Courtesy of a scintillating summer of drama and tension served up by England and Australia, cricket is at the forefront of the sporting world. This autumn, the planet's favorite bat and ball sport will aim to capitalize on that popularity with the 13th installment of the Cricket World Cup. The tournament will be hosted in India and gets underway on October 5th, and excitement has already reached a fever pitch.
Throughout a five-week period, the world's finest One Day playing nations will square off against each other with one singular aim, becoming world champions. The sporting world has crowned plenty of world champions over the last 12 months. Lionel Messi finally climbed his final peak as he led Argentina to a first FIFA World Cup crown in 36 years in Qatar late last year and his adopted homeland of Spain followed suit earlier this summer as La Roja claimed a maiden Women's World Cup triumph.
Cricket is the next sport to crown its newly minted monarchs, and there are a number of contenders for glory. Websites that provide online sportsbook opportunities have made hosts India the early 3.25 (+225) favorites on home turf. They will have to find a way to manage the hopes and lofty expectations of over 1.4 billion rabid fans on their quest for silverware. Should they not manage to do that, then the likes of reigning champions England, five-time champions Australia, and arch-rivals Pakistan will all be aiming to spring the upset.
Recent installments of the Cricket World Cup have provided plenty of dramatic affairs, none more so than the final four years ago at Lord's. England and New Zealand couldn't be separated after 100 overs of cricket and as such, a Super Over was required to determine a winner. So, with that being said, let's take a look at the most recent winners of the fabled tournament, and which players were crucial to each team's success.
2019 – England
England are the reigning World Champions having managed to lift the trophy for the first time in their history on home turf back in 2019. Their victory over the Kiwis in the aforementioned Lord's showpiece was one of the most dramatic finishes in all of sports and it was where New Zealand-born Ben Stokes cemented himself in the history books as one of his nation's greatest ever players. He slapped an unbeaten 84 during his regular innings to rescue his side from the brink of defeat. He - alongside the bowling of paceman Jofra Archer - managed to get England over the line in the aforementioned Super Over.
England’s victory was due to a combination of factors, including a strong batting performance by top scorer and former test captain Joe Root. However, it was the final over by Stokes that will forever be remembered. He hit a dramatic six in the most unusual of circumstances to tie things up, and the rest, as they say, is history.
2015 – Australia
In 2015, Australia asserted their dominance over the world for the fifth time and secured their legacy as the greatest One Day nation in the history of the sport. Inspired by the brilliance of captain Michael Clarke, the Baggy Greens managed to seal a dominant seven-wicket victory over neighbors New Zealand on home turf at the iconic 100,000-capacity MCG. Their victory was built on a solid all-round team performance, with key contributions from pace bowler Mitchell Starc and opening batsman Aaron Finch.
Four years later, they headed to England in the hopes of defending their crown and they did make it all the way to the semifinals. There, however, the hosts had too much for them to handle, eventually succumbing to a lop-sided defeat.
2011 – India
Just as it will be this year, the 2011 World Cup was held in India, and the home team managed to claim victory in front of their adoring fans. As mentioned, they are the favorites to repeat that feat this autumn, however, whether they can live up to that hype remains to be seen. 12 years ago, they were led by their inspirational captain MS Dhoni, with the wicketkeeper leading them to victory 28 years after their first and previously only success.
They were known for their strong batting line-up, which included stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. India’s victory was also due to a disciplined bowling performance, with Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh taking crucial wickets throughout the tournament.
2007 – Australia
Australia won their third consecutive cricket World Cup in 2007, cementing their reputation as the dominant team in this sport. Led by captain Ricky Ponting, the team was known for their aggressive playing style and dominant performances in all aspects of the game. Australia’s victory in 2007 was due to the brilliance of many of their players, including all-rounder Shane Watson, who won the man of the tournament award, and fast bowler Glenn McGrath, who took 26 wickets throughout the tournament.
