1992 Cricket World Cup

Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992

Official logo
Dates	22 February – 25 March 1992
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	One Day International
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)	Australia   New Zealand
Champions	Pakistan (1st title)
Runners-up	England
Participants	9
Matches	39
Player of the series	Martin Crowe [1]
Most runs	Martin Crowe (456)
Most wickets	Wasim Akram (18)
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The 1992 Cricket World Cup (known as the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992 for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth Cricket World Cup, the premier One Day International cricket tournament for men's national teams, 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 by 22 runs in the final to become the World Cup champions for the first time.
The tournament is remembered for the controversial "rain rule". ^[2]

Host selection

Australia and New Zealand were awarded the hosting rights in January 1989, defeating a joint India-Pakistan bid after those two nations had hosted the preceding 1987 World Cup. ^[3] The Australia–New Zealand bid proposed that the tournament be held in February and March 1992, at the end of the local cricket season, while the India–Pakistan bid would have seen the tournament held in late 1991. ^[4] The seven full members of the ICC were given two votes each in the ballot, while the 18 associate members were given one vote each. ^[5] The results of the ballot were not released, but the winning bid reportedly enjoyed strong support from the ICC associate members. ^[3]

Firsts

The 1992 World Cup was the first to feature coloured player clothing, white cricket balls and black sight screens, with a number of matches being played under floodlights. ^[6] It was also the first Cricket World Cup to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first 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 in 1990. For the first time, the World Cup was not held after a four-year gap, but after a five-year gap. ^[7]

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 (the Average Run Rate method) 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 Most Productive Overs method. 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 seemed plausible, 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. The farcical end to the semi-final led to the creation of the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Teams

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

For the first time, South Africa competed as the eighth full member of the ICC, 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 defeating the Netherlands in the final for the second time. Zimbabwe would gain full member status following the tournament and play their first Test match later in 1992. Teams who entered were: ^[8]

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

Venues

Australia

Perth

Melbourne

Sydney

Hobart

Mackay

Brisbane

Adelaide

Ballarat

Canberra

Berri

Albury

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Venues in Australia

Venue	City	State/territory	Number of matches	Matches
Adelaide Oval	Adelaide	South Australia	3	Round robin
Lavington Sports Oval	Albury	New South Wales	1	Round robin
Eastern Oval	Ballarat	Victoria	1	Round robin
Berri Oval	Berri	South Australia	1	Round robin
The Gabba	Brisbane	Queensland	3	Round robin
Manuka Oval	Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	1	Round robin
Bellerive Oval	Hobart	Tasmania	2	Round robin
Ray Mitchell Oval	Mackay	Queensland	1	Round robin
Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	Victoria	5	Round robin, Final
WACA Ground	Perth	Western Australia	3	Round robin
Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney	New South Wales	4	Round robin, 2nd semi-final

New Zealand

Auckland

Christchurch

Dunedin

Hamilton

Napier

New Plymouth

Wellington

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Venues in New Zealand

Venue	City	Region	Number of matches	Matches
Eden Park	Auckland	Auckland	4	Round robin, 1st semi-final
Lancaster Park	Christchurch	Canterbury	2	Round robin
Carisbrook	Dunedin	Otago	1	Round robin
Seddon Park	Hamilton	Waikato	2	Round robin
McLean Park	Napier	Hawke's Bay	1	Round robin
Pukekura Park	New Plymouth	Taranaki	1	Round robin
Basin Reserve	Wellington	Wellington	3	Round robin

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, ^[9] while New Zealand's Brian Aldridge and Australia's Steve Randell were chosen for the second. ^[10] Bucknor and Aldridge were chosen for the final. ^[11]

Umpire	Country	Matches
Steve Bucknor	West Indies	9
Brian Aldridge	New Zealand	9
David Shepherd	England	8
Steve Randell	Australia	8
Khizer Hayat	Pakistan	7
Piloo Reporter	India	7
Dooland Buultjens	Sri Lanka	6
Peter McConnell	Australia	6
Steve Woodward	New Zealand	6
Ian Robinson	Zimbabwe	6
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, ^{[9] [11]} while New Zealand's Frank Cameron supervised the second semi-final. ^[10]

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

Squads

Main article: 1992 Cricket World Cup squads

Round-robin stage

Main article: 1992 Cricket World Cup round-robin stage

Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise package of the tournament, winning their first seven consecutive 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 losses were to champions Pakistan, once in the group stage and the second in the semi-final.

Points table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
1	New Zealand	8	7	1	0	0	14	0.592
2	England	8	5	2	0	1	11	0.470
3	South Africa	8	5	3	0	0	10	0.138
4	Pakistan	8	4	3	0	1	9	0.166
5	Australia	8	4	4	0	0	8	0.201
6	West Indies	8	4	4	0	0	8	0.076
7	India	8	2	5	0	1	5	0.137
8	Sri Lanka	8	2	5	0	1	5	−0.686
9	Zimbabwe	8	1	7	0	0	2	−1.142

Source: ^[12]

Tournament progression

Team	Round-robin stage								Knockout
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	SF	F
Australia	0	0	2	2	4	4	6	8
England	2	4	5	7	9	11	11	11	W	L
India	0	1	1	3	5	5	5	5
New Zealand	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	L
Pakistan	0	2	3	3	3	5	7	9	W	W
South Africa	2	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	L
Sri Lanka	2	2	3	5	5	5	5	5
West Indies	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	8
Zimbabwe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

Won

Lost

No result

Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.

Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (knockout) to see the match summary.

Results

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 Umpires: Khizer Hayat and David Shepherd Player of the match: Martin Crowe (NZ)

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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 Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Ian Botham (Eng)

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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 Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Andy Flower (Zim)

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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 Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Brian Lara (WI)

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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 Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd Player of the match: Ken Rutherford (NZ)

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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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Kepler Wessels (SA)

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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 Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Steve Randell Player of the match: Aamir Sohail (Pak)

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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 Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Chris Lewis (Eng)

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28 February 1992 Scorecard

India   1/0 (0.2 overs)	v	Sri Lanka

No result Ray Mitchell Oval, Mackay 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, it rained again and the match was abandoned.

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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 Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch (NZ)

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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 The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Brian Lara (WI)

• West Indies and Zimbabwe would next play in Brisbane in 2001

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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) The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Dean Jones (Aus)

• Rain interrupted play after 16.2 overs in the Indian innings (45/1). India's target recalculated to 236 off 47 overs.

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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 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Peter McConnell

• Rain commenced at lunch with England 17/1 after six overs. Only two further overs were possible after lunch, with England chasing a revised target of 64 off 16 overs and then 63 off 15 overs. With fewer than 15 overs being batted by England, no result was declared.

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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 Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Arjuna Ranatunga (SL)

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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 Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Dooland Buultjens Player of the match: Martin Crowe (NZ)

• 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.

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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 Umpires: Peter McConnell and David Shepherd Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

• Match reduced to 49 overs per side due to a slow over rate by Pakistan.

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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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Randell Player of the match: Meyrick Pringle (SA)

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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 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Ian Botham (Eng)

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7 March 1992 Scorecard

India   203/7 (32 overs)	v	Zimbabwe 104/1 (19.1 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 81 (77) John Traicos 3/35 (6 overs)		Andy Flower 43 (56) Sachin Tendulkar 1/35 (6 overs)

India won by 55 runs (revised target) Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Steve Randell Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

• After rain forced the game of 32 overs per side, Rain came again at 19.1 over in ZIM Innings thus target was recalculated to 159 runs in the 19 overs.

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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 Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Tom Moody (Aus)

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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 Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Martin Crowe (NZ)

• This was Malcolm Marshall's last ODI.

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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) The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Andrew Hudson (SA)

• 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.

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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 Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Chris Lewis (Eng)

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10 March 1992 Scorecard

India   197 (49.4 overs)	v	West Indies 195/5 (40.2 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 Umpires: Steve Randell and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Anderson Cummins (WI)

• Rain came in 11th over of WI's Innings and the Revised Target became 195 in 46 Overs

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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 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd Player of the match: Peter Kirsten (SA)

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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 Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Aamir Sohail (Pak)

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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 Umpires: Peter McConnell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch (NZ)

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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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Dooland Buultjens Player of the match: Alec Stewart (Eng)

• 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.

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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 Umpires: David Shepherd and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Phil Simmons (WI)

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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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Steve Waugh (Aus)

• Rain stopped play with Australia 72/1 after 15 overs. Match reduced to 46 overs per side.

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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 [13] Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Andrew Jones (NZ)

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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 Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Peter Kirsten (SA)

• Rain reduced the match to 30 overs per side

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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 Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Javed Miandad (Pak)

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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 Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Steve Randell Player of the match: Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)

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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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Eddo Brandes (Zim)

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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 Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd Player of the match: David Boon (Aus)

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. New Zealand batted first and scored 262. Their captain Martin Crowe was injured while scoring 91, and opted to let John Wright captain during Pakistan's innings rather than risk aggravating the injury, which was seen as a mistake in hindsight. ^[14] When Inzamam-ul-Haq came in to bat, Pakistan still needed 123 from 15 overs. ^[15] He 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 22 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. ^[16] The Duckworth-Lewis method would also have changed the target earlier in the day, due to earlier rain interruptions. ^[17]

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	21 March – Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
	New Zealand	262/7
					25 March – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
	Pakistan	264/6
					Pakistan	249/6
	22 March – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
					England	227
	England	252/6
	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 Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI) and David Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match: Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)

• New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.
• Pakistan qualified for the final for the first time.

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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 19 runs Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Brian Aldridge (NZ) and Steve Randell (Aus) Player of the match: Graeme Hick (Eng)

• South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
• 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 21 runs from only 1 ball, using the Most Productive Overs method.
• The SCG scoreboard and the TV coverage incorrectly displayed South Africa needing 22 off 7 balls, then 22 off 1 ball - the actual requirement to win was 21 off 1 ball
• A Duckworth/Lewis calculation under the rules in 2006 would have first set South Africa a target of 273 in 45 overs, and then reduced this to 257 from 43 overs. ^{[nb 1]}
• England qualified for the final for the third time after 1979 and 1987.

Final

Main article: 1992 Cricket World Cup Final

25 March 1992 Scorecard

Pakistan   249/6 (50 overs)	v	England 227 (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 Umpires: Brian Aldridge (NZ) and Steve Bucknor (WI) Player of the match: Wasim Akram (Pak)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• This was Imran Khan's last ODI.

In a thrilling final, Pakistan beat England by 22 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). 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. He went on to score 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 fate. Imran Khan had the final say, when he had Richard Illingworth caught by Ramiz Raja off his bowling to finish the final and crown Pakistan World Champions.

This also remains as the only World Cup Final to be played during the week, being played on a Wednesday.

Statistics

Main article: 1992 Cricket World Cup statistics

Leading run scorers Matches Player Runs 9 Martin Crowe 456 9 Javed Miandad 437 8 Peter Kirsten 410 8 David Boon 368 8 Ramiz Raja 349

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

Man of the Series

• Martin Crowe ^[1]

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. ^{[13] [18]} These innovations reversed the immediate prior form of New Zealand who had lost 3–0 in their most recent series against England, with one commentator writing, "Without a host of world-class performers, New Zealand got crafty instead". ^[19]

Notes

1. The increased target under the Duckworth-Lewis method reflects the difference between England losing their final five overs - due to slow bowling by South Africa - against South Africa losing their first five overs.

References

1. Isaacs, Vic. "Benson & Hedges World Cup, 1991/92, Final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
2. Monga, Sidharth (22 March 2020). "Were South Africa really unlucky in the 1992 World Cup?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
3. "S. African saga not complete". The Canberra Times. 26 January 1989.
4. "Promising bid for World Cup". The Canberra Times. 23 January 1989.
5. "Neighbours to bid for Cup". The Canberra Times. 26 October 1988.
6. Williamson, Martin (17 March 2007). "Ruling an impossible target". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 March 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
7. Vishal, R. (31 January 2015). "Benson & Hedges World Cup 1991: Pakistan's fairytale & 5 other top Highlights". India.com . Retrieved 6 November 2020.
8. "Captains of 1992 Cricket World Cup". 6 February 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
9. "1st SF: New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Mar 21, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
10. "2nd SF: England v South Africa at Sydney, Mar 22, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
11. "Final: England v Pakistan at Melbourne, Mar 25, 1992". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
12. "Windies crumble, but Australia reaps no joy". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 March 1992. p. 20. Retrieved 15 November 2020– via National Library of Australia.
13. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Rare: New Zealand vs England World Cup 1992 HQ Extended Highlights (15 March 1992)". YouTube . TV One. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
14. Crowe's fatal gamble, ESPNcricinfo, 30 Oct 2018
15. Inzamam chooses the big stage, ESPNcricinfo, 30 Oct 2018
16. "Stump the Bearded Wonder", BBC Sport. 28 March 2007
17. Scorecard, ESPNcricinfo
18. Longley, Geoff (3 August 2013). "1992 Cricket World Cup Memories". Stuff . Fairfax NZ News . Retrieved 13 February 2014.
19. Anderson, Ian (13 December 2014). "Ken Rutherford digs in on racing's sticky wicket". Stuff . Retrieved 22 December 2014.

• Wisden Almanack Report
• List A Limited Overs Matches played in Australia Season 1992/93
• Imran's Tigers turn the corner

External links

• Cricket World Cup 1992 from ESPNcricinfo