In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Bowling Records
Leading Bowlers in each World Cup
IMAGE: Australia's Glenn McGrath celebrates the fall of a wicket during the 2007 World Cup. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
| Year | Bowler | For | Matches | Wickets | Average | Best | Strike Rate | Runs Per Over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Gary Gilmour | Aus | 2 | 11 | 5.64 | 6/14 | 13.09 | 2.58 |
| 1979 | Mike Hendrick | Eng | 5 | 10 | 14.90 | 4/15 | 33.60 | 2.66 |
| 1983 | Roger Binny | Ind | 8 | 18 | 18.67 | 4/29 | 29.33 | 3.82 |
| 1987 | Craig McDermott | Aus | 8 | 18 | 18.94 | 5/44 | 24.33 | 4.67 |
| 1992 | Wasim Akram | Pak | 10 | 18 | 18.78 | 4/32 | 29.89 | 3.77 |
| 1996 | Anil Kumble | Ind | 7 | 15 | 18.73 | 3/28 | 27.87 | 4.03 |
| 1999 | Shane Warne | Aus | 10 | 20 | 18.05 | 4/29 | 28.30 | 3.83 |
| 1999 | Geoff Allott | NZ | 9 | 20 | 16.25 | 4/37 | 26.30 | 3.71 |
| 2003 | Chaminda Vaas | SL | 10 | 23 | 14.39 | 6/25 | 22.96 | 3.76 |
| 2007 | Glenn McGrath | Aus | 11 | 26 | 13.73 | 3/14 | 18.65 | 4.41 |
| 2011 | Shahid Afridi | Pak | 8 | 21 | 12.85 | 5/16 | 21.29 | 3.62 |
| 2011 | Zaheer Khan | Ind | 9 | 21 | 18.76 | 3/20 | 23.29 | 4.83 |
| 2015 | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 8 | 22 | 10.18 | 6/28 | 17.41 | 3.50 |
| 2015 | Trent Boult | NZ | 9 | 22 | 16.86 | 5/27 | 23.18 | 4.36 |
Best Bowling in a Match
| Bowler | For/Against | Venue | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/15 | Glenn McGrath | Aus v Nam | Potchefstroom | 2003 |
| 7/20 | Andy Bichel | Aus v Eng | Port Elizabeth | 2003 |
| 7/33 | Tim Southee | NZ v Eng | Wellington | 2015 |
| 7/51 | Winston Davis | WI v Aus | Leeds | 1983 |
| 6/14 | Gary Gilmour | Aus v Eng | Leeds | 1975 |
| 6/23 | Ashish Nehra | Ind v Eng | Durban | 2003 |
| 6/23 | Shane Bond | NZ v Aus | Port Elizabeth | 2003 |
| 6/25 | Chaminda Vaas | SL v Ban | Pietermaritzburg | 2003 |
| 6/27 | Kemar Roach | WI v Net | Delhi | 2011 |
| 6/28 | Mitchell Starc | Aus v NZ | Auckland | 2015 |
| 6/38 | Lasith Malinga | SL v Ken | Colombo RPS | 2011 |
| 6/39 | Ken MacLeay | Aus v Ind | Nottingham | 1983 |
Hat-Tricks
| Player | Team | Vs | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chetan Sharma | India | New Zealand | Nagpur | 1987 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | The Oval | 1999 |
| Chaminda Vaas | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | Pietermaritzburg | 2003 (first 3 balls of match) |
| Brett Lee | Australia | Kenya | Durban | 2003 |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | South Africa | Providence | 2007 (4 wickets in 4 balls) |
| Kemar Roach | West Indies | Netherlands | Delhi | 2011 |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | Kenya | Colombo RPS | 2011 |
| Steve Finn | England | Australia | Melbourne | 2015 |
| J-P Duminy | South Africa | Sri Lanka | Sydney | 2015 |
Leading Bowlers
IMAGE: India's Zaheer Khan. Photograph: Pal Pillai/Getty Images
| Bowler | Span | Matches | Wickets | Best | Average | Runs Per Over | 4W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn McGrath (Aus) | 1996-2007 | 39 | 71 | 7/15 | 18.19 | 3.96 | 2 | |
| Muthiah Muralitharan (SL) | 1996-2011 | 40 | 68 | 4/19 | 19.63 | 3.88 | 4 | |
| Wasim Akram (Pak) | 1987-2003 | 38 | 55 | 5/28 | 23.83 | 4.04 | 3 | |
| Chaminda Vaas (SL) | 1996-2007 | 31 | 49 | 6/25 | 21.22 | 3.97 | 2 | |
| Zaheer Khan (Ind) | 2003-2011 | 23 | 44 | 4/42 | 20.22 | 4.47 | 1 | |
| Javagal Srinath (Ind) | 1992-2003 | 34 | 44 | 4/30 | 27.81 | 4.32 | 2 | |
| Lasith Malinga (SL) | 2007-2015 | 22 | 43 | 6/38 | 21.11 | 5.32 | 2 | |
| Allan Donald (SA) | 1992-2003 | 25 | 38 | 4-17 | 24.02 | 4.17 | 2 | |
| J D P Oram (NZ) | 2003-2011 | 23 | 36 | 4/39 | 21.33 | 4.21 | 2 | |
| Daniel Vettori (NZ) | 2003-2015 | 32 | 36 | 4/18 | 32.44 | 4.14 | 2 | |
| Brett Lee (Aus) | 2003-2011 | 17 | 35 | 5/42 | 17.97 | 4.57 | 3 |
Match Doubles (50 runs and 4 wickets)
| Doubles | Player | For | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69* and 4/42: Dag Fletcher, Zimbabwe v Australia, Nottingham, 1983 | |||||
| 53 and 4/31: Ian Botham, England v Australia, Sydney, 1992 | |||||
| 59 and 4/42, Neil Johnson, Zimbabwe v Kenya, Taunton, 1999 | |||||
| 52* and 4/38 Maurice Odumbe, Kenya v Bangladesh, Johannesburg, 2003 | |||||
| 121 and 4/42, Feiko Kloppenburg, Netherlands v Namibia, Bloemfontein, 2003 | |||||
| 50* and 5/31, Yuvraj Singh, India v Ireland, Bangalore, 2011 | |||||
| 144 and 4/4, Tilakratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Pallekele, 2011 | |||||
| 54* and 4/45, Wahab Riaz, Pakistan v Zimbabwe, Brisbane, 2015 |
Leading Wicket-keepers
IMAGE: Mashrafe Mortaza of Bangladesh stumped by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara during the 2015 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 26, 2015. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
| Wicket-keeper | Span | Matches | Dismissal | Caught | Stumped |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 2003-2015 | 37 | 54 | 41 | 13 |
| Adam Gilchrist (Aus) | 1999-2007 | 31 | 52 | 45 | 7 |
| M S Dhoni (Ind) | 2007-2015 | 20 | 32 | 27 | 5 |
| Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 2003-2015 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 2 |
| Mark Boucher (SA) | 1999-2007 | 25 | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| Moin Khan (Pak) | 1992-1999 | 20 | 30 | 23 | 7 |
Leading Fielders
IMAGE: Ricky Ponting dives for a catch. Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images
| Fielder | Span | Matches | Caught |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (Aus) | 1996-2011 | 46 | 28 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 1992-2007 | 38 | 18 |
| Chris Cairns (NZ) | 1992-2003 | 28 | 16 |
| Inzamam-ul Haq (Pak) | 1992-2007 | 35 | 16 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 1992-2007 | 34 | 16 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 1999-2015 | 40 | 16 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2003-2011 | 20 | 15 |
Most World Cup Appearances
| Mts | Player | Country | Span |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 1996-2011 |
| 45 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 1992-2011 |
| 40 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 1999-2015 |
| 40 | Muttiah Muralitharan | Sri Lanka | 1996-2011 |
| 39 | Glenn McGrath | Australia | 1996-2007 |
| 38 | Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 1987-2003 |
| 38 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 1992-2007 |
| 37 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 2003-2015 |
| 36 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 1996-2011 |
| 35 | Aravinda de Silva | Sri Lanka | 1987-2003 |
| 35 | Inzamam-ul Haq | Pakistan | 1992-2007 |
Players appearing in Most World Cups
6: Javed Miandad (1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1996)
6: Sachin Tendulkar (1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011)
Most Man of Match Awards in a career
IMAGE: Sachin Tendulkar raises his bat after scoring a century. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
| Awards | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sachin Tendulkar | India |
| 6 | Glenn McGrath | Australia |
| 5 | Vivian Richards | West Indies |
| 5 | Graham Gooch | England |
| 5 | Lance Klusener | South Africa |
| 5 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka |
| 5 | A B de Villiers | South Africa |
Most Awards in a single edition
| Awards | Player | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aravinda de Silva | SL | 1996 |
| 4 | Lance Klusener | SA | 1999 |
| 4 | Yuvraj Singh | Ind | 2011 |
Most matches as Captain
| Captain | Team | Matches | Won | Loss | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | Aus | 29 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 89.66 |
| Steven Fleming | NZ | 27 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 59.26 |
| Mohammed Azharuddin | Ind | 23 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 43.48 |
| Imran Khan | Pak | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Clive Lloyd | WI | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 88.24 |
| Graeme Smith | SA | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 64.71 |
| M S Dhoni | Ind | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 82.35 |
| Allan Border | Aus | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 68.75 |
| Wasim Akram | Pak | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Hansie Cronje | SA | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Kapil Dev | Ind | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 73.33 |
Most Successful Captains
IMAGE: Ricky Ponting. Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images
(10 or more matches)
| Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Tied | No Result | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting | Aus | 29 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 89.66 |
| Clive Lloyd | WI | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 88.24 |
| M S Dhoni | Ind | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 82.35 |
| Sourav Ganguly | Ind | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81.82 |
| Hansie Cronje | SA | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Kapil Dev | Ind | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | SL | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 72.72 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | SL | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 72.72 |
| Steve Waugh | Aus | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 70.00 |
