The Cricket World Cup is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is held once every four years. ODI cricket is one of three forms of cricket played at international level. Unlike Test cricket, ODIs consist of one innings per team and is played over the course of single day. Australia and England played in the inaugural ODI match on 5 January 1971 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The inaugural Cricket World Cup took place in England in 1975 and 12 tournaments have been held since. The first three editions were all held in England and each innings was limited to a maximum of 60 overs. Since the 1987 Cricket World Cup, all matches have consisted of 50 overs per innings.
Top order batsman and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting holds several World Cup records. Playing in five tournaments between 1996 and 2011, he has played in more World Cup matches than any player with 46. He also holds the record for the most consecutive matches played. As a slip fielder, Ponting has also taken the most catches at the World Cup with 28. Captaining his side from 2003 to 2011, Ponting holds the World Cup record for the most matches played as captain with 29. India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has scored 2,278 runs making him the only player to score more than 2,000 runs at the World Cup. He has also scored the most World Cup half-centuries with 15 and shares the record with Pakistan's Javed Miandad for the most number of World Cup tournaments played with 6.
Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath holds the record for the most World Cup wickets taken with 71, the record for the best figures taken in an World Cup with 7/15 and has the best bowling average at the Cricket World Cup with 18.19. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara is the record holder for the most number dismissals and stumpings taken as a wicket-keeper at the World Cup with 54 and 13, respectively. The World Cup record for most catches as a wicket-keeper is held by Australian gloveman Adam Gilchrist with 45. Gilchrist and New Zealand's Tom Latham holds the record for the most dismissals in a single tournament by a designated wicket-keeper with 21.
Key The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses, ties and no results and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records are correct as of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. + Key Symbol Meaning * Player remained not out or partnership remained unbroken ♠ One Day International cricket record Date Date of the World Cup match Innings Number of World Cup innings played Matches Number of World Cup matches played Opposition The team that, the team or the team of the player who scored the record, was played against Period The time period when the player played in the World Cup Player The player who scored the record Team The team or the team of the player who scored the record Venue One Day International cricket ground where the World Cup match was played
Team records Team wins, losses, ties and no results A total of 20 of the 29 ODI teams have played in at least one edition of the Cricket World Cup. The teams that have not played are the Africa XI, the ACC Asia XI, Hong Kong, the ICC World XI, Jersey, Nepal, Oman, Papua New Guinea and the United States. Six teams have played in all thirteen editions of the Cricket World Cup—Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The West Indies, who had played in every World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1975, failed to qualify for the 2023 edition. Australia has played and won the most matches at the Cricket World Cup and has the highest winning percentage.
+ Team wins, losses, ties and no results Team Span Matches Won Lost Tied No result % Won 2015–2023 24 5 19 0 0 20.83 1975–2023 105 78 25 1 1 74.28 1999–2023 49 16 32 0 1 32.65 2007–2007 3 0 3 0 0 0.00 1979–2011 18 2 16 0 0 11.11 1975–1975 3 0 3 0 0 0.00 1975–2023 92 51 38 2 1 55.43 1975–2023 95 63 30 1 1 66.31 2007–2015 21 7 13 1 0 33.33 1996–2011 29 6 22 0 1 20.68 2003–2003 6 0 6 0 0 0.00 1996–2023 29 4 25 0 0 13.79 1975–2023 99 59 38 1 1 59.59 1975–2023 88 49 37 0 2 55.68 1999–2015 14 0 14 0 0 0.00 1992–2023 74 45 26 2 1 60.81 1975–2023 89 40 46 1 2 44.94 1996–2015 11 1 10 0 0 9.09 1975–2019 80 43 35 0 2 53.75 1983–2015 57 11 42 1 3 19.29 Last updated: 19 November 2023
Team scoring records Highest totals The highest innings total scored at the Cricket World Cup came in the group stage match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the most recent edition in 2023. Playing at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi, South Africa posted a total of 428/5. This broke the record of 417/6 set by Australia at WACA Ground in Perth against Afghanistan at the 2015 tournament. The third match of Group B in the 2007 World Cup saw India becoming the first team to break the 400-run barrier in a single innings at the World Cup. Playing against Bermuda at the Queen's Park Oval in the Port of Spain, India posted a score of 413/5. The 400-run mark has been passed on four other occasions in the World Cup.
+ Highest totals Rank Score Overs Team Opposition Venue Date 1 50 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi, India 2 50 WACA Ground, Perth, Australia 3 50 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 4 50 Manuka Oval, Canberra, Australia 5 50 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, India Last updated: 19 November 2023
Highest successful run chases Pakistan claimed the highest successful run chase in Cricket World Cup history when they scored 345/4 chasing a target of 345 runs. This came during their group stage match against Sri Lanka at 2023 World Cup at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. This bettered the previous record set at the 2011 World Cup where England set 328 runs for victory and Ireland reached the target with 5 balls to spare at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
+ Highest successful run chases Rank Score Target Overs Team Opposition Venue Date 1 345 48.2 Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, India 2 328 49.1 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India 3 322 41.3 County Ground, Taunton, England 4 319 48.1 Saxton Oval, Nelson, New Zealand 5 313 49.2 Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, New Zealand Last updated: 19 November 2023
Lowest totals The lowest innings total scored in World Cup came in the 2003 Pool B match at Boland Park in Paarl where Canada was bowled out by Sri Lanka for 36 runs. This broke the long-standing record of 45 runs set at the 1979 World Cup where Canada was dismissed by tournament hosts England at Old Trafford. Both of these were ODI record scores at the time they were scored.
+ Lowest totals Rank Score Overs Team Opposition Venue Date 1 36 18.4 Boland Park, Paarl, South Africa 2 45 40.3 Old Trafford, Manchester, England 14.0 North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom, South Africa 4 55 19.4 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 5 58 18.5 Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh Last updated: 19 November 2023
Lowest totals successfully defended Zimbabwe claimed the record of lowest total successfully defended in a completed World Cup match when they defended 134 in a 1992 Group Stage match at Lavington Sports Oval in Albury by bowling out England for 125. RankScoreOpposition ScoreTeamOppositionVenueDate1134125Lavington Sports Oval, Albury, Australia18 March 19922165/9151Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, England16 June 1979316693Nehru Stadium, Pune, India29 February 19964171165M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India6 March 20115180120Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa11 February 2003Last updated: 19 November 2023
Highest match aggregates The highest match aggregate in a World Cup match came in the 2023 Cricket World Cup group stage match at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala where Australia and New Zealand combined to score 771 runs in the match. This broke the record of 754 runs set 21 days earlier in the same World Cup, between South Arica and Sri Lanka.
+ Highest match aggregates Rank Aggregate Team 1 Team 2 Venue Date 1 771/19 (388) (383/9) HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala, India 2 754/15 (428/5) (326) Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India 3 724/14 (397/4) (327) Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 4 714/13 (381/5) (333/8) Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England 5 689/13 (344/9) (345/4) Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, India Last updated: 19 November 2023
Lowest match aggregates The lowest match aggregate in a completed World Cup match came in the 2003 Cricket World Cup group stage match at Boland Park in Paarl where Canada and Sri Lanka combined to score 73 runs in the match. + Lowest match aggregatesRankAggregateTeam 1Team 2VenueDate173/11 (36) (37/1)Boland Park, Paarl, South Africa291/12 (45) (46/2)Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England3117/11 (58) (59/1)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh4138/12 (68) (70/2)Grace Road, Leicester, England5141/10 (69) (72/0)M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, IndiaLast updated: 19 November 2023
Result records An ODI match is won when one side has scored more runs than the total runs scored by the opposing side during their innings. If both sides have completed their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher number of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.
Greatest win margins (by runs)
The greatest winning margin by runs at the World Cup was Australia's victory over the Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi at the most recently edition in 2023 where Australia won by a margin of 309 runs. This is followed by India's 302-run victory over Sri Lanka at the same tournament eight days later. Both of these eclipsed the previous record of Australia's defeat of Afghanistan during the 2015 World Cup by 275 runs.
+ Greatest win margins (by runs) Rank Margin Team Opposition Venue Date 1 309 runs Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi, India 2 302 runs Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 3 275 runs WACA Ground, Perth, Australia 257 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Last updated: 19 November 2023
Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets) Cricket World Cup matches have been won by a margin of 10 wickets on 12 occasions, the most recent being New Zealand's defeat of Sri Lanka in 2019.
+ Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets) Rank Margin Team Opposition Venue Date =1 10 wickets Headingley, Leeds, England Edgbaston, Birmingham, England Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom, South Africa City Oval, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, South Africa Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, India Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales Last updated: 19 November 2023
Greatest win margins (by balls remaining) The group stage of the 1979 World Cup saw England run down the target of 46 runs to defeat Canada by a margin of 8 wickets with 277 balls remaining in the 60-over innings, the largest victory by balls remaining in ODI cricket history. The next largest victory at the Cricket World Cup was Sri Lanka's win against Canada at the 2003 tournament at Boland Park in Paarl, where Sri Lanka reached the target of 37 runs with 272 balls to spare.