 wickets[6]
Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson
Player of the match: Andrew Jones
15 March 1992
Scorecard
India 
180/6 (30 overs)
v
 South Africa
181/4 (29.1 overs)
Mohammad Azharuddin 79 (77)
Adrian Kuiper 2/28 (6 overs)
Peter Kirsten 84 (86)
Manoj Prabhakar 1/33 (5.1 overs)
South Africa won by 6 wickets
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Khizer Hayat
Player of the match: Peter Kirsten
  • Rain reduced the match to 30 overs per side
15 March 1992
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
212/6 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
216/6 (49.1 overs)
Aravinda de Silva 43 (56)
Mushtaq Ahmed 2/43 (10 overs)
Javed Miandad 57 (84)
Champaka Ramanayake 2/37 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 4 wickets
WACA Ground, Perth, Australia
Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell
Player of the match: Javed Miandad
18 March 1992
Scorecard
New Zealand 
166 (48.2 overs)
v
 Pakistan
167/3 (44.4 overs)
Mark Greatbatch 42 (67)
Wasim Akram 4/32 (9.2 overs)
Rameez Raja 119* (155)
Danny Morrison 3/42 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets
Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand
Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Mushtaq Ahmed

18 March 1992
Scorecard
Zimbabwe 
134 (46.1 overs)
v
 England
125 (49.1 overs)
David Houghton 29 (74)
Ian Botham 3/23 (10 overs)
Alec Stewart 29 (96)
Eddo Brandes 4/21 (10 overs)
Zimbabwe won by 9 runs
Lavington Sports Oval, Albury, Australia
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Khizer Hayat
Player of the match: Eddo Brandes
18 March 1992
Scorecard
Australia 
216/6 (50 overs)
v
 West Indies
159 (42.4 overs)
David Boon 100 (147)
Andy Cummins 3/38 (10 overs)
Brian Lara 70 (97)
Mike Whitney 4/34 (10 overs)
Australia won by 57 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd
Player of the match: David Boon

Knockout stage

Summary

In the first semi-final, Pakistan defeated tournament favourites New Zealand in a high-scoring match to win their first semi-final in four attempts and book a place in the World Cup Final for the first time. Inzamam-ul-Haq smashed 60 runs in 37 balls in the 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 circumstances when, after a 10-minute rain delay, the most productive overs method revised South Africa's 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 as a result of this incident, and it was eventually superseded by the Duckworth–Lewis method for the 1999 World Cup onwards. According to the late Bill Frindall, had the Duckworth–Lewis method been applied at that rain interruption, the revised target would have been four runs to tie or five to win from the final ball.[7] As a point of clarity, ESPN points out that England's innings was cut short when the overs weren't completed by 6:10 p.m. (the rescheduled close of innings time),[8] Cricinfo say 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 most productive overs rule.[9]

In a thrilling final, Pakistan beat England by 22 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), allowing the "cornered tigers" captain Imran Khan to lift the trophy. Derek Pringle took two early wickets for England before Imran Khan and Javed Miandad 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-Haq (42 off 35 balls) and Wasim Akram (33 off 18 balls) took Pakistan to a total of 249/6. England also struggled early in their innings with Mushtaq Ahmed's googly accounting for Graeme Hick. Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb then took England to 141/4 when Wasim Akram re-entered the attack and bowled from around the wicket. He bowled Lamb and Chris Lewis with consecutive deliveries. England fell 22 runs short with captain Imran Khan, in his final One Day International, taking the final wicket of Richard Illingworth to give Pakistan their first World Cup title.

Bracket

Semi-finals Final
21 March – Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
 1  New Zealand 262/7  
 4  Pakistan 264/6  
 
25 March – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
      Pakistan 249/6
    England 227
22 March – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
 2  England 252/6
 3  South Africa 232/6  

Semi finals

21 March 1992
scorecard
New Zealand 
262/7 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
264/6 (49 overs)
Martin Crowe 91 (83)
Wasim Akram 2/40 (10 overs)
Mushtaq Ahmed 2/40 (10 overs)
Inzamam-ul-Haq 60 (37)
Willie Watson 2/39 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 4 wickets
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Attendance: 40,000
Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Inzamam-ul-Haq
22 March 1992
scorecard
England 
252/6 (45 overs)
v
 South Africa
232/6 (43 overs)
Graeme Hick 83 (90)
Meyrick Pringle 2/36 (9 overs)
Andrew Hudson 46 (52)
Richard Illingworth 2/46 (10 overs)
England won by 20 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 35,010
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Graeme Hick
  • Rain interrupted play before the last ball of the 43rd over. South Africa then required 22 runs off 13 balls for victory. With 2 overs lost due to rain, the target was reduced to 22 runs from only 1 ball.

Final

25 March 1992
scorecard
Pakistan 
249/6 (50 overs)
v
 England
227 all out (49.2 overs)
Imran Khan 72 (110)
Derek Pringle 3/22 (10 overs)
Neil Fairbrother 62 (70)
Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 22 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Attendance: 87,182
Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Wasim Akram
The MCG 87,182 people during the 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 Gooch 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 he and Imran Khan built a steady partnership. During his innings, Imran hit a huge six off Richard Illingworth that landed far back into the members section. Imran played a captain's innings, getting a score of 72 and Miandad 58 to steady the innings, expectedly followed by an onslaught from Inzamam (42) and Wasim Akram (33) 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 Alec Stewart, Hick and Gooch, which left England tumbling at 69/4. A solid partnership of 71 between Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother caused Imran 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 deliveries from the left arm fast bowler dismissed Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis. Soon Fairbrother was caught by Moin Khan off Aaqib Javed to seal England's last hope. When the cards were laid down, captain Imran Khan had the last laugh when Richard Illingworth was caught by Ramiz Raja off his delivery to finish off the final and crown Pakistan world champions of cricket.

Statistics

Leading run scorers
Matches Player Runs
9 New Zealand Martin Crowe 456
9 Pakistan Javed Miandad 437
8 South Africa Peter Kirsten 410
8 Australia David Boon 368
8 Pakistan Rameez Raja 349

Leading wicket takers
Matches Player Wickets
10 Pakistan Wasim Akram 18
10 England Ian Botham 16
9 Pakistan Mushtaq Ahmed 16
9 New Zealand Chris Harris 16
8 Zimbabwe Eddo Brandes 14

Man of the Series

Tactical innovations

A notable feature of this World Cup was the innovative tactics employed by New Zealand captain Martin Crowe, who opened his team's bowling with spin bowler Dipak Patel, rather than with a fast bowler, as is usual practice. Another innovation was the then-unorthodox ploy of opening the batting with "pinch hitters", such as New Zealand's Mark Greatbatch.[6][11] These innovations reversed the immediate prior form of New Zealand who, realising they lacked a team of world-beaters, turned instead to craft; England had a clean sweep of their tour of New Zealand in 1991–92. Public expectations increased but were dashed in the semi-final as young Inzamam-ul-Haq pulled off victory for Pakistan while injured Martin Crowe watched from the stand.[12]

Notes and references

  1. Williamson, Martin (17 March 2007). "Ruling an impossible target". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 March 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  2. "Captains of 1992 Cricket World Cup". Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 "1st SF: New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Mar 21, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 "2nd SF: England v South Africa at Sydney, Mar 22, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Final: England v Pakistan at Melbourne, Mar 25, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Rare: New Zealand vs England World Cup 1992 HQ Extended Highlights (15 March 1992)". YouTube. TV One. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  7. "Stump the Bearded Wonder", BBC Sport. 28 March 2007.
  8. , ESPN scorecard of the second semi-final
  9. England v South Africa, Cricinfo scorecard of the second semi-final
  10. Issacs, Vic. "Benson & Hedges World Cup, 1991/92, Final". CricInfo. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  11. Longley, Geoff (3 August 2013). "1992 Cricket World Cup Memories". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax NZ News. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  12. Anderson, Ian (December 13, 2014). "Ken Rutherford digs in on racing's sticky wicket". Where are they now?. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
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