Home > 1992 cricket World Cup

The 1991-92 cricket season was a first in many aspects:

• Day/night matches were introduced.
• White cricket balls and coloured team uniforms for one-dayers introduced.
• Third umpires (off-field, apart from the two on-field umpires) to decide run-outs based on TV replays were introduced.
• A controversial system of recalculating team totals for a reduced number of overs for matches affected by rain was introduced. See external link for rain-rules.
• It was the first World Cup to feature African test nations:
  • South Africa returned from a 22 year old ban on cricketing relations with it.
  • Zimbabwe also gained test status.
• It was the first World Cup held in the Southern hemisphere.
• Many new techniques were invented
  • pinch-hitters (Batsmen sent in the early stages (higher order) to step up the run-rate by hitting the ball all around).
  • New Zealand opening with spin-bowlers to confuse the batsmen higher order who are used fast bowlers trying to extract much speed with the new ball.

The format was changed from 1987 to accommodate South Africa. 9 countries participated in the event. In the league stage every team played every other team. This resulted in the huge increase in the number of matches as there weren't groups. The top four teams qualified for the semifinals, whose winners played the final.

The countries participating were all Test nations:

• Australia
• England
• India
• New Zealand
• Pakistan
• South AfricaSouth Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa. South Africa is one o
• Sri LankaThe Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (known as Ceylon before 1972) is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known in ancient times as Lanka Lankadweepa (meaning "Resplendent Land" in Sanskrit), Taprobane an
• West Indies
• ZimbabweThe Republic of Zimbabwe is a country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Victoria Falls, Zambesi river, Kariba Dam and Limpopo river. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north

The 1992 World Cup was lifted by Imran KhanImran Khan (Mohammad Imran Khan Niazi, born November 25 1952) was a Pakistani cricketer ( 1971- 1992) and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Khan is seen as Pakistan's finest ever all-rounder and, along with Garfield Sobers and Ian Botham, one of the, captain of Pakistan, who won against England by 22 runs in the Melbourne Cricket GroundCricket at the MCG. The old Members Stand, in the centre background, has now been demolished. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an enormous sporting ground based in inner Melbourne, home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It holds the world record for the highe (MCG), after initially faltering and barely managing to qualify for the semifinal. The other semifinalists were New Zealand and South Africa. South Africa lost to England after a target of 22 runs off 13 balls was changed by rain rules. Rules initially reduced play by one over. Bad weather further reduced the odds to 21 off 1 ball due to rain. South Africa lost, and thus did not make an appearance in the final of their first World Cup. Rules were changed after this to the Duckworth-Lewis methodCricket In the sport of cricket, the Duckworth-Lewis method (D/L method) is a way to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance. It was devised by Frank Duckworth and Tony.

A notable feature of this World cup was the innovative tactics employed by New Zealand captain Martin Crowe, who opened his teams bowling with a spinner, Dipak Patel rather than with a quickie, as was the practice. Another innovation was the opening of the New Zealand batting by pinch hitters, however credit for this should actually go to India, who regularly opened their batting with the flamboyant Krishnamachari Srikanth even before this World Cup.