Organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Cricket World Cup is the premier quadrennial international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket.
The inaugural edition of the Cricket World Cup was held in England in June 1975. In fact, the first three editions of the Cricket World Cup were held in England before countries under an unofficial rotation system hosted the tournament from the 1987 edition. As many as 14 ICC members have hosted at least one match of the marquee event since the inception of the tournament.
From 1975 to 1983, the matches consisted of 60 overs per innings before it was reduced to 50 overs per innings in 1987.
As per the current system, a qualification phase is held over the three preceding years of the event, which determines which team will qualify for the main tournament.
In the tournament phase, nine qualified teams and the host nation (automatic qualification) compete for the Cricket World Cup trophy at the venues within the host nation held for nearly 30 days.
The tournament expands to 14 teams from the 2027 edition, which South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will co-host across 12 venues — the first World Cup in Africa since 2003. India and Bangladesh host the 2031 edition, also with 14 teams.
As many as 20 nations have played in the 13 editions of the Cricket World Cup held so far, from the eight who turned up in 1975 to the 10 who contested the 2023 tournament in India.
Australia are the most decorated team in Cricket World Cup history, having won the title six times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2023). No other side has more than two. Our ODI World Cup winners list goes through the men’s tournament edition by edition, with the winning captains.
India and West Indies have won the Cricket World Cup twice each. West Indies were the inaugural champions, having won the 1975 edition.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England have claimed the trophy once.
Australia are the defending champions. They beat hosts India by six wickets in the 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, chasing 241 with seven overs to spare in front of 92,453 people. Travis Head made 137 and was named player of the match. The previous edition had produced the most famous finish the tournament has staged: England beat New Zealand at Lord’s in 2019 on boundary count, after both the match and the Super Over were tied.
Men’s Cricket World Cup winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1975 | West Indies | Australia |
| 1979 | West Indies | England |
| 1983 | India | West Indies |
| 1987 | Australia | England |
| 1992 | Pakistan | England |
| 1996 | Sri Lanka | Australia |
| 1999 | Australia | Pakistan |
| 2003 | Australia | India |
| 2007 | Australia | Sri Lanka |
| 2011 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 2015 | Australia | New Zealand |
| 2019 | England | New Zealand |
| 2023 | Australia | India |
Apart from the Men’s Cricket World Cup, the ICC also organises the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The Women’s Cricket World Cup is the sport’s oldest world championship which was first held in England in 1973 – two years before the men’s event began.
The qualification for the Women’s Cricket World is conducted through the ICC Women’s Championship and the World Cup Qualifier.
The field has been fixed at eight teams since 2005, and Bangladesh became the tournament’s newest side when they made their debut in 2022. That changes next time out: the ICC has confirmed the 2029 edition will be a 10-team, 48-match tournament, up from the 31 matches played in 2025.
Australia are the most successful team in the Women’s Cricket World Cup, having clinched the trophy on seven occasions — the most recent of them in 2022, when they beat England by 71 runs in the final at Christchurch. They are no longer the holders, though. India are the reigning champions after winning the 2025 tournament on home soil.
England have won it four times, and New Zealand once. The Women’s T20 World Cup winners list is a different story again — Australia have seven of the 10 titles there. India lost the 2005 and 2017 finals before winning the trophy at the third attempt in 2025; West Indies, beaten by Australia in 2013, are still waiting.
Women’s Cricket World Cup winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1973 | England | Australia |
| 1978 | Australia | England |
| 1982 | Australia | England |
| 1988 | Australia | England |
| 1993 | England | New Zealand |
| 1997 | Australia | New Zealand |
| 2000 | New Zealand | Australia |
| 2005 | Australia | India |
| 2009 | England | New Zealand |
| 2013 | Australia | West Indies |
| 2017 | England | India |
| 2022 | Australia | England |
| 2025 | India | South Africa |
India’s 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup win
India won the Women’s Cricket World Cup for the first time on 2 November 2025, beating South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. A crowd of 39,555 watched it, and the tournament as a whole drew close to 300,000 spectators across India and Sri Lanka — a record for a women’s cricket event.
Put in to bat, India made 298 for 7. Shafali Verma top-scored with 87 from 78 balls and was named player of the match; Deepti Sharma made 58. South Africa were anchored by their captain Laura Wolvaardt, who made 101 from 98 balls, but they were bowled out for 246 in 45.3 overs. Deepti Sharma finished with 5 for 39.
Deepti was named player of the tournament, ending as its leading wicket-taker with 22. Wolvaardt made the most runs, 571. India had beaten Australia, the holders, in the semi-final at Navi Mumbai; South Africa saw off England in the other semi-final at Guwahati to reach a first Women’s World Cup final.
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Featured photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP