The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from March 13, to April 28, 2007. The 16 competing teams were initially divided into four groups, with the two best-performing teams from each group moving on to a “Super 8” format.
Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and South Africa won through to the Semi-Finals, with Australia defeating Sri Lanka in the Final to win their third consecutive World Cup and their fourth overall. Australia’s unbeaten record in the tournament increased their total to 29 consecutive World Cup matches without loss, a streak dating back to May 23, 1999, during the 1999 World Cup.
The tournament also saw upsets and surprise results, with pre-tournament favourites India and Pakistan failing to make it past the group stage, while Bangladesh, the second-lowest ranked ICC Full Member at the time, and World Cup debutant Ireland, which was an ICC Associate Member at the time, made it to the “Super 8.” Ireland became only the second Associate Nation to make it past the first round of a Cricket World Cup, the first being Kenya in 2003.
Host Selection
The World Cup was awarded to the West Indies via the International Cricket Council’s rotational policy. It is the first time the ICC Cricket World Cup has been held in the Caribbean despite the fact that the West Indies cricket team had been the second most successful team in the past World Cups.
The United States contingent lobbied strongly for matches to be staged at its newly built cricket ground in Lauderhill, Florida, but the ICC decided to award all matches to Caribbean nations. Eight venues across the West Indies were selected to host the World Cup tournament. All host countries hosted six matches with the exceptions of St. Lucia, Jamaica, and Barbados, each of which hosted seven matches.
The Jamaican government spent US$81 million for “on-the-pitch” expenses. This included refurbishing Sabina Park and constructing the new multi-purpose facility in Trelawny through a loan from China. Another US$20 million was budgeted for “off-the-pitch” expenses, putting the tally at more than US$100 million. The total spent on stadiums was at least US$301 million.
The field of 16 teams, the largest ever for the Cricket World Cup, consisted of all 16 teams which currently held ODI status. This included the ten full members of the ICC and six (Associate) ODI nations that qualified via the 2005 ICC Trophy. These nations included Scotland who won the ICC Trophy, Canada, the Netherlands, and Ireland and Bermudamade their World Cup debuts.
Australian Captain
Ricky Ponting, once more led his team admirably to win back to back Cricket World Cups. Ponting, considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time was captain of the Australian team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in ODIs.
He remains the most successful captain in international cricket history, with 220 victories in 324 matches with a winning rate of 67.91%. Ponting led Australia to victory at the last edition of 2003 Cricket World Cup and was also a member of the 1999 World Cup winning team.
He also led Australia to consecutive ICC Champions Trophy victories in 2006 and 2009. Belligerent and at times a controversial captain, statistically he is one of the most successful Test captains of all time, with 48 victories in 77 Tests between 2004 and 2010.
As a player, Ponting is the only cricketer in history to be involved in 100 Test Match victories and was involved in the most ODI victories as a player, with 262 wins. He has played in over 160 Test Matches and 370 ODIs.
Ponting was the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2003 and one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2006. He has been the Allan Border Medalist a record four times in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Ponting has won the award of Australia’s best Test player in 2003, 2004 and 2007 and Australia’s best ODI player in 2002 and 2007.
Ponting is the first batsman to score centuries in ODI cricket against all Test playing nations. He along with Shane Watson, holds the record for the highest partnership for any wicket in the ICC Champions Trophy (252 not out for the second wicket). His score of 242 against India is the highest individual Test innings in a losing cause.
Sri Lanka Captain
Mahela Jayawardene, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of international cricket captained Sri Lanka at the World Cup 2007. Mahela was well known for his tactical acumen as a captain, and was rewarded for following his captaincy instincts.
As captain, Mahela led Sri Lanka to be the winners of the 2008 Asia Cup. He also made history as the first Sri Lankan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to score a century which he did with his 100 runs against Zimbabwe in 2010.
In 2006, along with Kumar Sangakkara, he made the highest ever partnership in First-Class cricket, scoring 624 runs for the third wicket in the first Test match of Sri Lanka’s home series against South Africa. He appeared in 652 international matches in a career spanning 18 years.
Mahela is the first Sri Lankan cricketer to score 10,000 Test runs and is also the second Sri Lankan to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs after Sanath Jayasuriya. Mahela’s highest test score, 374 against South Africa, is the highest by a right-handed batsman in the history of Test cricket. He is the only fielder in ODI history to take 200 ODI catches.
Along with Sangakkara, he has the most career partnership runs for the 3rd wicket in Tests, scoring 5890.In 2006, Mahela was named by the ICC as the ‘Best International Captain of the Year’ and was nominated in 2007 as the ‘Best Test Cricket Player of the Year.’ He is also known for his fielding skills in the inner ring.
He holds the unique record of being the only player as of now to have scored a hundred in both a World Cup Final and a World Cup Semi-Final. He is also the only player to have scored a century in a World Cup Final in a losing cause. In 2021, he was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Mahela has played the most number of 448 ODI matches for Sri Lanka. He was the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2007 and won ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in 2013. He holds the record for the most Test catches of 205 for Sri Lanka and second most for any fielder in Test history.
Cricket World Cup 2007
Prior to the main tournament, all 16 nations played a series of warm-up matches to prepare, experiment with different tactics, and to help them get acclimated to conditions in the West Indies. These matches were not considered as official ODIs and were played from March 5 to 9, 2007.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony was held on March 11, 2007, at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica. It featured over 2,000 dancers and performers representing all strands of West Indian music, from calypso and ragga to reggae and soca. The ceremony, attended by several heads of state including the Governor-General of Jamaica, started with an address by Sir Garfield Sobers.
The matches were ODIs and were to be 50 overs a side unless stated otherwise by the umpires or match referee. A bowler was able to bowl a maximum of 10 overs per match. In the event of bad weather, each side must have batted a minimum of 20 overs for a result to be declared.
There was a new rule regarding referral of catches to the TV replay official, the third umpire. If the standing umpires were unable to determine whether a catch had been taken cleanly, and/or whether a claimed catch was a “bump ball,” they had discretion to refer the decision to the third umpire.
The tournament began with a league stage consisting of four groups of four. Each team played each of the other teams in its group once. Australia, India, England, and the West Indies were placed in separate pools for logistical reasons, as they were expected to have the most supporters in attendance, and transport and accommodation capacity in the West Indies was limited.
Each team carried forward its result against the other team qualifying from its preliminary stage group, and played the other six qualifying teams once each. The top two teams from each group advanced to the “Super 8” stage and the top four teams went through to the Semi-Finals. This system was modified since the previous World Cup, which had a “Super 6.”
Then, the No. 1 team played the No. 4 team, and the No. 2 team played the No. 3 team in the Semi-Finals and the winners played each other in the Final.
World Cup Semi-Finals
Sri Lanka played the first Semi-Final on April 24, 2007 at Sabina Park, Kingston and amassed 289/5 in 50 overs having won the toss and elected to bat. Captain Mahela Jayewardene remained 115 not out in 109 deliveries. New Zealand in response were all out for 208 in 41.4 overs. Muttiah Muralidaran had figures of 4/31 in 8 overs. Mahela was declared the ‘Player of the Match.’
In the second Semi-Final, played on April 25, 2007, Australia comfortably beat South Africa at Beanusejour Stadium, Gros Islet. South Africa having won the toss and elected to bat first were all out for 149 in 43.5 overs. Australia scored 153/3 in 31.3 overs and Glenn McGrath was named the ‘Player of the Match.’
World Cup Final
This was the first World Cup final to be a repeat. The sides previously met in the 1996 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won. Australia had won every World Cup match against Sri Lanka apart from that loss. The match was Sri Lanka’s second World Cup final appearance, and Australia’s fourth in a row and sixth overall.
The match was played at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown on April 28, 2007. Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat. However, the start of play was delayed due to rain, and the match was reduced to 38 overs per side. Wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist played an innings of 149 in 104 deliveries – the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final – to give Australia an imposing total of 281/4 in 38 overs. Lasith Malinga claimed 2/49 in his eight overs.
Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya added 116 runs for the second wicket and the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka’s chances slowly diminished. Jayasuriya scored 63. Further rain forced the reduction of Sri Lanka’s innings to just 36 overs, with the target revised to 269. At the end of the 33rd over, with Sri Lanka still trailing the adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target by 37 runs, the umpires suspended the game due to bad light.
While Australia’s players began to celebrate their victory as the minimum 20 overs had been reached, the umpires incorrectly announced that because the match was suspended due to light and not rain, the final three overs would have to be bowled the following day. With Sri Lanka needing 61 runs from 18 deliveries, Sri Lankan captain Mahela agreed that there was no need to return the following day, and instructed his team to resume batting whilst Ponting agreed to continue with spin bowlers.
The last three overs were played in almost complete darkness, during which Sri Lanka added just nine runs to give Australia a 53-run victory by the D-L method. The umpires later apologised for their error, saying that the match should have ended then with Australia winning by 37 runs.
With this victory, Australia became the first team to win three consecutive World Cup titles. Australia won the tournament undefeated, extending their streak of World Cup matches without a loss to 29. Adam Gilchrist was named ‘Player of the Match.’ Australian bowler Glenn McGrath was named ‘Player of the Series’ and retired from all forms of international cricket.
Controversies
The 2007 World Cup organisers were criticised early on for being over-commercialised and, in particular, the generally smaller crowds have been blamed on the ICC’s security restrictions on things such as outside food, signs, replica kits, and musical instruments, despite Caribbean cricketing customs. Sir Viv Richards echoed the concerns.
The ICC were also condemned for high prices of tickets and concessions, which were considered unaffordable for the local population in many of the locations. However, the later matches had more crowds as the tournament progressed with the local organisers easing restrictions.
The World Cup was also criticised by the BCCI for its format because India failed to move on from the group stage after losing two of their three matches. The tournament was also criticised as being too long, though at 6 weeks, it was the same length as the 2003 World Cup. Further criticism was generated by the confusion at the end of the final match: the umpires announced that play was suspended due to bad light, which caused the Australian team to erupt in celebration as the scoreboard and official announcements declared Australia the winners.
However, the umpires incorrectly insisted that the game was only suspended and not completed, and that 3 overs remained to be played, so in farcical light conditions, Sri Lanka batted out the remaining 3 overs following a gentleman’s agreement between the two captains.
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead on March 18, 2007, one day after his team’s defeat to Ireland. Jamaican police performed an autopsy which was deemed inconclusive. The following day police ordered a full investigation and rescinded the comments that he was murdered, and confirmed that he died from natural causes.
Media Coverage
The World Cup had grown as a media event with each tournament. The sponsorship and television rights that were awarded primarily to cover the 2003 and 2007 World Cups raised over US$550 million. The 2007 World Cup was televised in over 200 countries to a viewing audience estimated at more than two billion viewers and was expected to generate more than 100,000 unique visitors to the West Indies travelling solely for the tournament.
The 2007 Cricket World Cup featured an orange, anthropomorphic raccoon-like creature named “Mello” as its mascot. It was announced during matches that Mello had no race, species, age or gender – it was an attitude, the attitude of the young people of the West Indies. The official song for the World Cup was “The Game of Love and Unity” by Jamaican-born Shaggy, Barbadian entertainer Rupee, and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons.
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