Defending champions Australia head to the 2007 World Cup as title favourites, having won the last two editions and because of their supreme run in one-dayers in the last few years.
But the shock loss to England in the tri-series final at home has forced the Australians to do some serious soul-searching and not just rest on their laurels.
Statistically speaking, Sachin Tendulkar is the most successful batsman in the history of the World Cup. He had a dream run in the 2003 World Cup, scoring 673 runs to bring his tally in all World Cups to 1732 with four centuries.
Pakistan's legendary all-rounder Wasim Akram is the most successful bowler, having claimed 55 wickets in 38 World Cup games.
Rediff.com presents a detailed statistical analysis of the World Cup records:
|
Team |
Mts |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
NR |
Win % |
|
Australia |
58 |
40 |
17 |
1 |
0 |
68.96 |
|
West Indies |
48 |
31 |
16 |
0 |
1 |
65.95 |
|
South Africa |
30 |
19 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
63.33 |
|
England |
50 |
31 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
63.26 |
|
India |
55 |
31 |
23 |
0 |
1 |
57.40 |
|
Pakistan |
53 |
29 |
22 |
0 |
2 |
56.86 |
|
New Zealand |
52 |
28 |
23 |
0 |
1 |
54.90 |
|
Sri Lanka |
46 |
17 |
27 |
1 |
1 |
37.77 |
|
Kenya |
20 |
5 |
14 |
0 |
1 |
26.31 |
|
Zimbabwe |
42 |
8 |
31 |
0 |
3 |
20.51 |
|
Bangladesh |
11 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
20.00 |
|
United Arab Emirates |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
20.00 |
|
Canada |
9 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
11.11 |
|
Netherlands |
11 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
9.09 |
|
East Africa |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Namibia |
6 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Scotland |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Total matches |
252 |
244 |
244 |
2 |
6 |
- |
Highest Margins of Victory:
(By runs)
|
256 runs |
Australia (301-6) bt Namibia (45) |
Potchefstroom |
2002/03 |
|
202 runs |
England (334-4) bt India (132-3) |
Lord's |
1975 |
|
196 runs |
England (290-5) bt East Africa (94) |
Birmingham |
1975 |
|
192 runs |
Pakistan (330-6) bt Sri Lanka (138) |
Nottingham |
1975 |
|
191 runs |
West Indies (360-4) bt Sri Lanka (169-4) |
Karachi |
1987/88 |
|
183 runs |
India (292-6) bt Sri Lanka (109) |
Johannesburg |
2002/03 |
|
181 runs |
New Zealand (309-5) bt East Africa (128-8) |
Birmingham |
1975 |
|
181 runs |
India (311-2) bt Namibia (130) |
Pietermaritzburg |
2002/03 |
|
171 runs |
Pakistan (255-9) bt Namibia (84) |
Kimberley |
2002/03 |
|
169 runs |
South Africa (321-2) bt UAE (152-8) |
Rawalpindi |
1995/96 |
|
162 runs |
Australia (320-9) bt India (158) |
Nottingham |
1983 |
|
160 runs |
South Africa (328-3) bt Netherlands (168-8) |
Rawalpindi |
1995/96 |
|
157 runs |
India (373-6) bt Sri Lanka (216) |
Taunton |
1999 |
(By wickets)
|
10 wickets |
India (123-0) bt East Africa (120) |
Leeds |
1975 |
|
10 wickets |
West Indies (172-0) bt Zimbabwe (171) |
Birmingham |
1983 |
|
10 wickets |
West Indies (221-0) bt Pakistan (220-2) |
Melbourne |
1991/92 |
|
10 wickets |
South Africa (142-0) bt Kenya (140) |
Potchefstroom |
2002/03 |
|
10 wickets |
Sri Lanka (126-0) bt Bangladesh (124) |
Pietermaritzburg |
2002/03 |
|
10 wickets |
South Africa (109-0) bt Bangladesh (108) |
Bloemfontein |
2002/03 |
|
Batsman |
Team |
Mat |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg |
SR |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
|
S Tendulkar |
Ind |
33 |
32 |
3 |
1732 |
152 |
59.72 |
87.56 |
4 |
12 |
10 |
|
J Miandad |
Pak |
33 |
30 |
5 |
1083 |
103 |
43.32 |
67.89 |
1 |
8 |
10 |
|
A de Silva |
SL |
35 |
32 |
3 |
1064 |
145 |
36.68 |
86.57 |
2 |
6 |
14 |
|
V Richards |
WI |
23 |
21 |
5 |
1013 |
181 |
63.31 |
85.05 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
|
M Waugh |
Aus |
22 |
22 |
3 |
1004 |
130 |
52.84 |
83.04 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
|
R Ponting |
Aus |
28 |
27 |
3 |
998 |
140* |
41.58 |
74.98 |
3 |
2 |
18 |
|
S Waugh |
Aus |
33 |
30 |
10 |
978 |
120* |
48.9 |
81.02 |
1 |
6 |
14 |
|
A Ranatunga |
SL |
30 |
29 |
8 |
969 |
88* |
46.14 |
80.95 |
- |
7 |
7 |
|
B Lara |
WI |
25 |
25 |
3 |
956 |
116 |
43.45 |
87.7 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
Saeed Anwar |
Pak |
21 |
21 |
4 |
915 |
113* |
53.82 |
79.08 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
G Gooch |
Eng |
21 |
21 |
1 |
897 |
115 |
44.85 |
63.21 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
|
M Crowe |
NZ |
21 |
21 |
5 |
880 |
100* |
55 |
83.49 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
|
D Haynes |
WI |
25 |
25 |
2 |
854 |
105 |
37.13 |
57.5 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
|
S Ganguly |
Ind |
18 |
18 |
3 |
844 |
183 |
56.26 |
81.78 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
|
M Azharuddin |
Ind |
30 |
25 |
4 |
826 |
93 |
39.33 |
77.19 |
- |
8 |
11 |
|
D Boon |
Aus |
16 |
16 |
1 |
815 |
100 |
54.33 |
73.75 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
|
A Flower |
Zim |
30 |
29 |
4 |
815 |
115* |
32.6 |
68.25 |
1 |
4 |
12 |
|
G Kirsten |
SA |
21 |
21 |
4 |
806 |
188* |
47.41 |
75.46 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
|
R Dravid |
Ind |
19 |
18 |
6 |
779 |
145 |
64.91 |
75.26 |
2 |
5 |
17 |
|
H Gibbs |
SA |
15 |
15 |
2 |
725 |
143 |
55.76 |
85.49 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
Batsman |
Team |
Year |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg |
100s |
|
S Tendulkar |
Ind |
2003 |
11 |
11 |
0 |
673 |
152 |
61.18 |
1 |
|
S Tendulkar |
Ind |
1996 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
523 |
137 |
87.16 |
2 |
|
M Waugh |
Aus |
1996 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
484 |
130 |
80.66 |
3 |
|
G Gooch |
Eng |
1987 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
471 |
115 |
58.87 |
1 |
|
S Ganguly |
Ind |
2003 |
11 |
11 |
3 |
465 |
112* |
58.12 |
3 |
|
R Dravid |
Ind |
1999 |
8 |
8 |
1 |
461 |
145 |
65.85 |
2 |
|
M Crowe |
NZ |
1992 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
456 |
100* |
114.00 |
1 |
|
A de Silva |
SL |
1996 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
448 |
145 |
89.60 |
2 |
|
D Boon |
Aus |
1987 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
447 |
93 |
55.87 |
0 |
|
J Miandad |
Pak |
1992 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
437 |
89 |
62.42 |
0 |
|
Bowler |
For |
M |
Ovs |
Mdn |
Runs |
Wkts |
Avg |
Best |
4w |
5w |
SR |
Ecn |
| Wasim Akram | Pak | 38 | 324.3 | 17 | 1311 | 55 | 23.83 | 5-28 | 2 | 1 | 35.4 | 4.04 |
| G McGrath | Aus | 28 | 245 | 37 | 935 | 45 | 20.77 | 7-15 | - | 2 | 32.6 | 3.81 |
| J Srinath | Ind | 34 | 283.2 | 21 | 1224 | 44 | 27.81 | 4-30 | 2 | - | 38.6 | 4.32 |
| A Donald | SA | 25 | 218.5 | 14 | 913 | 38 | 24.02 | 4-17 | 2 | - | 34.5 | 4.17 |
| C Vaas | SL | 21 | 184 | 24 | 754 | 36 | 20.94 | 6-25 | 1 | 1 | 30.6 | 4.09 |
| Imran Khan | Pak | 28 | 169.3 | 18 | 655 | 34 | 19.26 | 4-37 | 2 | - | 29.9 | 3.86 |
| S Warne | Aus | 17 | 162.5 | 16 | 624 | 32 | 19.50 | 4-29 | 4 | - | 30.5 | 3.83 |
| C Harris | NZ | 28 | 194.2 | 10 | 861 | 32 | 26.90 | 4-7 | 1 | - | 36.4 | 4.43 |
| M Muralitharan | SL | 21 | 187.5 | 13 | 693 | 30 | 23.10 | 4-28 | 1 | - | 37.5 | 3.68 |
| I Botham | Eng | 22 | 222 | 33 | 762 | 30 | 25.40 | 4-31 | 1 | - | 44.4 | 3.43 |
| P DeFreitas | Eng | 22 | 187.5 | 30 | 742 | 29 | 25.58 | 3-28 | - | - | 38.8 | 3.95 |
| A Kumble | Ind | 17 | 164 | 5 | 670 | 28 | 23.92 | 4-32 | 1 | - | 35.1 | 4.08 |
| Kapil Dev | Ind | 26 | 237 | 27 | 892 | 28 | 31.85 | 5-43 | - | 1 | 50.7 | 3.76 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | Pak | 16 | 124.5 | 8 | 643 | 27 | 23.81 | 4-46 | 1 | - | 27.7 | 5.15 |
| C McDermott | Aus | 17 | 149 | 8 | 599 | 27 | 22.18 | 5-44 | 1 | 1 | 33.1 | 4.02 |
| C Walsh | WI | 17 | 158 | 23 | 547 | 27 | 20.25 | 4-25 | 2 | - | 35.1 | 3.46 |
| S Waugh | Aus | 33 | 173.1 | 7 | 814 | 27 | 30.14 | 3-36 | - | - | 38.4 | 4.70 |
| D Fleming | Aus | 16 | 133.2 | 12 | 583 | 26 | 22.42 | 5-36 | - | 1 | 30.7 | 4.37 |
| Mushtaq Ahmed | Pak | 15 | 135 | 5 | 549 | 26 | 21.11 | 3-16 | - | - | 31.1 | 4.06 |
| A Roberts | WI | 16 | 170.1 | 29 | 552 | 26 | 21.23 | 3-32 | - | - | 39.2 | 3.24 |
|
Bowler |
Year |
M |
Balls |
Mdns |
Runs |
Wkts |
Avg |
|
C Vaas (SL) |
2003 |
10 |
528 |
14 |
331 |
23 |
14.39 |
|
B Lee (Aus) |
2003 |
10 |
499 |
9 |
394 |
22 |
17.90 |
|
G McGrath (Aus) |
2003 |
11 |
522 |
18 |
310 |
21 |
14.76 |
|
G Allott (NZ) |
1999 |
9 |
526 |
7 |
325 |
20 |
16.25 |
|
S Warne (Aus) |
1999 |
10 |
566 |
13 |
361 |
20 |
18.05 |
|
R Binny (Ind) |
1983 |
8 |
528 |
9 |
336 |
18 |
18.66 |
|
Z Khan (Ind) |
2003 |
11 |
530 |
5 |
374 |
18 |
20.77 |
|
C McDermott (Aus) |
1987 |
8 |
438 |
3 |
341 |
18 |
18.94 |
|
G McGrath (Aus) |
1999 |
10 |
574 |
9 |
367 |
18 |
20.38 |
|
Wasim Akram (Pak) |
1992 |
10 |
538 |
3 |
338 |
18 |
18.77 |
|
Name |
Matches |
Awards |
Team |
|
S Tendulkar |
33 |
8 |
India |
|
L Klusener |
14 |
5 |
South Africa |
|
G Gooch |
21 |
5 |
England |
|
V Richards |
23 |
5 |
West Indies |
|
D Boon |
16 |
4 |
Australia |
|
S Warne |
17 |
4 |
Australia |
|
S Ganguly |
18 |
4 |
India |
|
M Waugh |
22 |
4 |
Australia |
|
B Lara |
25 |
4 |
West Indies |
|
A de Silva |
35 |
4 |
Sri Lanka |