Cricket World Cup: Previous Winners

The 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup has concluded, with Australia having claimed a record-extending sixth title in India on Sunday.

Tournament hosts India were surprise runners-up at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at the weekend, losing by six wickets despite their exceptional form and home support.

The competition's maiden champions West Indies were missing from the recent World Cup, but there were familiar names in the semi-final line-up, which was completed by New Zealand and South Africa.

Baggy Greens build on World Cup trophy haul in India

Australia's sixth and most recent World Cup triumph will go down as one of their greatest.

No other country has won more than two World Cups, with the Baggy Greens enjoying a remarkable spell of dominance from 1999 onwards.

There was reasonable expectation around Australia coming into this tournament, but they started their campaign on the back foot with defeats to India and South Africa.

Their response was, however, exceptional as they rallied to win nine matches on the spin, culminating in victory over India in the Ahmedabad final.

Given the crowd and expectation was against them, it was a remarkable feat and much of the credit has to go to captain Pat Cummins for his aggressive tactics.

Australia won their first title in 1987 - the first World Cup to feature the 50-over format - beating Ashes rivals England by seven runs in the final.

They made the final again in 1996, losing to Sri Lanka, before a run of three successive World Cup wins from 1999 onwards.

They had some luck along the way, most memorably in their 1999 semi-final win over South Africa when a mix-up between Lance Klusener and Allan Donald handed them a place in the final.

But there were plenty of class operators in the squad, with record wicket-taker Glen McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist winning three World Cups as part of an Australian team that strung together 27 wins in the tournament.

After their success in India, Australia are 7/2 shots to win the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

India and Pakistan not living up to potential

Outside of the Aussies, India and West Indies are the only other nations with multiple World Cups, although the Windies haven't won one since 1979.

For a cricket-mad nation such as India, two wins doesn't feel like enough and their failure to lift the trophy on home soil this year will have hurt - everything had been in place for a title win.

India enjoyed a perfect record in the group stage, winning all nine of their matches, before the took down New Zealand by 70 runs in the semi-finals.

But they struggled to handle the Australia attack in the Ahmedabad finale as Shubman Gill (4) and Shreyas Iyer (4) fell cheaply and the team's previously unexposed tail collapsed.

India slipped to a six-wicket loss in front of a home crowd in the end, meaning they have not won the World Cup since 2011 - while their previous triumph came 28 years before that in 1983.

They are 5/2 to make amends with a title win at the World Cup in 2027.

India's fierce rivals Pakistan have struggled in recent World Cups, going out in the group stage in four of the last six tournaments, but were once a fearsome foe.

With legendary all-rounder Imran Khan leading the side, Pakistan triumphed in the 1992 World Cup, the first to see coloured kits and a white ball used. 

Left-arm seam wizard Wasim Akram took a tournament-best 18 wickets and nearly guided them to a second title in 1999 when skipper, only to see his side hammered by Australia in the final.

England fail to build on 2019 success

Looking at the rest of the regular World Cup participants, Sri Lanka also lifted the trophy back in 1996.

Their four-pronged spin attack benefitted from friendly conditions, while the team were also handed a couple of walkovers as the island nation became the first host or co-host to win the tournament. 

Hosts winning the World Cup has since become common-place with three of the last four winners having either been the host or co-host, including England in 2019.

They had been runners-up three times previously, but finally got over the line in the 2019 final at Lord's, albeit by the skin of their teeth.

An unbeaten 84 from Ben Stokes saw England tie the final against New Zealand, themselves looking for a first World Cup, and send the title decider to a Super Over.

With the scores still level after the Super Over, England won the World Cup thanks to their superior boundary count in the final.

But when it came to their title defence in 2023, things could not have gone much worse for Jos Buttler's side.

England suffered six defeats in their nine group matches, squeezing into a 2025 Champions Trophy qualifying berth at the end of the campaign.

They restored some faith at the end with wins over Netherlands and Pakistan, but defeats such as the 229-run thrashing by South Africa will not be forgotten and the team is in for a major rebuild before the 2027 World Cup - which they are 11/2 to win.
 

Year	Winners	Runners-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