The 1992 Cricket World Cup (aka Benson & Hedges World Cup) was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from 22 February to 25 March 1992 in Australia and New Zealand. It was won by Pakistan. [edit] Firsts The 1992 World Cup was the first to feature coloured player clothing, white cricket balls and black sightscreens[1]. These innovations had been increasingly used in One Day Internationals since World Series Cricket introduced them in the late 1970s, but they were not a feature of the first four World Cups. The 1992 World Cup was also the first to be held in Southern hemisphere. For the first time West Indies were not the favourites but instead Australia were the favourites. [edit] Format The format was changed from previous tournaments in that a complete round robin replaced the use of two qualifying groups. The initial draw was released with eight competing countries and 28 round robin matches. In late 1991, South Africa were re-admitted to the International Cricket Council and the draw was amended to include them. The revised draw included 36 round robin matches plus the two semi-finals and the final. 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. This rule was deemed to be too much in favour of the team batting second. In an attempt to rectify this, the target score would now be calcuated 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. The 1992 World Cup featured the seven Test teams of the day, South Africa, who would play their first Test in 22 years in the West Indies a month after the World Cup, and Zimbabwe, who would play their first Test match later in 1992. Teams who entered were: [edit] Round Robin Stage [edit] Summary 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, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but 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 to just miss the semis. South Africa made a triumphant return to international cricket with a win over Australia at the SCG 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. Pakistan won just one of their first five matches and looked to be headed for a first round exit, only to win their last three pool games (including the previously undefeated New Zealand side in their final pool match).New Zealand only lost two games in the tournament, both against Pakistan. Pakistan had a slightly inferior run-rate than Australia, but received one point from their match against England which they looked set to lose (having made just 74 all out) until rain intervened. Without that vital point Pakistan would not have qualified for the semi-finals. [edit] Points Table | Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | NR | T | RD | RR | | New Zealand | 14 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.59 | 4.76 | | England | 11 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.47 | 4.36 | | South Africa | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.14 | 4.36 | | Pakistan | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.17 | 4.33 | | Australia | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.20 | 4.22 | | West Indies | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 4.14 | | India | 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.14 | 4.95 | | Sri Lanka | 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | −0.68 | 4.21 | | Zimbabwe | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | −1.14 | 4.03 | [edit] Match Scores
[edit] Knockout stage [edit] Summary South Africa's semi-final against England ended in controversial circumstances when, after a rain delay, the rule in use for revising target scores in rain-affected matches revised their 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, and it was eventually superseded by the Duckworth-Lewis method for the 1999 World Cup onwards. According to the late Bill Frindall, the revised D/L target for the match would have been four runs to tie or five to win from the final ball[2], although Cricinfo states that, under Duckworth-Lewis, South Africa's target from the original 45 overs would have been 273, and then this would have been reduced to 257 from 43 overs, i.e. five runs more than they were set under the "highest scoring overs" rule.[3] In the other semi, a now rampant Pakistan met New Zealand for the second time in four days, and repeated their pool win. 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. Late flourishes from Inzamam-ul-haq (42 off 35 balls) and Wasim Akram (33 off 18 balls) took Pakistan to a total of 6 for 249. 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 4 for 141 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 its first World Cup title. [edit] Bracket [edit] Semi finals
[edit] Statistics [edit] Man of the Series [edit] 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 a spin bowler, Dipak Patel, rather than with a fast bowler as is usual practice. Another innovation was then unorthodox ploy of opening the batting with "pinch hitters", such as New Zealand's Mark Greatbatch. [edit] Notes and references - ^ Williamson, Martin (2007-03-17). "Ruling an impossible target". Cricinfo. http://content-www.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/285564.html. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
- ^ "Stump the Bearded Wonder", Bill Frindall explains how D&L would apply to 1992 WC semi-final
- ^ England v South Africa, Cricinfo scorecard of the 2nd semi final
- ^ Issacs, Vic. "Benson & Hedges World Cup, 1991/92, Final". CricInfo. http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC92/PAK_ENG_WC92_ODI-FINAL_25MAR1992.html. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
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