8 Best matches from the Cricket World Cup
The 2019 Cricket World Cup in England is right around the corner, and this tournament marks the 12th edition of the tournament hosted on roughly, every 4 years. It will be the 5th time that England will play hosts to the biggest 50 over tournament in international cricket, having previously hosted the tournament in 1975, 1979, 1983, and 1999. Australia, the reigning champions, are also the most successful country in the tournament's history, having won it 5 times. This year's World Cup will feature 10 teams from around the world with the top 8 ODI playing nations automatically qualified for the tournament, with Afghanistan and the West Indies qualifying via a separate tournament.
In previous editions of the World Cup, countries have been split into groups, before progressing to a knockout stage, though from 1999 to 2007, the tournament had a second group stage of the top 6-8 teams. The Super Six, or Super Eights, was phased out of the World Cup after the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies since then the tournament has gone directly from the group stage to knockout competition. This year's tournament will have only one group with all teams playing against each other once and the top four teams will progress to the semi-finals.
Due to the high stakes of the tournament, especially in the knockout stages, the World Cup has provided some of the most exciting games in the history of the 50 over format, with the best in the world often facing off against each other. Some of the most memorable matches between Pakistan and India, or South Africa and New Zealand, and South Africa and Australia have taken place in the context of crucial World Cup matches.
The following are the eight best and closest matches in the 44-year history of the competition.