2007 Cricket World Cup

2007 ICC Cricket World Cup
Logo of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup
Dates	13 March – 28 April
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	One Day International
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)	West Indies
Champions	Australia (4th title)
Participants	16 (from 97 entrants)
Matches played	51
Attendance	672,000 (13,176 per match)
Man of the Series	Glenn McGrath
Most runs	Matthew Hayden (659)
Most wickets	Glenn McGrath (26)
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The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2003 World Cup (despite a field larger by two teams).

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. From this, 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. Australia's unbeaten record in the tournament increased their total to 29 consecutive World Cup matches without loss, a streak dating back to 23 May 1999, during the group stage of the 1999 World Cup.

Following the tournament the ICC distributed surplus tournament revenues of USD 239 million to its members.^[1]

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 have been the second most successful team in past World Cups.^[2]

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. Bids from Bermuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a second bid by Jamaica were also rejected.

Venues

Eight venues across the West Indies were selected to host the World Cup final tournament. All host countries hosted six matches with the exceptions of St Lucia, Jamaica and Barbados (the last of which hosted the final) which each hosted seven matches.

Antigua and Barbuda	Barbados	Grenada	Guyana
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Capacity: 20,000	Kensington Oval Capacity: 31,000	Queen's Park Capacity: 20,000	Providence Stadium Capacity: 20,000
Jamaica	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Lucia	Trinidad and Tobago
Sabina Park Capacity: 20,000	Warner Park Stadium Capacity: 10,000	Beausejour Stadium Capacity: 20,000	Queen's Park Oval Capacity: 25,000

Warm up venues

Venue	City	Country	Capacity	Matches
3Ws Oval	Bridgetown	Barbados	8,500	4
Greenfield Stadium	Falmouth, Jamaica	Jamaica	25,000	4
Arnos Vale Stadium	Kingstown	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18,000	4
Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground	St. Augustine	Trinidad and Tobago	22,000	4

The Jamaican Government spent US$81 million for "on the pitch" expenses.^[3] This included refurbishing Sabina Park and constructing the new multi-purpose facility in Trelawny - through a loan from China. Another US$20 million is budgeted for 'off-the-pitch' expenses, putting the tally at more than US$100 million or JM$7 billion.

This put the reconstruction cost of Sabina Park at US$46 million whilst the Trelawny Stadium will cost US$35 million.^[4][5] The total amount of money spent on stadiums was at least US$301 million.

The Brian Lara Stadium, in Trinidad, lost its status as a pre-tournament warm-up match venue on 21 September 2006.^[6]

Qualification

The captains of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

See also: 2007 Cricket World Cup qualification

The field of sixteen teams, the largest ever for the Cricket World Cup, consists of all sixteen teams which currently hold One Day International status. This includes the ten full members of the ICC (which all have Test and permanent ODI status).The other six (associate) ODI nations are Kenya (which has ODI status until 2009) and five further teams which qualified via the 2005 ICC Trophy (gaining ODI status until 2009, in the process).

Full Members
Australia	Bangladesh
England	India
New Zealand	Pakistan
South Africa	Sri Lanka
West Indies	Zimbabwe
Associate Members
Bermuda	Canada
Kenya	Ireland
Netherlands	Scotland

Squads

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Squads

There were sixteen teams in 2007 Cricket World Cup. The sixteen teams were asked to announce their final squads by 13 February 2007. Changes were allowed after this deadline at the discretion of the ICCs Technical Committee in necessary cases, such as due to player injury.

Media coverage

Mello, official mascot.

The World Cup has 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 m.^[7] The 2007 World Cup was televised in over 200 countries to a viewing audience estimated at more than two billion television viewers and was expected to generate more than 100,000 unique visitors to the West Indies who traveled solely for the tournament.^[8][9]

The 2007 Cricket World Cup featured an orange raccoon-like creature named "Mello" as its mascot. It has been announced during matches that Mello has no race, species, age or gender- it is 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, Bajan entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian Fay-Ann Lyons.

The 2007 tournament recorded the highest ticketing revenue for a Cricket World Cup, selling more than 672,000.^[10] Although, attendance leading into the semi finals for the 2007 World Cup was 403,000; an average of 8,500 supporters per match.^[11]

Leadup

All major Test-playing nations had schedules allowing them to play a large number of One Day International against other major ODI teams just prior to the World Cup. Australia, New Zealand and England took part in the Commonwealth Bank Series where England defeated Australia in the finals. Australia then went to New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, losing 3-0. South Africa played five ODIs against India (South Africa won 4-0) and five against Pakistan (South Africa won 3-1) while India also played four ODIs against the West Indies (India won 3-1) and four ODIs against Sri Lanka (India won 2-1). Bangladesh played four ODIs against Zimbabwe (Bangladesh won 3-1) and won a tri-series against Canada and Bermuda. The associate ODI teams took part in the World Cricket League, which Kenya won, and were also involved in other series prior to the World Cup.

The rankings of the teams at the beginning of the Cricket World Cup were:

Ranking	Team	Points		Ranking	Team	Points
1	South Africa	128		9	Bangladesh	42
2	Australia	125		10	Zimbabwe	22
3	New Zealand	113		11	Kenya	0
4	Pakistan	111		12	Scotland	0% / 69%
5	India	109		13	Netherlands	0% / 50%
6	Sri Lanka	108		14	Ireland	0% / 44%
7	England	106		15	Canada	0% / 33%
8	West Indies	101		16	Bermuda	0% / 28%

Note:Teams 12-16 did not have official ODI rankings leading up to the World Cup; they are ranked based on their win percentage against full members and then wins against associate members prior to the tournament.^[12]

Warm-up matches

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup warm-up matches

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. The warm-up matches were not considered as official ODIs.^[13] The matches were played from Monday 5 March until Friday 9 March. The matches included a surprise victory by Bangladesh over New Zealand.

Opening ceremony

Alison Hinds performing during the ceremony.

Fireworks in the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony was held on Sunday, 11 March 2007, at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica.^[14]

It featured over 2000 dancers and performers representing all strands of West Indian music, from calypso and ragga to reggae and soca; among the performers were Sean Paul, Byron Lee, Kevin Lyttle, Beres Hammond, Lucky Dube, Buju Banton, Half Pint, Arrow, Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Tony Rebel, Third World, Gregory Isaacs, David Rudder, Shaggy, the I Threes and Jimmy Cliff.

The ceremony, attended by several heads of state including the Governor-General of Jamaica started with an address by Sir Garfield Sobers; there were messages from the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Grenada.

Rules and regulations

Matches

The matches were One Day Internationals and operated under normal ODI rules. All matches 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 (if the match was not otherwise won, for example if the team batting second was dismissed before the completion of 20 overs). In the event of bad weather, the Duckworth-Lewis method was applied to determine the result or target. If no result was declared on the scheduled day, the teams returned the next day to complete the game, with the same situation as when the game was abandoned.

There was a new rule regarding referral of catches to the TV replay official (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. Also, whilst reviewing such a catch via TV replay if it was clear to the third umpire that the batsman did not hit the ball, he was to indicate that the batsman was not out.^[15]

Tournament points

In the Group Stage and in the Super 8 Stage points were awarded as follows:

Points

Results	Points
Win	2 points
Tie/No Result	1 point
Loss	0 points

The top two teams from each group advanced to the Super 8 stage and any points they earned against the other qualifier from their own group was carried through. Points earned against the non qualifying teams in the same pool were not carried over. In the Super 8s, each team played the six remaining qualifiers from the other groups and the top four teams went through to the semi-finals. Positions were decided by most points. Where two or more teams were tied on points, the following methods in turn were used to decide which team went through:^[15]

1. Most wins in their group or in Super 8 whichever is applicable
2. Higher net run rate
3. Higher number of wickets taken per ball
4. Winners of head to head matches
5. The drawing of lots

Umpires

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Umpires

The umpiring panel for the 2007 Cricket World Cup comprised nine umpires from the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires (the only member not included was Darrell Hair), and nine umpires from the international panel. The refereeing panel comprises seven members from the Elite Panel of ICC Referees, with Clive Lloyd not being included due to his role as West Indies' team manager. Aleem Dar went on to stand as an umpire in his first World Cup final, alongside Steve Bucknor who was appearing in his fifth final in a row - extending his record of four from the 2003 World Cup.

Groups

Seeds

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 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 is limited.^[16]

The groups are listed below, with seedings (rankings from April 2005) shown in brackets. Each group played all of its matches at a single ground.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Australia	Sri Lanka	New Zealand	Pakistan
South Africa	India	England	West Indies
Scotland	Bangladesh	Kenya	Zimbabwe
Netherlands	Bermuda	Canada	Ireland

System

The tournament was preceded by a number of warm-up matches to acclimatise the players. The Group Stage matches started on Tuesday 13 March and finished on Sunday 25 March. There were a total of 24 matches played in the group stage.

The top two teams in each group proceeded to the "Super 8" stage which will also use a league system. Each team carried forward its result against the other team qualifying from its preliminary stage group, and will play the other six qualifying teams once each. The top four teams in the league will qualify for the semi-finals. This system has been modified since the last World Cup, which had a "Super 6" stage rather than a Super 8. The Super 8 stage matches will be played from Tuesday 27 March until Saturday 21 April. A total of 24 matches will be played in the Super 8 stage.

The top four teams in the "Super 8" will advance to the Semi-Finals. This is the knockout stage, with the #1 team playing the #4 team, and the #2 team playing the #3 team in the tournament. The winners of the two semi-finals will play each other in the Final.

All tournament matches will have one reserve day (the day after the scheduled day of the match) to allow for matches to be completed in the event of bad weather.

Group stage

Group A

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
Australia	6	3	3	0	0	0	+3.433
South Africa	4	3	2	0	1	0	+2.403
Netherlands	2	3	1	0	2	0	-2.527
Scotland	0	3	0	0	3	0	-3.793

14 March 2007 (scorecard)

Australia  334/6 (50 overs)

v

Scotland 131/9 (40.1 overs)

Australia won by 203 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

16 March 2007 (scorecard)

South Africa  353/3 (40 overs)

v

Netherlands 132/9 (40 overs)

South Africa won by 221 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

18 March 2007 (scorecard)

Australia  358/5 (50 overs)

v

Netherlands 129 all out (26.5 overs)

Australia won by 229 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

20 March 2007 (scorecard)

Scotland  186/8 (50 overs)

v

South Africa 188/3 (23.2 overs)

South Africa won by 7 wickets Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

22 March 2007 (scorecard)

Scotland  136 all out (34.1 overs)

v

Netherlands 140/2 (23.5 overs)

Netherlands won by 8 wickets Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

24 March 2007 (scorecard)

Australia  377/6 (50 overs)

v

South Africa 294 all out (48 overs)

Australia won by 83 runs Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Group B

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
Sri Lanka	6	3	3	0	0	0	+3.493
Bangladesh	4	3	2	0	1	0	-1.523
India	2	3	1	0	2	0	+1.206
Bermuda	0	3	0	0	3	0	-4.345

15 March 2007 (scorecard)

Sri Lanka  321/6 (50 overs)

v

Bermuda 78 all out (24.4 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 243 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

17 March 2007 (scorecard)

India  191 all out (49.3 overs)

v

Bangladesh 192/5 (48.3 overs)

Bangladesh won by 5 wickets Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

19 March 2007 (scorecard)

India  413/5 (50 overs)

v

Bermuda 156 all out (43.1 overs)

India won by 257 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

21 March 2007 (scorecard)

Sri Lanka  318/4 (50 overs)

v

Bangladesh 112 all out (37 of 46 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (D/L) Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

23 March 2007 (scorecard)

Sri Lanka  254/6 (50 overs)

v

India 185 all out (43.3 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 69 runs Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

25 March 2007 (scorecard)

Bermuda  94/9 (21 overs)

v

Bangladesh 96/3 (17.3 of 21 overs)

Bangladesh won by 7 wickets (D/L) Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Group C

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Group C

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
New Zealand	6	3	3	0	0	0	+2.138
England	4	3	2	0	1	0	+0.418
Kenya	2	3	1	0	2	0	-1.194
Canada	0	3	0	0	3	0	-1.389

14 March 2007 (scorecard)

Canada  199 all out (50 overs)

v

Kenya 203/3 (43.2 overs)

Kenya won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

16 March 2007 (scorecard)

England  209/7 (50 overs)

v

New Zealand 210/4 (41 overs)

New Zealand won by 6 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

18 March 2007 (scorecard)

England  279/6 (50 overs)

v

Canada 228/7 (50 overs)

England won by 51 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

20 March 2007 (scorecard)

New Zealand  331/7 (50 overs)

v

Kenya 183 all out (49.2 overs)

New Zealand won by 148 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

22 March 2007 (scorecard)

New Zealand  363/5 (50 overs)

v

Canada 249/9 (49.2 overs)

New Zealand won by 114 runs Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

24 March 2007 (scorecard)

Kenya  177 all out (43 overs)

v

England 178/3 (33 of 43 overs)

England won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

Group D

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Group D

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	NRR
West Indies	6	3	3	0	0	0	+0.764
Ireland	3	3	1	1	1	0	-0.092
Pakistan	2	3	1	0	2	0	+0.089
Zimbabwe	1	3	0	1	2	0	-0.886

13 March 2007 (scorecard)

West Indies  241/9 (50 overs)

v

Pakistan 187 all out (47.2 overs)

West Indies won by 54 runs Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

15 March 2007 (scorecard)

Ireland  221/9 (50 overs)

v

Zimbabwe 221 all out (50 overs)

Match tied Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

17 March 2007 (scorecard)

Pakistan  132 all out (45.4 overs)

v

Ireland 133/7 (41.4 overs)

Ireland won by 3 wickets (D/L) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

19 March 2007 (scorecard)

Zimbabwe  202/5 (50 overs)

v

West Indies 204/4 (47.5 overs)

West Indies won by 6 wickets Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

21 March 2007 (scorecard)

Pakistan  349 all out (49.5 overs)

v

Zimbabwe 99 all out (19.1 of 20 overs)

Pakistan won by 93 runs (D/L) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

23 March 2007 (scorecard)

Ireland  183/8 (48 overs)

v

West Indies 190/2 (38.1 of 48 overs)

West Indies won by 8 wickets (D/L) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Super 8 stage

Main article: 2007 Cricket World Cup Super Eight stage

The top two teams in each first-round group moved on to a "super eight" stage which is scored as a complete round-robin. But each of the eight teams played only six new matches, rather than seven— each group's two representatives carried forward their result against each other rather than play again. Thus the table below, showing seven matches for each team, covers all matches between the Super 8 qualifiers, including those from the Group Stage.

Teams depicted in green backgrounds qualified for the semi-finals.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	T	L	NR	RF	OF	RA	OB	NRR
Australia	14	7	7	0	0	0	1725	266.1	1314	322	+2.4
Sri Lanka	10	7	5	0	2	0	1586	301.1	1275	337	+1.483
New Zealand	10	7	5	0	2	0	1378	308	1457	345.1	+0.253
South Africa	8	7	4	0	3	0	1561	299.1	1635	333.2	+0.313
England	6	7	3	0	4	0	1557	344.4	1511	307.4	-0.394
West Indies	4	7	2	0	5	0	1595	338.1	1781	337.1	-0.566
Bangladesh	2	7	1	0	6	0	1084	318	1398	284	-1.514
Ireland	2	7	1	0	6	0	1111	333	1226	242	-1.73

Super 8 matches 

27 March 2007 Scorecard

Australia  322/6 (50 overs)

v

West Indies 219 all out (45.3 overs)

Australia won by 103 runs Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

28 March 2007 Scorecard

Sri Lanka  209 all out (49.3 overs)

v

South Africa 212/9 (48.2 overs)

South Africa won by 1 wicket Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

29 March 2007 Scorecard

West Indies  177 all out (44.4 overs)

v

New Zealand 179/3 (39.2 overs)

New Zealand won by 7 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

30 March 2007 Scorecard

England  266/7 (50 overs)

v

Ireland 218 all out (48.1 overs)

England won by 48 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

31 March 2007 Scorecard

Bangladesh  104/6 (22 overs)

v

Australia 106/0 (13.5 of 22 overs)

Australia won by 10 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

1 April 2007 Scorecard

Sri Lanka  303/5 (50 overs)

v

West Indies 190 all out (44.3 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 113 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

2 April 2007 Scorecard

Bangladesh  174 all out (48.3 overs)

v

New Zealand 178/1 (29.2 overs)

New Zealand won by 9 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

3 April 2007 Scorecard

Ireland  152/8 (35 overs)

v

South Africa 165/3 (31.3 of 35 overs)

South Africa won by 7 wickets (DL) Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

4 April 2007 Scorecard

Sri Lanka  235 all out (50 overs)

v

England 233/8 (50 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 2 runs Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

7 April 2007 Scorecard

Bangladesh  251/8 (50 overs)

v

South Africa 184 all out (48.4 overs)

Bangladesh won by 67 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

8 April 2007 Scorecard

England  247 all out (49.5 overs)

v

Australia 248/3 (47.2 overs)

Australia won by 7 wickets Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

9 April 2007 Scorecard

New Zealand  263/8 (50 overs)

v

Ireland 134 all out (37.4 overs)

New Zealand won by 129 runs Providence Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana

10 April 2007 Scorecard

South Africa  356/4 (50 overs)

v

West Indies 289/9 (50 overs)

South Africa won by 67 runs Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

11 April 2007 Scorecard

Bangladesh  143 all out (37.2 overs)

v

England 147/6 (44.5 overs)

England won by 4 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

12 April 2007 Scorecard

New Zealand  219/7 (50 overs)

v

Sri Lanka 222/4 (45.1 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

13 April 2007 Scorecard

Ireland  91 all out (30 overs)

v

Australia 92/1 (12.2 overs)

Australia won by 9 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

14 April 2007 Scorecard

South Africa  193/7 (50 overs)

v

New Zealand 196/5 (48.2 overs)

New Zealand won by 5 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

15 April 2007 Scorecard

Ireland  243/7 (50 overs)

v

Bangladesh 169 all out (41.2 overs)

Ireland won by 74 runs Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

16 April 2007 Scorecard

Sri Lanka  226 all out (49.4 overs)

v

Australia 232/3 (42.4 overs)

Australia won by 7 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

17 April 2007 Scorecard

England  154 all out (48 overs)

v

South Africa 157/1 (19.2 overs)

South Africa won by 9 wickets Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

18 April 2007 Scorecard

Ireland  77 all out (27.4 overs)

v

Sri Lanka 81/2 (10 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

19 April 2007 Scorecard

West Indies  230/5 (50 overs)

v

Bangladesh 131 all out (43.5 overs)

West Indies won by 99 runs Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

20 April 2007 Scorecard

Australia  348/6 (50 overs)

v

New Zealand 133 all out (25.5 overs)

Australia won by 215 runs Queen's Park, St George's, Grenada

21 April 2007 Scorecard

West Indies  300 all out (49.5 overs)

v

England 301/9 (49.5 overs)

England won by 1 wicket Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Knockout stage

	Semi-finals				Final
	24 April - Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
	2  Sri Lanka	289/5
	3  New Zealand	208
					28 April - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
					Sri Lanka	215/8
					Australia	281/4
	25 April - Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
	1  Australia	153/3
	4  South Africa	149

Semi-finals

24 April 2007 Scorecard

Sri Lanka  289/5 (50 overs)

v

New Zealand 208 all out (41.4 overs)

Sri Lanka won by 81 runs Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

25 April 2007 Scorecard

South Africa  149 all out (43.5 overs)

v

Australia 153/3 (31.3 overs)

Australia won by 7 wickets Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

Final

28 April 2007 Scorecard

Australia  281/4 (38 overs)

v

Sri Lanka 215/8 (36 overs)

Australia won by 53 runs (D/L) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Final of 2007 Cricket World Cup between Sri Lanka and Australia

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.^[17] The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row.

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. Adam Gilchrist played an incredible innings of 149 - the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final - to give Australia an imposing total going in at the break.^[18]

A large crowd of over 10,000 fans welcome the Australian team on completing the first World Cup hat-trick - Martin Place, Sydney.

While Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka's chances slowly washed away.^[18] 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 (since 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, Mahela Jayawardene agreed there was no need to return the following day, and instructed his team to resume batting, with Ricky Ponting agreeing to play only spinners. The umpires later apologized for their error: the match should have ended then with Australia winning by 37 runs.^[19] The last three overs were played in almost complete darkness, during which Sri Lanka added nine runs, giving Australia a 53-run victory by the D-L method, as Sri Lanka had batted two overs fewer than they had.^[20]

Australian captain Ricky Ponting

Australia won the tournament undefeated, concluding a streak of 29 World Cup games without a loss.^[21] Australian bowler Glenn McGrath was named 'Player of the Series'.^[22]

Overview

Death of Bob Woolmer

Main article: Bob Woolmer murder investigation

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead on 18 March 2007, one day after his team's defeat to Ireland put them out of the running for the World Cup. Jamaican police performed an autopsy which was deemed inconclusive.^[23] The following day police announced that the death was suspicious and ordered a full investigation.^[24] Further investigation revealed the cause of death was "manual strangulation",^[25] and that the investigation would be handled as a murder.^[26] After a lengthy investigation the Jamaican police rescinded the comments that he was murdered, and confirmed that he died from natural causes.^[27]

Criticism

The 2007 World Cup organizers were criticized early on for being over-commercialized 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,^[28] as well as the authorities being accused of "running [cricket and cricketing traditions] out of town, then sanitising it out of existence".^[29] Sir Viv Richards echoed the concerns.^[30] The ICC were also condemned for high prices for tickets and concessions, which were considered unaffordable for the local population in many of the locations.^[31] ICC CEO, Malcolm Speed, said that the ICC recognized the problem but said it was the local organizers' fault.^[32] However, the later matches had more crowds as the tournament progressed with the local organizers easing restrictions.^[33] Although they did not meet the target of US$42m, the revenue from ticket sales was double the ticket sales revenue from the last world cup and recorded the highest ticketing revenue for a Cricket World Cup with more than $32 million in ticket revenue.^[10][11][34]

The World Cup was also criticized for its format, with India and Pakistan failing to move on from the group stage after losing two matches. This led to Ireland and Bangladesh entering the long Super Eights stage and consistently being defeated (bar another upset by Bangladesh over South Africa). The elimination of India and Pakistan also caused a large exodus of subcontinental fans from the Caribbean, and removed the prospect of an India vs Pakistan Super Eights match, generally considered one of the most revenue generating and electric matches in the tournament.^[35] The BCCI later claimed it would see to it that the ICC will alter its World Cup format for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.^[35]

The tournament was also criticised as being too long. At 6 weeks, it was the same length as the 2003 World Cup, but longer than the 5 week 1999 World Cup and the 4 week 1996 World Cup. The famous West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding also criticised the qualification process for the 2007 World Cup. Holding expressed doubts over the benefit to less established teams of turning up and being heavily defeated.^[36] However, former Scotland captain George Salmond claims that the opportunity to play one-day cricket against the bigger teams is invaluable for smaller teams such as his own, and questioned the validity of Holding's statements.^[37] The majority of the experts and players participating in the tournament backed up the smaller teams taking part in the World Cup.^[38] This was further backed up with Ireland and Bangladesh making the Super 8s and being competitive and sportsmanlike throughout the tournament.^[39]

Further criticism was generated by the confusion at the end of the final match, during which the umpires suspended play due to bad light and while official announcements and the scoreboard declared Australia the winners and the Australian team celebrated, while the umpires incorrectly insisted that the game was only suspended not completed, and that 3 overs remained to be played. And so in farcical light conditions, Sri Lanka batted out the 3 overs following a gentleman's agreement between the two captains.^[40] The umpires and ICC apologized for the unnecessary situation and cited it as an unnecessary fundamental error due to the pressure of the situation.^[41] In June the ICC announced that the officials involved — onfield umpires Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar, reserve umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden, and match referee Jeff Crowe — would all be suspended from the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship.^[42]

Preparation problems

A number of preparation problems surfaced before the start of the World Cup. Some of the venues were not complete by the opening ceremony on 11 March 2007.^[43] At Sabina Park, seats had to be removed at the newly constructed north-stand due to safety concerns.^[44] At Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica, ground staff were unable to gain admission to the ground during the warm up matches due to accreditation problems.^[45] Additionally, South Africa and Australia both expressed concerns over practice facilities.^[46]

See also

Cricket portal

• West Indies Cricket Board
• CARICOM Visa and Freedom of Travel during Cricket World Cup
• 2007 Cricket World Cup venues

Notes

1. ^ ICC Consolidated Financial Statements for the 9 months ended 31 December 2007, accounting note 12.
2. ^ In terms of number of wins, win percentage, and number of cups won. In fact, they were on top on all of these criteria from 1975 to 1987, and only in 2003 did Australia pass their number of cups won.
3. ^ "Robert Bryan, executive director, Jamaica 2007 Cricket Limited (from www.jamaica-gleaner.com)". http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060831/news/news2.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
4. ^ "World Cup 2007: Eyes Wide Shut by Claude Robinson from www.caribbeancricket.com". http://www.caribbeancricket.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2127. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
5. ^ "Cricket: 'Run wid it again!'". 2006-04-24. http://www.sportsjamaica.com/read_article.php?id=5632. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
6. ^ Mark Pouchet (2006-09-21). "Brian Lara stadium exits World Cup". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/260157.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
7. ^ "Sponsorship revenue". http://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/charter/charter_archive/2003/june_2003/A117967146. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
8. ^ "Taipai Times Editorial". http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/03/11/2003351858. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
9. ^ "World Cup Overview". cricketworldcp.com. http://www.cricketworldcup.com/icc-marketing.html. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
10. ^ ^{a b} World Cup profits boost debt-ridden Windies board
11. ^ ^{a b} "ICC CWC 2007 Match Attendance Soars Past 400,000". Cricketworld.com. 2007-04-24. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928071404/http://www.cricketworld.com/world_cup_2007/article/?aid=11055. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
12. ^ "Associate ODI Rankins after WCL Division 1". ICC. 2007-02-13. http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc-wcl/content/story/280216.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. ^{[dead link]} - Note: The ODIs in the WCL Division 1 were the last ODIs played by associates before the World Cup.
13. ^ "ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 match schedule announced (from icc-cricket.org; explains that there are 51 ODIs scheduled but that only fits with the main tournament)". http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc-cwc/content/story/213796.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ All set for grand opening of cricket's biggest showpiece | Indian Muslims
15. ^ ^{a b} "ICC Playing Conditions for 2007 World Cup" (PDF). http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rules/wc07_playing_conditions.pdf. Retrieved February 27, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ "World Cup seedings plan announced". http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/world/icc-table-provides-basis,3325,EN.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
17. ^ "Australia v Sri Lanka: World Cup Series Summary". Cricinfo. http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/STATS/BY_OPPONENT/AUS-SL/WC/AUS-SL_ODI_SERIES_SUMMARY.html. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
18. ^ ^{a b} "Gilchrist leads Australia to World Cup treble". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/292681.html. Retrieved 2007-05-06. 
19. ^ "World Cup Referee apologize". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/292771.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
20. ^ "World Cup final scorecard". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/current/match/247507.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
21. ^ "Australia v Sri Lanka, World Cup final, Barbados". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/292773.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
22. ^ "ICC World Cup - Final". Cricinfo. 2007-04-28. http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/247507.html. Retrieved 2007-04-28. 
23. ^ "Woolmer's post-mortem inconclusive". CricInfo. 2007-03-20. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/286421.html. Retrieved 2007-03-23. 
24. ^ "Woolmer's death 'suspicious' - police". CricInfo. 2007-03-21. http://www.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/286445.html. Retrieved 2007-03-23. 
25. ^ Raedler, John. "Woolmer was strangled, police say". cnn.com. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/03/22/cricket.death/index.html. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
26. ^ "Pakistan Woolmer death treated as murder". BBC. 2007-03-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6482981.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-23. 
27. ^ "Woolmer 'dIED OF NATURAL CAUSES'". BBC. 2007-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6745589.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
28. ^ Tim de Lisle (2007-04-03). "A public relations disaster". Cricinfo. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/story/288564.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
29. ^ Mike Selvey (2007-04-05). "Weep for the ghosts of calypsos past in this lifeless forum". London: Guardian. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricketworldcup2007/story/0,,2050381,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
30. ^ "Richards attacks Cup organisation". BBC. 2007-04-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/other_international/west_indies/6531839.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
31. ^ "Crushing the essence of the Caribbean". Cricinfo. 2007-04-05. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/288885.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
32. ^ "Quote ... unquote". Cricinfo. 2007. http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/quote/content/current/page/156062.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
33. ^ "Barbados determined to restore local flavour". Cricinfo. 2007-04-05. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/story/288990.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
34. ^ "Ticket sales double of previous World Cup - Dehring". Cricinfo. 2007-04-16. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/290706.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
35. ^ ^{a b} Former BCCI chief blames format for India's exit
36. ^ "Holding slams World Cup minnows". 2007-02-20. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/281062.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
37. ^ ICC associates hit back at Holding for his remarks
38. ^ "Bermuda have 'wonderful experience' in huge loss". Cricinfo. 2007-03-16. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/285508.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
39. ^ "Ireland qualifies for ODI Championship". ICC. 2007-04-22. http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc-odi/content/story/291931.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. ^{[dead link]}
40. ^ "Awesome Australia but awful organising". Cricinfo. 2007-04-28. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292772.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
41. ^ "Speed apologises for light chaos". Cricinfo. 2007-04-28. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292851.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
42. ^ "World Cup officials banned by ICC". Cricinfo. 2007-06-22. http://content-nz.cricinfo.com/twenty20wc/content/current/story/299277.html. Retrieved 2007-06-24. 
43. ^ "Some Cup venues still not ready". 2007-03-11. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070311/sports/sports12.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
44. ^ "A week before the opening Cricket World Cup game, chinks appear at Sabina Park". 2007-03-11. http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20070311/42427.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
45. ^ Michael Atherton (2007-03-12). "Hosts hope calm is not followed by a storm". London: The Sunday Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/03/11/scath111.xml. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
46. ^ "Warmup matches start amid last minute preparations". 2007-03-04. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/04/sports/CB-SPT-CRK-World-Cup-Roundup.php. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 

External links

• 2007 Cricket World Cup website
• ICC Overview of 2007 World Cup
• ICC website - Cricket World Cup page
• Cricinfo - Cricket World Cup 2007
• 2007 Cricket World Cup Australia's Winning ODI Kit
• Cricket World Cup 2007