The 1992 Cricket World Cup (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. Sponsored by Benson and Hedges, it was won by Pakistan, who defeatedEngland in the final.
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[edit]Firsts
The 1992 World Cup was the first to feature coloured player clothing, white cricket balls and black sightscreens with a number of matches being played under floodlights[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. It was also the first World Cup to include the South Africa national cricket team, which had been allowed to re-join the International Cricket Council as a Test-playing nation after the end of apartheid.
[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, where a difficult but eminently reachable 22 runs off 13 balls was reduced to 22 off 7 (the least productive over, a maiden, being deducted) and finally 21 off 1 ball (the next least productive over having given 1 run). It was seen that, if the interruption came during the second innings, the side batting second was at a significant disadvantage - one which was only overcome once, in fact, in England's group-stage victory over South Africa.
[edit]Teams
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:
- Australia (winners of the 1987 Cricket World Cup)
- England
- India (winners of the 1983 Cricket World Cup)
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- West Indies (winners of the 1975 and 1979 Cricket World Cups)
- Zimbabwe
[edit]Venues
[edit]Australia
[edit]New Zealand
Venues in New Zealand
[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, but were just behind Australia on run-rate. 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. New Zealand were defeated only twice in the tournament, both times by Pakistan, in their final group match and in the semi-final. Pakistan had been lucky to be in the semi-finals at all: following only one victory in their first five matches, they were also fortunate to scrape a point from the washed-out match against England which appeared to be heading for a heavy English victory (Pak 74 all out, Eng 24/1): eventually they finished one point ahead of Australia with an inferior run-rate.
[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
| 22 February 1992 Scorecard | New Zealand 248/6 (50 overs) | v | Australia 211 (48.1 overs) | New Zealand won by 37 runs Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Umpires: Khizer Hayat and David Shepherd Player of the match: Martin Crowe |
| Martin Crowe 100* (134) Craig McDermott 2/43 (10 overs) | David Boon 100 (133) Gavin Larsen 3/30 (10 overs) | |||
| 22 February 1992 Scorecard | England 236/9 (50 overs) | v | India 227 (49.2 overs) | England won by 9 runs WACA Ground, Perth, Australia Umpires: Dooland Buulltjens and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Ian Botham |
| Robin Smith 91 (108) Manoj Prabhakar 2/34 (10 overs) | Ravi Shastri 57 (112) Dermot Reeve 3/38 (6 overs) | |||
| 23 February 1992 Scorecard | Zimbabwe 312/4 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 313/7 (49.2 overs) | Sri Lanka by 3 wickets Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Andy Flower |
| Andy Flower 115* (152) Pramodya Wickramasinghe 2/50 (10 overs) | Arjuna Ranatunga 88* (61) Eddo Brandes 3/70 (10 overs) | |||
| 23 February 1992 Scorecard | Pakistan 220/2 (50 overs) | v | West Indies 221/0 (46.5 overs) | West Indies won by 10 wickets Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Brian Lara |
| Rameez Raja 102* (158) Roger Harper 1/33 (10 overs) | Desmond Haynes 93* (144) Wasim Akram 0/37 (10 overs) | |||
| 25 February 1992 Scorecard | Sri Lanka 206/9 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 210/4 (48.2 overs) | New Zealand won by 6 wickets Trust Bank Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd Player of the match: Ken Rutherford |
| Roshan Mahanama 80 (131) Willie Watson 3/37 (10 overs) | Ken Rutherford 65* (71) Ruwan Kalpage 2/33 (10 overs) | |||
| 26 February 1992 Scorecard | Australia 170/9 (49 overs) | v | South Africa 171/1 (46.5 overs) | South Africa won by 9 wickets Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Kepler Wessels |
| David Boon 27 (31) Alan Donald 3/34 (10 overs) | Kepler Wessels 81* (148) Peter Taylor 1/32 (10 overs) | |||
| 27 February 1992 Scorecard | Pakistan 254/4 (50 overs) | v | Zimbabwe 201/7 (50 overs) | Pakistan won by 53 runs Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia Umpires: Dooland Buulltjens and Steve Randell Player of the match: Aamir Sohail |
| Aamir Sohail 114 (136) Iain Butchart 3/57 (10 overs) | Andy Waller 44 (36) Wasim Akram 3/21 (10 overs) | |||
| 27 February 1992 Scorecard | West Indies 157 (49.2 overs) | v | England 160/4 (39.5 overs) | England won by 6 wickets Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Chris Lewis |
| Keith Arthurton 54 (101) Chris Lewis 3/30 (8.2 overs) | Graham Gooch 65 (101) Winston Benjamin 2/22 (9.5 overs) | |||
| 28 February 1992 Scorecard | India 1/0 (0.2 overs) | v | Sri Lanka | No result Ray Mitchell Oval, Mackay, Australia Umpires: Ian Robinson and David Shepherd |
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| 29 February 1992 Scorecard | South Africa 190/7 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 191/3 | New Zealand won by 7 wickets Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch |
| Peter Kirsten 90 (129) Willie Watson 2/30 (10 overs) | Mark Greatbatch 68 (60) Peter Kirsten 1/22 (7 overs) | |||
| 29 February 1992 Scorecard | West Indies 264/8 (50 overs) | v | Zimbabwe 189/7 (50 overs) | West Indies won by 75 runs Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Brian Lara |
| Brian Lara 72 (71) Eddo Brandes 3/45 (10 overs) | Ali Shah 60* (87) Winston Benjamin 3/27 (10 overs) | |||
| 1 March 1992 Scorecard | Australia 237/9 (50 overs) | v | India 234 (47 overs) | Australia won by 1 run (revised target) Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Dean Jones |
| Dean Jones 90 (108) Kapil Dev 3/41 (10 overs) | Mohammed Azharuddin 93 (102) Tom Moody 3/56 (9 overs) | |||
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| 1 March 1992 Scorecard | Pakistan 74 (40.2 overs) | v | England 24/1 (8 overs) | No result Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Peter McConnell |
| Saleem Malik 17 (20) Derek Pringle 3/8 (8.2 overs) | Ian Botham 6* (22) Wasim Akram 1/7 (3 overs) | |||
| 2 March 1992 Scorecard | South Africa 195 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 198/7 (49.5 overs) | Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Arjuna Ranatunga |
| Peter Kirsten 47 (81) Don Anurasiri 3/41 (10 overs) | Roshan Mahanama 68 (121) Alan Donald 3/42 (9.5 overs) | |||
| 3 March 1992 Scorecard | New Zealand 162/3 (20.5 overs) | v | Zimbabwe 105/7 (18 overs) | New Zealand won by 48 runs (revised target) McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Dooland Buultjens Player of the match: Martin Crowe |
| Martin Crowe 74* (43) Kevin Duers 1/17 (6 overs) | Andy Flower 30 (28) Chris Harris 3/15 (4 overs) | |||
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| 4 March 1992 Scorecard | India 216/7 (49 overs) | v | Pakistan 173 (48.1 overs) | India won by 43 runs Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Umpires: Peter McConnell and David Shepherd Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar |
| Sachin Tendulkar 54* (62) Mushtaq Ahmed 3/59 (10 overs) | Aamir Sohail 62 (95) Manoj Prabhakar 2/22 (10 overs) | |||
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| 5 March 1992 Scorecard | South Africa 200/8 (50 overs) | v | West Indies 136 (38.4 overs) | South Africa won by 64 runs Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Randell Player of the match: Meyrick Pringle |
| Peter Kirsten 56 (91) Malcolm Marshall 2/26 (10 overs) | Gus Logie 61 (69) Meyrick Pringle 4/11 (8 overs) | |||
| 5 March 1992 Scorecard | Australia 171 (49 overs) | v | England 173/2 (40.5 overs) | England won by 8 wickets Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Ian Botham |
| Tom Moody 51 (88) Ian Botham 4/31 (10 overs) | Graham Gooch 58 (112) Mike Whitney 1/28 (10 overs) | |||
| 7 March 1992 Scorecard | India 203/7 (32 overs) | v | Zimbabwe 104/1 (19.1 overs) | India won by 55 runs (revised target) Trust Bank Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Steve Randell Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar |
| Sachin Tendulkar 81 (88) John Traicos 3/35 (6 overs) | Andy Flower 43 (56) Sachin Tendulkar 1/35 (6 overs) | |||
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| 7 March 1992 Scorecard | Sri Lanka 189/9 (50 overs) | v | Australia 190/3 (44 overs) | Australia won by 7 wickets Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Umpires: Piloo Reporter and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Tom Moody |
| Aravinda de Silva 62 (83) Peter Taylor 2/34 (10 overs) | Geoff Marsh 60 (113) Pramodya Wickramasinghe 2/29 (10 overs) | |||
| 8 March 1992 Scorecard | West Indies 203/7 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 206/5 (48.3 overs) | New Zealand won by 5 wickets Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Martin Crowe |
| Brian Lara 52 (81) Gavin Larsen 2/41 (10 overs) | Martin Crowe 81* (81) Winston Benjamin 2/34 (9.3 overs) | |||
| 8 March 1992 Scorecard | South Africa 211/7 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 173/8 (36 overs) | South Africa won by 20 runs (revised target) Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Andrew Hudson |
| Andrew Hudson 54 (77) Imran Khan 2/34 (10 overs) | Inzamam-ul-Haq 48 (44) Adrian Kuiper 3/40 (6 overs) | |||
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| 9 March 1992 Scorecard | England 280/9 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 174 (44 overs) | England won by 106 runs Eastern Oval, Ballarat, Australia Umpires: Khizer Hayat and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Chris Lewis |
| Neil Fairbrother 63 (70) Asanka Gurusinha 2/67 (10 overs) | Arjuna Ranatunga 36 (51) Chris Lewis 4/30 (8 overs) | |||
| 10 March 1992 Scorecard | India 197 (49.4 overs) | v | West Indies 195/5 (44 overs) | West Indies won by 5 wickets (revised target) Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Umpires: Steve Randell and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Anderson Cummins |
| Mohammed Azharuddin 61 (84) Anderson Cummins 4/33 (10 overs) | Keith Arthurton 58 (99) Javagal Srinath 2/23 (9 overs) | |||
| 10 March 1992 Scorecard | Zimbabwe 163 (48.3 overs) | v | South Africa 164/3 (45.1 overs) | South Africa won by 7 wickets Manuka Oval, Canberra, Australia Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd Player of the match: Peter Kirsten |
| Eddo Brandes 20 (28) Peter Kirsten 3/51 (5 overs) | Kepler Wessels 70 (137) Malcolm Jarvis 1/23 (9 overs) | |||
| 11 March 1992 Scorecard | Pakistan 220/9 (50 overs) | v | Australia 172 (45.2 overs) | Pakistan won by 48 runs WACA Ground, Perth, Australia Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Piloo Reporter Player of the match: Aamir Sohail |
| Aamir Sohail 76 (104) Steve Waugh 3/36 (10 overs) | Dean Jones 47 (79) Aaqib Javed 3/21 (8 overs) | |||
| 12 March 1992 Scorecard | India 230/6 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 231/6 (47.1 overs) | New Zealand won by 4 wickets Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand Umpires: Peter McConnell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Mark Greatbatch |
| Sachin Tendulkar 84 (107) Chris Harris 3/55 (9 overs) | Mark Greatbatch 73 (77) Manoj Prabhakar 3/46 (10 overs) | |||
| 12 March 1992 Scorecard | South Africa 236/4 (50 overs) | v | England 226/7 (40.5 overs) | England won by 3 wickets (revised traget) Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Dooland Buultjens Player of the match: Alec Stewart |
| Kepler Wessels 85 (126) Graeme Hick 2/44 (8.2 overs) | Alec Stewart 77 (88) Richard Snell 3/42 (7.5 overs) | |||
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| 13 March 1992 Scorecard | West Indies 268/8 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 177/9 (50 overs) | West Indies won by 91 runs Berri Oval, Berri, Australia Umpires: David Shepherd and Steve Woodward Player of the match: Phil Simmons |
| Phil Simmons 110 (125) Chandika Hathurusinghe 4/57 (8 overs) | Athula Samarasekera 40 (41) Carl Hooper 2/19 (10 overs) | |||
| 14 March 1992 Scorecard | Australia 265/6 (50 overs) | v | Zimbabwe 137 (41.4 overs) | Australia won by 128 runs Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Steve Waugh |
| Mark Waugh 66* (39) John Traicos 1/30 (10 overs) | Eddo Brandes 23 (28) Peter Taylor 2/14 (3.4 overs) | |||
| 15 March 1992 Scorecard | England 200/8 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 201/3 (40.5 overs) | New Zealand won by 7 wickets Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Umpires: Steve Randell and Ian Robinson Player of the match: Andrew Jones |
| Graeme Hick 56 (70) Dipak Patel 2/26 (10 overs) | Andrew Jones 78 (113) Ian Botham 1/19 (4 overs) | |||
| 15 March 1992 Scorecard | India 180/6 (30 overs) | v | South Africa 181/4 (29.1 overs) | South Africa won by 6 wickets Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Umpires: Dooland Buultjens and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Peter Kirsten |
| Mohammad Azharuddin 79 (77) Adrian Kuiper 2/28 (6 overs) | Peter Kirsten 84 (86) Manoj Prabhakar 1/33 (5.1 overs) | |||
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| 15 March 1992 Scorecard | Sri Lanka 212/6 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 216/6 (49.1 overs) | Pakistan won by 4 wickets WACA Ground, Perth, Australia Umpires: Karl Liebenberg and Peter McConnell Player of the match: Javed Miandad |
| Aravinda de Silva 43 (56) Mushtaq Ahmed 2/43 (10 overs) | Javed Miandad 57 (84) Champaka Ramanayake 2/37 (10 overs) | |||
| 18 March 1992 Scorecard | New Zealand 166 (48.2 overs) | v | Pakistan 167/3 (44.4 overs) | Pakistan won by 7 wickets Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Steve Randell Player of the match: Mushtaq Ahmed |
| Mark Greatbatch 42 (67) Wasim Akram 4/32 (9.2 overs) | Rameez Raja 119* (155) Danny Morrison 3/42 (10 overs) | |||
| 18 March 1992 Scorecard | Zimbabwe 134 (46.1 overs) | v | England 125 (49.1 overs) | Zimbabwe won by 9 runs Lavington Sports Oval, Albury, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Khizer Hayat Player of the match: Eddo Brandes |
| David Houghton 29 (74) Ian Botham 3/23 (10 overs) | Alec Stewart 29 (96) Eddo Brandes 4/21 (10 overs) | |||
| 18 March 1992 Scorecard | Australia 216/6 (50 overs) | v | West Indies 159 (42.4 overs) | Australia won by 57 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia Umpires: Piloo Reporter and David Shepherd Player of the match: David Boon |
| David Boon 100 (147) Andy Cummins 3/38 (10 overs) | Brian Lara 70 (97) Mike Whitney 4/34 (10 overs) | |||
[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 - although both were very slow to score early on, and Imran benefited from a dropped catch just as he was trying to increase the tempo, having up to that point scored only 9 in 16 overs. Late flourishes from Inzamam-ul-haq (42 off 35 balls) andWasim 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
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||
| 21 March - Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||
| 1 New Zealand | 262/7 | ||||||
| 4 Pakistan | 263/6 | ||||||
| 25 March - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia | |||||||
| Pakistan | 249/6 | ||||||
| England | 227 | ||||||
| 22 March - Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia | |||||||
| 2 England | 252/6 | ||||||
| 3 South Africa | 232/6 | ||||||
[edit]Semi finals
| 21 March 1992 scorecard | New Zealand 262/7 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 263/6 (49 overs) | Pakistan won by 4 wickets Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd Player of the match: Inzamam-ul-Haq |
| Martin Crowe 91 (83 balls) Wasim Akram 2/40 (10 overs) Mushtaq Ahmed 2/40 (10 overs) | Inzamam-ul-Haq 60 (37 balls) Willie Watson 2/39 (10 overs) | |||
| 22 March 1992 scorecard | England 252/6 (45 overs) | v | South Africa 232/6 (43 overs) | England won by 19 runs (rain rule) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Randell Player of the match: Graeme Hick |
| Graeme Hick 83 (90 balls) Meyrick Pringle 2/36 (9 overs) | Andrew Hudson 46 (52 balls) Richard Illingworth 2/46 (10 overs) | |||
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[edit]Final
| 25 March 1992 scorecard | Pakistan 249/6 (50 overs) | v | England 227 all out (49.2 overs) | Pakistan won by 22 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,Australia Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor Player of the match: Wasim Akram |
| Imran Khan 72 (110 balls) Derek Pringle 3/22 (10 overs) | Neil Fairbrother 62 (70 balls) Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41 (10 overs) | |||
The final will be remembered by all Pakistanis as they saw two of their greatest cricketers, Imran Khan andJaved Miandad, perform superbly as they set a target of 250, which proved too much for England to chase.
The final began with eerie resemblances to same fixture earlier in the tournament when England bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 74, as Derek Pringle dismissed both Pakistani openers at 24. However, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad settled down to see off the new ball. A crucial moment occurred when Imran Khan was dropped by Graham Gooch at 9 runs. He later went on to score a match-winning 72. At the 25 over mark, Pakistan had only scored 70, but accelerated the score to 139 by the 31st over as Javed Miandad summoned a runner and Imran and him built a steady partnership. During his innings, Imran Khan hit a huge six off Richard Illingworth that landed far back into the members section. Imran went onto score 72 and Miandad 58 to steady the innings, expectedly followed by an onslaught from Inzamam (42) and Wasim Akram (35) enabling Pakistan to give England a fighting target of 250.
England's start was shaky. Ian Botham was dismissed for a duck by Wasim Akram, followed by Stewart, Hick and Gooch, which left England tumbling at 69/4. A solid partnership of 71 between Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother left Imran with no choice but to give an early second spell to his main pacer Wasim Akram in the 35th over. The decision wrote the fate of the match. Two magical deliveries from the great left arm fast bowler showed Allan Lamb and the dangerous Chris Lewis the pavilion door. Soon Fairbrother was caught by Moin Khan offAaqib Javed to seal England's last hope. When the cards were laid down, Captain Imran Khan had the last laugh when Derek Pringle was caught by Ramiz Raja off his delivery to finish off the final and deservedly crown Pakistan World Champions of cricket.
[edit]Statistics
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[edit]Man of the Series
- Martin Crowe, New Zealand[4]
[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.
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