A Cupful Of History

THE WEEK brings you action from the centre and the sidelines in frames from the 12 ODI World Cups

- ANIRUDH MADHAVAN

2019

IT WAS ONE of those days where every ball found the middle-mostly-of Ben Stokes's bat, even if it was a throw from the boundary. Martin Guptill shot the ball in from long on, only for it to deflect off the bat to the boundary. Tom Latham could only grasp at air. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled six runs (two they had run and four for the boundary) and England found themselves within touching distance of their maiden World Cup. More drama ensued, but this moment captured the chaos best. England won the World Cup, beating New Zealand by zero runs. A boundary count decided the winner.

2015

AS RUBEL HOSSAIN ran in to bowl at James Anderson at the Adelaide Oval, he had history in his sights. A win would take Bangladesh to their first-ever quarterfinal in the World Cup. All they had to do was beat England-a team in free fall-which they did by 15 runs. It was an iconic win, no doubt, but the bigger story in hindsight was the start of an English turnaround. The team traded in its cautious approach for a more free-spirited one, eventually winning the next World Cup at home.

2011

ONCE AGAIN, ENGLAND found themselves on the wrong side of the result against a less fancied opponent, this time falling to their neighbours Ireland in an upset for the ages. Chasing a target of 328, the Irish were 111-5 in 24.2 overs. Then came a hurricane called Kevin O'Brien, who smoked 113 off 63 balls to send the English packing in Bengaluru. John Mooney, who took four wickets, finished the match with the bat, striking a James Anderson delivery wide of midwicket for four. This was, at the time, the highest chase in World Cups.

2007