1992 Cricket World Cup – Facts and figures

With Martin Crowe (NZ) being named Man of the Series for the first time in cricket world cup history, the 1992 edition, also more often known as the Benson & Hedges Cup, was nothing short of twists and turns, since 9 teams took part in the tournament for the first time since its creation in 1975.

Australia-New Zealand had the honor this time to host a cricket gala like never before witnessed due to the substitution of a white cricket ball for cherry red, team colored uniforms instead of the conventional white ones and this tournament also marked the return of South Africa, which had faced a long time away from the game of cricket due to some political problems at home. Since the number of teams had been increased to 9 at the 1992 World Cup, dividing them into two groups would have been impossible, so it was decided that the format would have to be changed to accommodate South Africa’s readmission. After a grueling round-robin stage, host and defending champions Australia lost their place for the semi-finals with the Kiwis topping the points table followed by England, South Africa and Pakistan. Luck seemed to have favored Pakistan, who narrowly reached the semi-finals a point clear of Australia, although they made a pathetic start to the tournament with just one win from their first 5 games.

In controversial circumstances, with rain proving to be a major factor, South Africa lost their semi-final to England and were eliminated from the tournament with many questions raised about how these weather-affected situations were handled. Pakistan, however, enjoyed a purple patch and seemed to be doing nothing wrong; A good overall team effort secured Pakistan their first birth in the final of cricket’s most prestigious trophy, the World Cup.

MCG witnessed what would be a fitting end to the career of Pakistan’s favorite sons when Imran Khan lifted the trophy with his team defeating England, who once again had to return home empty-handed. Although the English were calm when the match started and were playing by the rules, a good team effort with an exceptional performance with both bat and ball by Wasim Akram ensured that Pakistan became the fourth Test nation to lift the most decorated game. trophy. Martin Crowe (NZ) led the pack with most runs, 456, while Wasim Akram (pak) bagged 18 wickets and was the most productive bowler at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.