How does Cricket ball swing and spin?

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The game of Cricket is as much as a science as it is an art! And the most trending questions about Cricket are how does a Cricket ball swing and spin? Today, each team has to have a few good swing bowlers and a few good spin bowlers to be able to take wickets in home and away matches.

So, how does Cricket ball swing and spin? I found below two videos out of many there on the internet which explain the Science behind this beautiful art.

Science of Swinging ball

Science of Spinning ball

I hope the science is revealed..!

Source: Youtube.com

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Cricket Rules: New ODI Rules

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Recently, you must have been reading or hearing about captains complaining about the new One Day International (ODI) Cricket rules. So what are these new ODI rules? Let's have a very quick look.

New ODI Rules:

1. Power-play rule change:

Since the inception of the 'Power-play' rule, as explained in Powerplay Rule in Cricket, it has been an added headache for teams and captains. There were 3 power-plays earlier; first between over number 1 and 10. It was termed as mandatory power-play. Then there were P1 and P2 each of 5 overs. Batting and fielding teams had option to choose when to take assigned power-plays after mandatory power-play was over.

Now according to new rule, mandatory power-play (between first 10 overs) will remain as it is. After this power-play, there will be only one power-play of 5 overs, which should be completed before 40th over of innings and that can be called by batting side.

2. Fielding restrictions:

Earlier, in non power-play overs, fielding team was allowed to keep 5 fielders outside 30 yard circle. Now, the changed rule allows only 4 fielders outside the 30 yard circle.

This change is largely debated currently. Impact of this rule is on bowlers. Since only 4 fielders are outside the circle, bowlers have less protection against big shots. And it will be comparatively easier and encouraging for batsmen to play big shots.

But few experts feel that with the introduction of this rules, the non power-play Cricket will be more exciting than what it was, because batsmen will take extra risk of playing big shots, and this will give a window of opportunity for bowlers to take wickets.

Current and future Cricket schedules in 2013

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International Current and Future Cricket Tour Schedules in 2013

So as we roll the calendars over to the year 2013, first thing we tend to look is for dates of holidays in new year! And I am sure, as a Cricket Lover, you must be equally curious to know what are important Cricketing dates.

Let's look at the most important current and future tours in this year 2013, in tabular and image format. Click on an image to have a full view - download it for your reference, share it with your friends or just print it and pint it to the cubicle:

1. India versus Australia, in India, Feb- Mar 2013

Date and Time	Match
Fri Feb 22 - Tue Feb 26	1st Test - India v Australia
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Sat Mar 2 - Wed Mar 6	2nd Test - India v Australia
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Thu Mar 14 - Mon Mar 18	3rd Test - India v Australia
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local	Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Fri Mar 22 - Tue Mar 26	4th Test - India v Australia
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Image:

Sachin Tendulkar's Unforgettable Innings

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And then..., there comes a day when Sachin Tendulkar announces his retirement from One Day International (ODI) Cricket. As an ardent Sachin Tendulkar fan, I had mixed emotions, may be, failing to express myself - whether to celebrate his golden career, or to express displeasure about his early retirement (than expected). But as I write this, taking emotions out of of mind and coming to reality with his decision, as a blogger, I thoroughly welcome his decision to retire from ODIs. He has done everything that a human being can do in ODIs.

In our lifetimes, I am sure, we will never ever be able to see another player having 49 ODI centuries, 96 ODI half centuries, 18426 ODI runs and all this with an amazing strike rate of 86.14 and an unbelievable average of 44.83! Ours is the generation, highly blessed I will say, which has seen the jersey number 10 playing one 'divine' innings after the other and we will be telling our children, grandchildren that 'yes, there was this man, I have seen him batting Live!'

Well, for that generation, which will want a glimpse of Sachin's batting, here is a list of must watch Sachin Tendulkar innings. If you have not seen these innings, may be you have not seen the real Sachin Tendulkar. If you have seen them, may be there is no doubt in your mind, why he is called 'the God of Cricket!'

A gentle advice: I recommend you to add this post to your bookmark/ share on your wall. So whenever you want to get inspired, get sheer joy and entertainment, forget your sorrows and worries, just tune in - watch these innings highlights, and get blessed!

World Cup T20 2012 and other tour schedules

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Which is the the next (exciting) Cricket series?

After the glamorous, noisy, controversial and thrilling IPL season 5 got over, cricketing fields are empty, stands are uncrowded, TV channels are running soccer news in otherwise "only cricket" news hours, facebook cricket pages, groups, blogs are not finding anything substantial to comment on, offices are no longer following cricinfos and all the Cricket Lovers are getting bored without any magnificent battle on cricket ground. And then one colleague asks me, 'hey when is the next match?'

Thus, comes this post. Following images are the schedules of important international series that would take place in coming months. Following list of schedules contain the important series like Aus vs Eng, Ind vs SL, NZ vs Ind, Eng vs Ind and perhaps the most awaited event - T20 World Cup schedule. Let's check in chronological order.

(P.S.: Please click on the image to view them to the original size, and yes, you can download them to your device and share with your friends)

1. Australia's Tour of England : June - July 2012

Australia's Tour of England : June - July 2012

2. India's Tour of Sri Lanka : July - August 2012

3. New Zealand's Tour of India : August - September 2012

New Zealand's Tour of India : August - September 2012

4. T20 World Cup 2012, Sri Lanka Schedule:

Powerplay Rule in Cricket

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Nowadays, when you check the scoreline for an ODI match, shown mostly at the bottom of TV screen, you see characters such as 'P1', 'P2' or 'P3'. Or when we listen to the commentators, we hear phrases such as 'mandatory Powerplay', 'batting/ bowling Powerplay'. Now all these rules come under the category of 'the field restrictions'. ODI innings is divided into parts where there are certain rules, restrictions for the field placement such as number of fielders on a particular side, distance of fielders from batsman in certain overs etc. This field restriction rules are a little complex to understand. But when to get the idea, it becomes easier to understand the strategy of captains as to why they place certain fielders at certain place only. Or why Powerplay are taken instantly or delayed. Let's looks at what rules say:

• In any Powerplay/ non Powerplay over, there cannot be more than 5 fieldsmen on the leg side.
• In non Powerplay overs, there cannot be more than 5 fielders outside the field restriction area.
• Once a side nominates a Powerplay, the decision cannot be reversed.

The 30 Yard Circle

How is the field restriction area is marked? Two semi-circles, with 30 yard radius, are drawn on the field of play with center of the middle stump at either end of the pitch as their center. And they are connected by two parallel lines. (Many a times you must have heard ‘the 30 yard circle’- this is the area commentators refer to!) This - the field restriction area - is shown in blue color in adjacent picture.

During the first block of Powerplay Overs, only two fieldsmen are permitted outside this fielding restriction area. Two fieldsmen should be within the 15 yard from the batsman on strike (15 yard aread marked by the dotted circles, mostly seen as white discs on ground). However, this 15 yard restriction is not observed if fielders are standing in slip, leg slip or gully position. This is the ‘mandatory Powerplay’, as in, no team has any choice about its selection, always taken between over  number 1 to 10 i.e., at  commencement of an innings , marked as ‘P1’.

Asia Cup 2012

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While excitement for CB Series 2012, as to who will be playing finals against Australia, is still on, there comes buzz about the Asia Cup 2012 with the controversies surrounding the Team India selection. While Sehwag (and selectors) claim that he has been rested, nobody can buy this statement considering Sehwag's poor run with bat Down Under. Second, Gambhir is still in the team, why suddenly Virat Kohli was made Vice Captain? Anyway, any team selection cannot satisfy 100% of people and there will always be debates going on about what is correct and what is not- till the team wins!

Coming to the facts, following is Indian Squad selected for Asia Cup 2012:

CB Series 2012 Points Table

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After India's historic win over Sri Lanka, where they chased 321 runs in 36.4 overs at the loss of 3 wickets and claimed the bonus point, the race for finals in CB Series 2012, is still wide open. If Australia beats Sri Lanka in last league match, India will qualify for finals. Find out how:

Following stats are updated after the 11th CB Series Match played today.

CB Series Points Table:

Virender Sehwag Double Century

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Ever since Sehwag stared opening the innings in ODI matches, we looked at him as potentially the only Indian to score double ton in ODI for India. He did it. But it wasn't as much a surprise for me that Sehwag did it, the only surprise was that he was the second Indian (and in World too) to do it! In a way this was a much expected record from him.

Though I was lucky enough to view 'the shot' that made Sehwag's score read 201*, I was not fortunate enough to see the entire innings. Hence followed the score on the internet. There were few instances when I did not look the score for 8- 12 minutes and suddenly, Sehwag had added 15- 20 runs to his account. Such was the pace and strike rate of his innings that it was just impossible to stop him.

Below is the interesting stats of the highest individual score in an ODI innings broken and held so far.

Player	Runs	Mins	Balls	4s	6s		Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	ODI #
JH Edrich	82	150	119	4	0		England	v Australia	Melbourne	5 Jan 1971	ODI # 1
DL Amiss	103	161	134	9	0		England	v Australia	Manchester	24 Aug 1972	ODI # 2
RC Fredericks	105	-	122	10	1		West Indies	v England	The Oval	7 Sep 1973	ODI # 9
D Lloyd	116*	-	159	8	1		England	v Pakistan	Nottingham	31 Aug 1974	ODI # 14
GM Turner	171*	190	201	16	2		New Zealand	v East Africa	Birmingham	7 Jun 1975	ODI # 20
N Kapil Dev	175*	-	138	16	6		India	v Zimbabwe	Tunbridge Wells	18 Jun 1983	ODI # 216
IVA Richards	189*	-	170	21	5		West Indies	v England	Manchester	31 May 1984	ODI # 264
Saeed Anwar	194	206	146	22	5		Pakistan	v India	Chennai	21 May 1997	ODI # 1209
CK Coventry	194*	191	156	16	7		Zimbabwe	v Bangladesh	Bulawayo	16 Aug 2009	ODI # 2873
SR Tendulkar	200*	226	147	25	3		India	v South Africa	Gwalior	24 Feb 2010	ODI # 2962
V Sehwag	219	-	149	25	7		India	v West Indies	Indore	8 Dec 2011	ODI # 3223

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The biggest threat to the record of Sehwag is from Sehwag, himself!

And The Empire India begins...

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Cometh the hour, cometh the Champion!

Mission Accomplished

Rome wasn't built in a day, neither was Team India. The process that was started around 10 years back, under Captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, has reached its peak under the Leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The process saw its lowest point at 2007 world cup when Team India thrashed out in league matches. Come 2011 and I can say with very much pride that INDIA IS WORLD CHAMPION after 28 years! The warriors of team India who Changed the game and made India proud:





MS Dhoni: Emperor of World

Leading from the front

Midas Singh Dhoni touches and converts in Gold- 24 carat. He is in true sense the greatest leader(!) India has ever produced. Picture this: 114 for 3, India need another 160 odd runs with 6 runs per over. MS Dhoni with poor run with bat throughout WC. And boy, he promotes himself up to carry on left- right batting combination against wild Malinga and unplayable Murali.

How many people would come at that situation when your team is under huge pressure to rebuild innings that too in Big World Cup Final, your own form is the worst in career and people are talking about your position in the side, opponents are high on confidence (and perhaps skills), 121 crore fans expecting you to Win from  bottom of their heart  and none another than Yuvraj the best player in the tournament is waiting in dressing room!
In fact, if Dhoni had not come, it would have been a safe game for Dhoni himself. But a real warrior Dhoni is, did it, not to prove anything to anyone but to prove himself. This was the occasion, this was the challenge, his team required him the most, but nobody expecting him to confront this situation as Yuvraj was the option available, but Dhoni had different plans, he decided to took all the responsibility on his shoulders and finished the mission with unbeaten 91, smashing winning six.. This event separates him from a good captain  to the greatest leader. Now, he has gone beyond captaincy. He is being a captain with great success in the past as he has won Twenty-20 World Cup, 1st Ranking in Test Cricket, IPL Championship, Champions League Trophy and remember he is yet to loose a series in Test cricket. But, I think this is not just a captaincy, he is a great borne leader and he built a team knowing strengths and weaknesses of his team and opponents. He took bold decisions through out the World cup too. Many a times he was criticized  for his experiments when few went wrong, but he is great person to admit his mistakes. In fact he learned from his mistakes every now and then. But the best thing is that he never frightened to commit a mistake. People call Dhoni is Lucky, I don't think so. Dhoni writes his own luck  and that is what he has done in last 4 years for India!
Dhoni- the Emperor in India Cricket.

Yuvraj Singh:

Yuvi gives Indian team the aggression- I say arrogance- that a World Champion team needs to carry with them. Not to show off, but to lift the spirit of their own team! And don't forget, arrogance is acceptable when you are MoM for 4 matches and Player of tournament in World Cup! It suits you only when you score 362 runs with a massive average of 90.50 and claim 15 wickets in World cup tournament!
This is Yuvraj for you, 'Yuvraj' of Empire India!

Youngistaan:

Dream come true!

The brilliance of Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohali, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin was shown whenever required. Who can forget Gambhir's 97 runs- chasing 275- in WC final- when Sehwag and Sachin got out within first 6 overs? Probably Gambhir has played greatest inning of his life.
Virat, to whom India looks as future captain is good batter, athletic fielder. And Suresh Raina- my favorite- is superb finisher the best fielder and partnership breaking bowler.
You can invest your hopes in Generation next of Indian Empire!




Zaheer Khan:

To build an empire, you should be the best in all departments. Exception is Indian bowling, which is faaaar away from tag of best bowling unit. But standing out tall is Zaheer. He claimed 21 wickets- sharing top wicket taker spot in WC with Shahid Afridi. He led the attack from front and produced match wining performances- produced crucial wickets just when needed. All other bowling is still a big concern- though empire is built!

And...

Sachin Tendulkar:

India beat Pakistan, yet again..!

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Let's go to Mumbai..!

Nothing satisfies Indians more than beating their old rivals Pakistan. Add to it the situation- World Cup semifinal, presence of the top political leaders from both countries, business tycoons, bollywood starts and the most important entire subcontinent which counts more than 140 crore population expecting only their team to win..! Mohali was turned into battle field with thousands of army personnel, special commandos, surface to air missiles around the stadium. But in the end 11 Blue Commandos won the war for country without a single drop of blood..! This can go in history as one of the biggest wins of Indian Cricket Team, no doubt.

While India started their world cup campaign with favorite's tag, Pakistan, it seemed at that point, was just to show presence. But during the course of tournament, India could not find it as smooth as they would have expected. On the other hand, Pakistan played with aggression complemented superbly by bowling, led by inspiring captain Shahid Afridi, outplayed teams like Sri Lanka, Australia with ease. That is why, at the time of semifinal, it was going to be a crunch game- and it proved to be!

I know there is no need of post match explanation. I am sure, each and every Cricket Lover in this entire universe would have watched it ball-by-ball. I also heard Government declared half-working day in Pakistan..! Only 3 points I would like to raise here for Pakistani think tank:

• When India were on 141 for 4, Tendulkar playing tentative, why didn't they attack in field with more men saving singles and catching? (and please, you cannot drop Sachin Tendulkar 4 times and still hope he should not make runs..)
• Why Misbah played at 5th and out of form Younis played up the order? (was Misbah too late to attack Indian bowling?)
• Timing of batting power play was utterly wrong, or the think tank simply forgot to have it?

These are the questions which they need to answer to Pakistani fans. But having said everything, I must agree, Pakistani players showed tremendous courage to fight against Indians. Indians played their natural game according to situation. Tendulkar played such an innings which he himself would NOT be proud for. But runs count, and his knock of 85 stood out as others failed to occupy crease.

MS Dhoni must be on cloud nine after this win. His heartbeats must have returned to normal by now. Dhoni, smart Dhoni accepted it was mistake not to play R Ashwin, rather he failed to read wicket. India can party for a while. But with the Final on 2nd April, they cannot simply sit and relax.

"We will do the job in Mumbai" are the words of Sachin in post match presentation..! Imagine, Tendulkar- (almost) 38 years of age- playing his last world cup match (?) in career- a final- that too in Mumbai- his home town- and scores a 100th international 100, wins the match- Cup for country... and

Quarter to Semifinals

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5 days or merely over 100 hours from now and we will be discussing about semifinals. But in those 100-plus-hours, action we are going to encounter is enormous. No team can afford to put a foot wrong. If they do- simply put- their world-cup 2011 will be over. That is why Yuvraj said ‘this is what you play for- your moment of life!’

As imagined, before the start of world cup, all small teams are out of quarterfinals. Though team like Ireland, Bangladesh created some excitement in group of death- B. But that was not enough to qualify themselves for quarter finals. So, expected 8 teams will be fighting for place in semifinals. Take my words; this is going to be super week for all of us.

Now, I thought why shouldn't I put my feet in Paul- the octopus’s shoes and start predicting the results. Yes, yes, I know Paul was god-gifted. But nothing wrong in guessing- using brain (and heart- when it comes to India..!)

Let’s start:

Pak vs WI:

Pak team is on song… Momentum is with them, high on confidence after beating Aussies. They have passion do to the best for their country this time, even more than anytime in past. And versus West Indies- rather dull performed, low on moral, but talented and unpredictable side. My guess: Pak wins. Cheer up Pakistani fans…!

Aus vs India:

Cricket World Cup 2011 Updates: Tie, Upsets, Hat-trick, Records.

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We are now towards the end of the First round of the World Cup and already we have seen many exciting games of cricket, few upsets and crowed and cricketing fans are really enjoying the tournament. Every team is trying their best to reach at the quarter finals and that too grab the top two positions in the group. The reason being, if you are in top two, then in the quarter finals, you are playing with bottom two in the other group.  In this article let us see major highlights of the World Cup 2011 so far:

Major highlights of the World Cup so far:


9. England Survived against West Indies:


It was a great game of cricket, in fact it was do or die for England and again England fought a closed game and they managed to Win it by 18 runs. Batting first, England managed to score moderate 243. West Indies started their inning with very attacking manner, as if they wanted to finish the game in just 35-40 overs. But, when spinners came, suddenly WI started loosing wickets and game shifted in England's way. But, again 7th wicket partnership brought WI into the game, but England spinners did well towards end and claimed 7 wickets between Swann and Tredwell and won a close match for England. This win has survived England's hope for the quarter final berth.

Group 'B' has very interesting results in this World cup. SA beat Ind, Ind beat Bangladesh, Bangladesh beat Eng, Eng beat WI, WI beat Ireland, Ireland beat England and England beat SA. It means all teams are unpredictable, they can beat any team and they can loose against any team. Is this group become a 'Choker's Group'?   

8. India - South Africa Close contest:

It was bound to be the best contest in the tournament as it was not India Vs SA, but it was World's best batting attack Vs World's best bowling attack!
India started this game with immense determination and Indian openers dominated  World's best bowling attack for almost 41 overs of an inning. Thanks to Virendra Sehwag and none other than Great Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar was in supreme form and he took attack to the opposition since the beginning. His hook shot to Steyn  was superb, it reminded me the similar shot he had played to Caddik in the past. Now a days he plays this shot very rarely, but this time playing against World's best fast bowler was something special and treat to watch. His straight drive to Morkal was again the trade mark shot from he master. It was an awesome inning I guess, where he made 111, completing his 99th international century and 48th ODI century.
But, when he departed, India collapsed and lost 9 wickets for just 29 runs! Can you imagine? and India could set a target of only (?) 297. (At one time, it looked like India were targeting 360-370 at least.)
Thanks, to the 'Power Play' which happened to be the best bowling spell. But, it was just a poor performance from Indian batters who were attacking each and every ball in the power play and that too against Steyn and Morkal. Result was simple, the great collapse!

When Pro teas chased, it was also not a convincing chase. They also struggled a lot and at one point of time, it looked like that, the match was escaped from their hands, but Pieterson did it well and scored 13 runs in the last over of the match against Nehara and won the match for South Africa.
One should not blame Indian bowlers, as average score on that track was 316 and India managed to score 20 runs short from the average and that too when they were in a position to score, 40-50 runs more than the average score.

A great lesson to Dhoni and Co and there must be special preparation going on on how to play in Power plays, especially batting power plays. At the time of post match presentation, Dhoni said a right thing, " In Power plays Players should play for their country and not for the crowed'" Brilliant statement ! but, the timing was little late, if he could have said it when he was batting on the other end and watching how everyone got out, then result could have been different. Anyways, ifs and buts have no meaning and post match analysis, was on right track i guess.

7. England Beats SA:

Who says low scoring games are boring? This was a really nail bitting low scoring game and ultimately England held their nerves and Won it by just 6 runs. England batting first managed to score only 171, thanks to Ravi Bopara for his 60. After a flying start 63-0, at one stage it looked like South Africa will steal the game in no time.  But, from 124- 3, SA collapsed to 127-7. What a turn around by England. Towards end Steyn batted beautifully but was not enough to win the game and SA again showed their weakness of loosing games in pressured situation. I think, this upset has kept Group B table wide open for top two spots. India would like to claim either of the top two spots so that they will have to play against slightly less powerful opponents in the quarterfinals.

6. Ireland fought well against India:

India beat Ireland by 5 wickets but this was not a comprehensive win at all. Indians were obvious favorites for this match but team having the strongest batting line up were required to use their all 7 batsmen to chase 207. Credit goes to Irish bowlers and their wonderful fielding who saved at least 30-40 runs in the game. 

Game Changer Rules like Power Play, UDRS, Free hit in ODI Cricket!

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This is the time when Test cricket is played like One day cricket and One day cricket is immensely  influenced by Twenty 20 cricket. With the incredible popularity of the Twenty 20 format of the game, it was a great need to make changes in the format of ODI cricket too. The aim before ICC was to make ODI games more exciting and attract more audience towards game. Keeping this in mind, few rules have been modified and introduced in the ODI cricket. Lets see what are the Game Changer Rules in ODI cricket.

1.Power Play:

Earlier there used to be fielding restrictions for the first fifteen overs in an inning, where only 2 fielders could  be outside the 30 yard circle and compulsorily 2 fielders had to be in close catching position. This rule is now modified and it is replaced with Power Plays. Every team is keen to take an advantage of the power plays, where mostly attacking batsmen try to play aggressive shots and score quick runs at lower risk of getting caught out due to the field restrictions. The aim of the fielding side captain is to restrict batting side from scoring quick runs in power play overs. Therefore, fielding captains use their best bowlers in this period. Fielding side has one advantage of getting quick wickets in power plays as batsmen are in attacking mood and while doing so they may loose wickets in this period. For the overs when power play is not opted, maximum five fielders can be outside the 30 yard circle.

Now, there are three types of power plays.

World Cup - the Number Game.

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Hello Friends,

It's a World Cup euphoria every where among cricketing fans and every one is busy in predicting their favorite teams to Win the World Cup 2011. I thought, it will be helpful for you, if you just go through what happened in the past 9 World Cups; and therefore in this article, i am presenting important achievements and statistics related to past World Cups. 

World Cup tournament is the most important cricketing event and it is world's 4th largest and most viewed sporting event. The teams and players who have performed their best in this prestigious tournament are really special ones. Team like Australia who have won the Championship four times, which is an incredible  achievement. Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Pointing have consistently played their best cricket in this tournament which makes them greatest players of the game.

The table below provided an overview of the performances of teams over last 9 World Cups.