2015 Cricket World Cup

Back across the Tasman

Twenty-three years after 1992, Australia and New Zealand hosted the World Cup again, from 14 February to 29 March 2015. Fourteen teams played in two pools of seven, with the top four in each going into quarter-finals, across fourteen grounds, from the huge Melbourne Cricket Ground to the small, grassy banks of Hagley Oval in Christchurch and Saxton Oval in Nelson. The tournament opened in Christchurch, a city still rebuilding after the earthquakes of 2011, where New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs.

The rules had changed since 2011 in ways that suited batters. Two new balls were used in each innings, one from each end, and only four fielders were allowed outside the circle in the middle overs. On firm, true pitches, with bats thicker than ever, the result was the highest-scoring World Cup yet: 38 hundreds, against 24 four years earlier.

The batting records fall

The records came quickly. In Canberra, Chris Gayle made 215 against Zimbabwe, the first double hundred in a World Cup, and shared a second-wicket stand of 372 with Marlon Samuels, the highest partnership in any one-day international. In Sydney, AB de Villiers made 162 not out from 66 balls against West Indies, reaching 150 faster than anyone in the history of the format. In Perth, Australia made 417 for six against Afghanistan, then the highest World Cup total, with David Warner scoring 178.

Kumar Sangakkara, in his last World Cup, made hundreds in four consecutive innings, against Bangladesh, England, Australia and Scotland, something nobody had done in one-day internationals before. He finished with 541 runs at an average above a hundred.

One wicket at Eden Park

The best match of the pool stage was played at Eden Park in Auckland on 28 February, between the two hosts. Trent Boult took five for 27 as Australia collapsed from 80 for one to 151 all out. New Zealand's captain Brendon McCullum then hit 50 from 24 balls, and the chase looked like a formality at 78 for one. Mitchell Starc changed that. Bowling full and fast, he took six for 28, and New Zealand slid to 146 for nine. Kane Williamson, who had watched it all from the other end, hit Pat Cummins for six over long-on to win the match by one wicket. New Zealand, roared on by full grounds, would not lose another match until the final.

England's worst World Cup

England had arrived with a cautious approach to batting that looked out of date almost at once, against the way everyone else was playing. Australia beat them by 111 runs in the opening match in Melbourne. In Wellington, Tim Southee took seven for 33 and England were bowled out for 123; McCullum then hit 77 from 25 balls and New Zealand won with more than 37 overs to spare. The end came in Adelaide on 9 March, when Mahmudullah made Bangladesh's first World Cup hundred and Rubel Hossain took four wickets. Bangladesh won by 15 runs, reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and England went home. The defeat led directly to a complete rebuild of England's one-day side.

Ireland had another fine tournament, chasing 305 to beat West Indies in Nelson and then beating the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe, and missed the quarter-finals only on run rate.

The quarter-finals

South Africa, who had never won a knockout match at a World Cup, finally did, bowling Sri Lanka out for 133 in Sydney, with Imran Tahir and JP Duminy, who took a hat-trick, sharing seven wickets. India, the defending champions, had won all six pool matches and bowled out every opponent, and they beat Bangladesh in Melbourne with Rohit Sharma making 137. In Adelaide, Wahab Riaz bowled one of the fastest spells of the tournament at Shane Watson, but Australia beat Pakistan comfortably. In Wellington, Martin Guptill made 237 not out against West Indies, the highest score in World Cup history, hitting eleven sixes, and New Zealand made 393 for six.

Elliott's six

The first semi-final, at Eden Park on 24 March, was one of the finest matches the tournament has produced. Rain reduced South Africa's innings to 43 overs, and Faf du Plessis, de Villiers and David Miller took them to 281 for five. New Zealand's target was revised to 298. McCullum made 59 from 26 balls at the start, and Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott added 103 for the fifth wicket. South Africa missed chances to run Anderson out and catch Elliott, and the match came down to the last over, bowled by Dale Steyn, with New Zealand needing 12. With five needed from two balls, Elliott, who was born and raised in Johannesburg, hit Steyn over long-on for six. New Zealand were in their first World Cup final, and the photograph of Elliott helping the distraught Steyn to his feet became the image of the tournament.

In Sydney two days later, Steve Smith made 105 and Australia made 328 for seven against India, who were bowled out for 233.

The MCG

The final, on 29 March, drew 93,013 people to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the biggest crowd for a one-day match in Australia. It was barely a contest. McCullum, who had set the tone for New Zealand's whole campaign, was bowled by Starc in the first over for a duck. Elliott made 83 and Ross Taylor 40, but New Zealand lost their last seven wickets for 33 and were all out for 183. James Faulkner took three wickets and was player of the match.

Michael Clarke, in his last one-day international, made 74, and Australia won by seven wickets with almost seventeen overs to spare. It was their fifth World Cup, won on home soil for the first time. Starc, with 22 wickets at ten runs each, was player of the tournament; Guptill made the most runs, 547. More than a million people attended the tournament. The next World Cup would take the game back to England, and a final like no other: the 2019 World Cup.