ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is around the corner. The mega event of cricket will be celebrated here in India. For the first time, India will be hosting this marque event as a solo host. Previously on three occasions (1987, 1996, 2011), India were co-hosting along with other neighbouring countries.
The 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup will commence from 5th October to 19th November. Both the curtain raiser and final match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The tournament will see 48 matches being played including SemiFinals and Finals across 10 different venues.
But most WC matches hosted by a venue don't belong to any of these stadiums. All top venues in terms of WC matches are in England. It had to be there only considering the number of times WC was hosted ( 5 times). Age-old stadiums there had the privilege of hosting World Cup matches, the most(17) being in Old Trafford.
5. Lord's Cricket Ground, England - 15 matches
The mecca of World Cricket, Lord's has hosted the Cricket World Cup final for most of the time. Each time England has hosted the World Cup, the final has taken place at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Including all these 5 final matches starting from the first edition in 1975, a total of 15 matches happened at this iconic venue.
The very first match of CWC between England and India took place there. Though teams batting first have won most of the time, but the game saw even contests. The elite audience at Lord's is a cricketer's delight. They all dream of playing there and getting their name inked on the honours board at least once.
The most dramatic WC match at Lord's has to be the 2019 CWC Final. The way it panned out in the end both for England and New Zealand, was unimaginable. The match went down to wire, the super over and then England was crowned with the Champions tag on the basis of boundary count.
4. Trent Bridge and Kennington Oval, England - 16 matches including one abandoned
Both Trent Bridge and Kennington Oval had 15 matches with results. In both venues, one match was abandoned 40 years apart.
The Trent Bridge Ground at Nottingham is primarily bowlers' friendly. In the last World Cricket World Cup, this venue hosted 5 group-stage matches. Among them, England - Pakistan and Australia - West Indies matches got pretty close, they went down to the wire.
Kennington Oval has historically produced some of the best batting tracks. Batters loved to bat on this picturesque ground of London. Even the hosts England batted first twice here and won by big margins.
3. Headingly Cricket Ground, England - 16 matches including one no result
The Headingly Stadium in Leeds hosted 16 World Cup matches till now. Only one match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe had no result. NZ were well in control of that game in the second innings before the game was stopped even after the reserve day was used.
The track is known for assisting bowlers more. Only once the score of 300 was breached when West Indies posted 311 against Afghanistan during CWC 2019. The atmosphere is electrifying.
Throughout it hosted group stage matches, only exception was in the inaugural World Cup. At that time one of the semi-finals happened there. In the last World Cup, it got four group-stage matches.
2. Edgbaston Cricket Grond, England - 16 matches
The Edgbaston Cricket Ground at the historic Birmingham hosted some of the iconic World Cup matches. The ground known for its rich legacy, hosted 16 matches including two World Cup SemiFinals 20 years apart.
The most fascinating knock-out game happened between Australia and South Africa at this venue back in 1999. The match was tied dramatically in the last over. Then Australia advanced to the Final on the virtue of finishing ahead in the Super Six Stage. Lance Klusner along with millions of cricket fans were heartbroken how things panned out in the later stage of the game.
Accidentally, Australia played another semi-final here in 2019. But this time they were defeated by hosts England who eventually went on to become the champion.
1. Old Trafford Cricket Ground, England - 17 matches
The ground which hosted the most number of the World Cup matches and got results is Old Trafford, Manchester. To date, 17 matches have been played at this venue. The entire ambience of the ground makes the occasion even more special.
Interestingly, the ground known to be a good chasing place, has seen teams batting first defending the total in the last six consecutive matches. Till now four Semi-Final matches have taken place. The most recent one was the famous match between India and New Zealand.
36 years ago, at this venue, India defeated England to advance to their maiden World Cup Final appearance. The match will remain special for one more reason, it was MS Dhoni's last dance for Team India, his last international appearance as a cricketer!
from CricTracker https://ift.tt/W5dLVEv