The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

(ICC). It was co-hosted by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the first to be played in Africa. The tournament featured 14 teams, the largest number in the World Cup's history at the time, playing a total of 54 matches. It followed the format introduced in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, with the teams divided into two groups, and the top three in each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage. The tournament saw numerous upsets, with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

all being eliminated at the group stage (South Africa missed by 1 run after misreading the Duckworth-Lewis method rules). England forfeited their match with

, due to the political unrest in the country, which ultimately enabled that team to reach the Super Sixes. Similarly,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

forfeited their match with

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, due to security reasons which enabled the latter to reach the semi-finals, the only non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

playing nation to do so. Another shock wave came two days after the tournament had started, when

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australi ...

, at the time one of the game's leading spinners, was sent home in disgrace after testing positive for a banned substance. The tournament was eventually won by Australia who won all 11 of their matches, beating India in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

played at the

Wanderers Stadium The Wanderers Stadium (Imperial Wanderers due to sponsorship reasons and affectionately known as the Bullring due to its intimidating atmosphere) is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. This was Australia's third World Cup win, the only team to do so. Pakistani player

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...

also set a world record, becoming the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a record top speed of 161.3km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England.

Teams and squads

Fourteen teams played in the 2003 World Cup, the largest number of teams to play in a Cricket World Cup at the time. The 10

playing nations automatically qualified for the tournament including the recently appointed member

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, while

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

also qualified automatically due to their full One Day International status. The other three spots were filled by the top three teams in the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada, which served as a qualifying tournament. These teams were, respectively, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

who won the ICC Trophy,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. This was Namibia's World Cup debut, while the Netherlands and Canada were both appearing in the tournament for the second time, having previously appeared in 1996 and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

respectively. The format used in the 1999 World Cup was retained, with the 14 teams divided into two groups of seven, and the top three from each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage, carrying forward the results they had achieved against other qualifiers from their group. The top four teams in the Super Sixes qualified for the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches contested the final.

Host cities and venues

Group stage

The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.

Pool A

Source
Points Table
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Pool B

Source
Points Table
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Super Sixes

Australia,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Sri Lanka,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, and

advanced to the Super Sixes stage. Teams who qualified for the Super Six stage only played against the teams from the other group; results against the other teams from the same group were carried forward to this stage. Teams that advanced to the semi-finals are highlighted in green. Source
Points Table
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Semi finals

Bracket

Semi-final 1: Australia vs Sri Lanka

On a difficult, slow pitch at Port Elizabeth, Australia struggled their way to 212 (7 wickets, 50 overs) against tight Sri Lankan bowling, thanks mainly to a great innings from

Andrew Symonds Andrew Symonds (9 June 1975 – 14 May 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, who played all three formats as a batting all-rounder. Commonly nicknamed "Roy", he was a key member of two World Cup winning squads. Symonds played as a r ...

(91 * from 118 balls, 7 fours, 1 six), demonstrating again captain Ricky Ponting's faith in him.

Chaminda Vaas Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas (born 27 January 1974) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, who played all forms of the game, and a former ODI captain who is often described as the greatest fast medium bowl ...

, continuing his excellent tournament, took three wickets. Australia's pace attack then ripped through the Sri Lankan top order, with

Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. In each of his first two ...

(3/35 in 8 overs) taking three early wickets and Glenn McGrath (1/20 in 7 overs) taking one. By the time rain arrived in the 39th over, continued tight bowling had squeezed Sri Lanka to 123 (7 wickets, 38.1 overs), well behind the target given by the Duckworth–Lewis method. This is the match in which

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-ke ...

famously "walked" despite being given not out. ----

Semi-final 2: India vs Kenya

The fairytale ended for the Kenyan team, the only non-Test-playing nation to ever make a World Cup semi-final.

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

(83 from 101 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) and

Sourav Ganguly Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), affectionately known as Dada (meaning ''"elder brother"'' in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain w ...

(111 from 114 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes), batted the Kenyans out of the game as India careered to a total of 270 (4 wickets, 50 overs). Under the Durban lights, the potent Indian seam attack of

Zaheer Khan Zaheer Khan (born 8 October 1978) is an Indian former professional cricketer who played all forms of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. He is a fast-medium left-arm bowler. He was the second-most successful Indian pace ...

(3/14 in 9.2 overs), the experienced

Javagal Srinath Javagal Srinath, (, born 31 August 1969) is a former Indian cricketer and currently an ICC match referee. He is considered among India's finest fast bowlers, and was the first Indian fast bowler to take more than 300 wickets in One Day Inte ...

(1/11 in 7 overs) and

Ashish Nehra Ashish Nehra (; born 29 April 1979) is a cricket coach and former cricketer who played in all formats of the game. Nehra announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in late 2017, with the Twenty20 International match against New Zealan ...

(2/11 in 5 overs) careered through the Kenyan top order. Kenya were bowled out for 179 (all out, 46.2 overs), with only Steve Tikolo (56 from 83 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) putting up any significant resistance.

Final

India won the toss, and Ganguly, elected to field, hoping to take advantage of a pitch left damp by dew and rain. On a lively

pitch, the Australian openers took advantage of very wayward Indian opening bowlers to get off to a flying start.

(57 from 48 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) and Matthew Hayden (37 from 54 balls, 5 fours) shared an opening partnership of 105 runs in 14 overs, forcing Ganguly to bring on the spinners unusually early. The change of pace brought wickets with

, who had been swinging at everything, holing out off a sweep shot from the bowling of

Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh (born 3 July 1980) is a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha and an Indian retired cricketer and cricket commentator, who played for the Indian national cricket team from 1998 - 2016. Singh was a right-arm spin bowler. In India ...

. Matthew Hayden, looking somewhat better than he had throughout the tournament, soon followed for 37, leaving Australia at 2/125 Captain Ricky Ponting (140 from 121 balls, 4 fours, 8 sixes) and

Damien Martyn Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...

(88 from 84 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) (playing with a broken thumb) completing a partnership of 234 runs in 30.1 overs, an Australian record for one-day cricket. Ponting and Martyn started efficiently, putting away bad balls but mostly keeping the scoring going with good running, then letting loose in the last ten overs, taking 109 from them. Ponting in particular dispatched the bowling over the fence with fearsome regularity in scoring 8 sixes, the most from one batsman in any World Cup match at the time. The final Australian total of 359 (2 wickets, 50 overs), at a run rate of 7.18 runs an over, was their then highest ever in ODI history. India's run chase was made even more difficult after their trump card, Sachin Tendulkar, was out in the first over after skying a pull shot, Glenn McGrath completing the caught and bowled. Nevertheless, Virender Sehwag's (82 from 81 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) run-a-ball half century gave India respectability as they maintained a high scoring rate. Their only realistic hope—a washout—looked a possibility as the game was interrupted by rain with India at 3/103 after 17 overs. However, this rain passed by, and India's hopes were dashed when Sehwag was run out by Darren Lehmann, and again when Rahul Dravid (47 from 57 balls, 2 fours) was bowled by Andy Bichel, ending their partnership of 88 runs in 13.2 overs. India's batsmen continued to throw wickets away in the chase as the run rate crept up past 7 an over, and they were finally bowled out for 234 (all out, 39.2 overs) at a run rate of 5.97 runs an over giving Australia an emphatic victory by a record margin (in World Cup finals thus far) of 125 runs, underlining their dominance of the tournament. Ponting was named "Man of the Match", and Sachin Tendulkar was named "Player of the Series."

Controversies

Security issues in Zimbabwe and Kenya

The security and political situation in

, and the appropriateness of playing there given the misdeeds of the regime of

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

was a point of concern before the tournament. Two Zimbabwean players,

Andy Flower Andrew Flower (born 28 April 1968) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and a former cricketer. As a cricketer, he captained the Zimbabwe national cricket team. He was Zimbabwe's wicket-keeper for more than 10 years and is, statistically, the greate ...

and

Henry Olonga Henry Khaaba Olonga (born 3 July 1976) is a Zimbabwean former cricketer, who played Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket for Zimbabwe. In domestic first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, Olonga played for Matabeleland, Mashonaland and Manicalan ...

wore black armbands in their opening game protesting against the nondemocratic rule in

. Both men subsequently retired from Zimbabwean cricket, and began playing overseas. England faced a great deal of domestic pressure to boycott their match in Zimbabwe on political grounds and did not play, citing fears for the players' safety. The boycott proved costly, as Zimbabwe advanced to the Super Sixes, just 2 points ahead of England, from the 4 points they achieved from the walkover. Similarly, New Zealand decided against playing in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

because of security fears which would ultimately cost New Zealand a semifinal spot.

Shane Warne's drug test

Australian star player

was sent home from the cup in embarrassing circumstances, only the day before their opening game, after a positive

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...

in a lead-up competition in Australia revealed that he had taken a banned

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics i ...

. The

leg spinner Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...

claimed that he had taken a 'fluid pill' on the advice of his mother.

References

External links

Cricket World Cup 2003
at BBC Sport

at ESPN Cricinfo
Cricket World Cup 2003
at Guardian.co.uk Sport {{International cricket tours of Kenya

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Cricket World Cup tournaments

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