Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 2

Having revisited the fortunes of Associate nations at the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979 in Part 1 of this five-part series, we move ahead to the next three editions – held in England in 1983, in India and Pakistan in 1987-88, and in Australia and New Zealand in 1991-92. The decade […]

Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 1

Thanks to the International Cricket Council’s retrograde decision to reduce the number of the teams at the World Cup, the 12th edition of the showpiece event, set to begin in England on May 30, will feature only ten teams – the least number of teams since the 1992 edition. More tellingly, it will […]

Specials – Best of the 1999 World Cup, Part 1

With the 2019 World Cup almost upon us, it is great time to rewind to two decades back, when England last hosted the showpiece event. Besides featuring some riveting contests and quality performances, the 1999 World Cup, played primarily in England with a few fixtures in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands, was also […]

Specials – When Namibia held their own against England

Namibia played their first ODI in more than 16 years when they squared off against Oman in the final of the ICC World Cricket League Division Two at Windhoek’s Wanderers Cricket Ground on April 27. It was also the first instance of an ODI being played on Namibian soil, and the hosts made it […]

Specials – Australia’s one-match ODI grounds

The arrival of Perth’s Optus Stadium on the international scene in January 2018 increased the total number of men’s ODI grounds in Australia to 19. Of these, as many as seven grounds have ended up hosting just a solitary ODI each. Here is a look back at these forgotten venues’ trysts with the international […]

Specials – A look back at Virat Kohli’s Adelaide epic

January 26th, 2012. The Adelaide Oval, Australia. The Indian cricket team was scraping the bottom of the barrel, looking for something to take away from what was one of their worst overseas tours in recent memory. They had lost the first two Test matches in humiliating fashion, and were on their way to losing […]

Specials – Revisiting Virat Kohli’s bountiful 2016

As far as calendar years go, 2016 was a remarkable one for Indian cricket. From a total of 46 matches (inclusive of Tests, ODIs and T20Is), India won 31, lost 11 and drew three. That comes up to a win/loss ratio of 2.81, which was by far the best among all teams that year. […]

Specials – When Bermuda triumphed on ODI debut

A fourth-place finish at the 2005 ICC Trophy (as the World Cup Qualifier was then known) in Ireland handed Bermuda a historic spot at the 16-team 2007 World Cup to be played in the Caribbean. After having narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 1979, 1983 and 1996 editions of the World Cup, the […]

Specials – The biggest wins in ODI cricket

India’s largest ODI victory by runs at home came in the fourth match of the recently-ended ODI series against the West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. It had all the essentials for a massive win: batsmen bulking up the scoreboard, followed by dominating performances by the bowlers and the fielders. Yet, […]

Specials – ODI cricket in Singapore, Part 3

India were due to play in their third consecutive ODI tournament in Singapore, but pulled out at the last minute, citing that it would not be appropriate to take part during the match-fixing crisis. Pakistan came in instead, joining New Zealand and South Africa for the Godrej Singapore Challenge held at the Kallang Ground […]