2023 Cricket World Cup
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| Dates | 5 October – 19 November 2023 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | One Day International (ODI) |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
| Host(s) | India |
| Champions | Australia (6th title) |
| Runners-up | India |
| Participants | 10 |
| Matches | 48 |
| Attendance | 1,250,307 (26,048 per match) |
| Player of the series | Virat Kohli |
| Most runs | Virat Kohli (765) |
| Most wickets | Mohammed Shami (24) |
| Official website | cricketworldcup.com |
The 2023 Cricket World Cup, officially known as the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, was the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup. It started on 5 October and concluded on 19 November 2023, with Australia winning the tournament. A quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by national teams, it was organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Ten national teams participated in the tournament.
It was the first men's Cricket World Cup which India hosted solely. The tournament took place in ten different stadiums, in ten cities across the country. In the first semi-final India beat New Zealand, and in the second semi-final Australia beat South Africa. The final took place between India and Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium on 19 November with Australia winning the title for the sixth time.
The top eight placed teams in the tournament's final points table qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, the next ICC ODI tournament. Virat Kohli was the player of the tournament and also scored the most runs; Mohammed Shami was the leading wicket-taker. A total of 1,250,307 spectators attended matches, the highest number in any cricket World Cup to date.
Background
Originally, the competition was to be played from 9 February to 26 March 2023. In July 2020 it was announced that that the tournament would be moved to October and November as a result of the qualification schedule being disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ICC released the tournament schedule on 27 June 2023.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had threatened to boycott the competition after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup scheduled in Pakistan. This issue was resolved in June 2023 after the Asian Cricket Council announced that the competition would be hosted using a hybrid model proposed by the PCB, with nine of the 13 matches in the competition played in Sri Lanka.
This was the first ICC World Cup in which penalties for slow over-rates were given to bowling sides if they did not complete their 50 overs in the stipulated time. On-field umpires could penalise the bowling team by not allowing more than four fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
Qualification
Other than India, who qualified as hosts, all teams had to qualify for the tournament through the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa qualified via the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, with the Netherlands and Sri Lanka securing the final two places via the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe during June and July 2023.
As a result of the qualifying process, the competition was the first not to include former winners West Indies, who failed to progress for the first time after their defeat to Scotland. Full members Ireland and Zimbabwe also missed out on qualification, meaning three of the four full members who took part in the knock-out qualification stage did not qualify, with only Sri Lanka progressing. The final qualification spot was decided by an eliminator match between associate members Scotland and the Netherlands, with the Dutch side taking the final place.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | — | — | 1 | India |
| ICC Super League | 30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023 | Various | 7 | |
| Qualifier | 18 June 2023 – 9 July 2023 | Zimbabwe | 2 | |
| Total | 10 | |||
Venues
The tournament took place in ten different stadiums, situated in ten different cities across India. The first and second semi-finals were held at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Eden Gardens in Kolkata respectively, while the final took place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The BCCI provided funding for renovations and refurbishments at stadiums. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium received a new grass surface, drainage system, seating, and hospitality boxes. Wankhede Stadium had upgrades to the outfield, floodlights, corporate boxes, and toilets. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium installed new floodlights and relaid two wickets.
With the autumn scheduling of this World Cup, the ICC instituted protocols for reducing the impact of moisture—including dew and rain—on pitch conditions, so that they did not give the team batting second an advantage (as had frequently occurred in the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup). These included using a specific wetting agent, and the boundary set at around 70 m (77 yards) at each stadium, with more grass on the pitch to encourage seam bowling over spin bowling.
| Location | Stadium | Capacity | No. of matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | Narendra Modi Stadium | 132,000 | 5 |
| Bangalore | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | 33,800 | 5 |
| Chennai | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | 38,200 | 5 |
| Delhi | Arun Jaitley Stadium | 35,200 | 5 |
| Dharamshala | HPCA Stadium | 21,200 | 5 |
| Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium | 39,200 | 3 |
| Kolkata | Eden Gardens | 68,000 | 5 |
| Lucknow | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium | 50,100 | 5 |
| Mumbai | Wankhede Stadium | 33,100 | 5 |
| Pune | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium | 42,700 | 5 |
Squads
All teams were asked to finalise their 15-player squads prior to 28 September, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC. All squads were announced by 26 September 2023. The oldest player of the tournament was Dutch player Wesley Barresi, who was 39 years old, while the youngest was Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad, who was 18.
Match officials
Warm-up matches
Warm-up matches were held from 29 September to 3 October 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati, and Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
India's warm-up fixtures were announced on 27 June. The complete warm-up fixtures were announced on 23 August. The matches were broadcast live on television.
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- No toss.
- No play was possible due to rain.
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- India won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible due to rain.
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Australia
166/7 (23 overs) |
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Netherlands
84/6 (14.2 overs) |
- Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was reduced to 23 overs per side due to rain.
- Rain prevented any further play.
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Bangladesh
188/9 (37 overs) |
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England
197/6 (24.1 overs) |
- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was reduced to 37 overs per side due to rain.
- England were set a revised target of 197 runs from 37 overs due to rain.
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New Zealand
321/6 (50 overs) |
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South Africa
211/4 (37 overs) |
- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.
- South Africa innings curtailed at 37 overs due to rain; DLS par score was 219.
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Sri Lanka
294 (46.2 overs) |
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Afghanistan
261/4 (38.1 overs) |
- Afganistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Afghanistan were set a revised target of 257 runs from 42 overs due to rain.
Group stage
The ICC announced the World Cup schedule on 27 June 2023 at an event in Mumbai with a countdown of 100 days to the opening match of the World Cup on 5 October. The group stage started with the match between the finalists of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand and England, at Narendra Modi Stadium. On 9 August 2023, nine fixtures, including the match between India and Pakistan, were rescheduled by the ICC. The top seven teams in the tournament, excluding Pakistan who qualify automatically as host, qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (H) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2.570 | Advanced to the semi-finals and qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy |
| 2 | South Africa | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.261 | |
| 3 | Australia | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.841 | |
| 4 | New Zealand | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.743 | |
| 5 | Pakistan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.199 | Qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.336 | |
| 7 | England | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −0.572 | |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.087 | |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.419 | |
| 10 | Netherlands | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.825 |
Results
The ICC released the fixture details on 27 June 2023.
Knockout stage
The host India was the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after their 302-run win against Sri Lanka, their seventh successive win in the World Cup. India secured the top place amongst the semi-finalists after they beat South Africa by 243 runs on 5 November at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
South Africa became the second team to qualify for the semi-finals after Pakistan defeated New Zealand on 4 November, with Australia becoming the third team to qualify after defeating Afghanistan on 7 November. New Zealand confirmed their berth as the fourth team after Pakistan lost their final match against England.
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | India | 397/4 (50 overs) | |||||||
| 4 | New Zealand | 327 (48.5 overs) | |||||||
| SFW1 | India | 240 (50 overs) | |||||||
| SFW2 | Australia | 241/4 (43 overs) | |||||||
| 2 | South Africa | 212 (49.4 overs) | |||||||
| 3 | Australia | 215/7 (47.2 overs) | |||||||
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics
Most runs
| Runs | Player | Inns | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 765 | Virat Kohli | 11 | 117 | 95.62 | 90.31 | 3 | 6 | 68 | 9 |
| 597 | Rohit Sharma | 11 | 131 | 54.27 | 125.94 | 1 | 3 | 66 | 31 |
| 594 | Quinton de Kock | 10 | 174 | 59.40 | 107.02 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 21 |
| 578 | Rachin Ravindra | 10 | 123* | 64.22 | 106.44 | 3 | 2 | 55 | 17 |
| 552 | Daryl Mitchell | 10 | 134 | 69.00 | 111.06 | 2 | 2 | 48 | 22 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Most wickets
| Wkts | Player | Inns | Ave | Econ | BBI | SR | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Mohammed Shami | 7 | 10.70 | 5.26 | 7/57 | 12.20 | 3 |
| 23 | Adam Zampa | 11 | 22.39 | 5.36 | 4/8 | 25.04 | 0 |
| 21 | Dilshan Madushanka | 9 | 25.00 | 6.70 | 5/80 | 22.38 | 1 |
| 20 | Jasprit Bumrah | 11 | 18.65 | 4.06 | 4/39 | 27.55 | 0 |
| Gerald Coetzee | 8 | 19.80 | 6.23 | 4/44 | 19.05 | 0 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Team of the tournament
The ICC announced its team of the tournament on 21 November 2023 with Virat Kohli being named as player of the tournament, and Rohit Sharma as captain of the team.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Quinton de Kock | Opening batsman / wicket-keeper |
| Rohit Sharma | Opening batsman / captain |
| Virat Kohli | Batsman |
| Daryl Mitchell | All-rounder |
| KL Rahul | Batsman |
| Glenn Maxwell | All-rounder |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
| Dilshan Madushanka | Bowler |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler |
| Mohammed Shami | Bowler |
| Gerald Coetzee | Twelfth man |
Marketing
The International Cricket Council announced the winner's trophy would tour the world 100 days before the commencement of the event. Photographs of the trophy were taken at each location. The trophy tour began with it being launched into space.
The ICC officially announced the mascots for the World Cup in August. The mascots were a male and female duo named "Tonk" and "Blaze" from the fictional cricketing utopia "Crictoverse".
The official theme song of the 2023 Cricket World Cup titled "Dil Jashn Bole" (transl. Heart say celebrate) was released on 20 September. The song was composed by Pritam, with lyrics by Shloke Lal and Saaveri Verma. The song was sung by Pritam, Nakash Aziz, Sreerama Chandra, Amit Mishra, Jonita Gandhi, Akasa Singh and S. P. Charan. However, the song was subject to backlash and bad reviews.
Ahead of the tournament, it was reported that an opening ceremony would take place on 4 October 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a day before the opening match at the same venue. The ceremony was cancelled and replaced by a closing ceremony ahead of the final. During this a drone show was held.
Broadcasting
Star Sports were the host broadcaster, televising matches domestically with Disney+ Hotstar in English and eight regional languages. All matches were streamed domestically without the need for a subscription on mobile devices. Other countries and territories had official local broadcasters for the tournament.
Prize money
The ICC allocated a pool of US$10 million in prize money for the tournament, with payouts remaining the same as the 2019 and 2015 tournaments. Australia, the winning team, received US$4,000,000, the runner-up $2,000,000 and the losing semi-finalists $1,600,000. Teams that did not progress past the league stage received $100,000 and the winner of each league stage match received $40,000.