The 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup was the 13th edition of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted from 5 October to 19 November 2023 across ten venues in India. This was the fourth World Cup held in India, but the first where India was the sole host.
 | |
| Dates | 5 October – 19 November 2023 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | One Day International (ODI) |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
| Host | India |
| Champions |  Australia (6th title) |
| Runners-up |  India |
| Participants | 10 |
| Matches | 48 |
| Attendance | 1,250,307 (26,048 per match) |
| Player of the series | Virat Kohli |
| Most runs | Virat Kohli (765) |
| Most wickets | Mohammed Shami (24) |
| Official website | cricketworldcup.com |
The tournament was contested by ten national teams, maintaining the same format used in 2019. After six weeks of round-robin matches, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand finished as the top four and qualified for the knockout stage. In the knockout stage, India and Australia beat New Zealand and South Africa, respectively, to advance to the final, played on 19 November at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Australia beat India in the final by six wickets, winning their sixth Cricket World Cup title.
A total of 1,250,307 spectators attended the matches, the highest number in any Cricket World Cup to date. The tournament set viewership records in India, drawing 518 million viewers, with a peak of 59 million streaming viewers during the final, which alone recorded a record-breaking global audience of about 300 million viewers worldwide.
Background
Host selection
On 11 December 2017, India was announced by the ICC as hosts of the 2023 Cricket World Cup; while India had served as a co-host during three previous tournaments (most recently in 2011, which it co-hosted with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh), it would mark the first Cricket World Cup to be hosted solely by India, and the first to be solely hosted one nation since 1979.
COVID-19 pandemic
Originally, the competition was to be played from 9 February to 26 March 2023. In July 2020, it was announced that due to the disruption of the qualification schedule by the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the tournament would be delayed to October 2023. The ICC released the tournament schedule on 27 June 2023.
Format
This was the first ICC World Cup in which penalties for slow over-rates were given to bowling teams if they did not complete their 50 overs in the stipulated time. On-field umpires could penalise the bowling team by not allowing more than four fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
Pakistan's participation
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had threatened to boycott the tournament after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup scheduled in Pakistan. This issue was resolved in June 2023 after the Asian Cricket Council announced that the tournament would be hosted using a hybrid model proposed by the PCB, with nine of the 13 matches in the competition played in Sri Lanka.
Prize money
The ICC allocated a pool of US$10 million in prize money for the tournament, with payouts remaining the same as the 2019 and 2015 tournaments. Australia, the winning team, received US$4,000,000, the runner-up $2,000,000 and the losing semi-finalists $1,600,000. Teams that did not progress past the league stage received $100,000 and the winner of each league stage match received $40,000.
Marketing
The ICC hosted a trophy tour for 100 days prior to the tournament beginning 27 June 2023, with the Cricket World Cup Trophy being taken to various locations around the world. The event began with the launching of the trophy into the stratosphere by Sent Into Space and landing at Modi Stadium—becoming the first sports trophy to have ever been sent into space. The ICC officially announced the mascots for the World Cup in August. The mascots were a male and female duo named "Tonk" and "Blaze" from the fictional cricketing utopia "Crictoverse".
Ahead of the tournament, it was reported that an opening ceremony would take place on 4 October 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a day before the opening match at the same venue. The official theme song of the 2023 Cricket World Cup titled "Dil Jashn Bole" (transl. Heart say celebrate) was released on 20 September. The song was composed by Pritam, and was sung by Pritam, Nakash Aziz, Sreerama Chandra, Amit Mishra, Jonita Gandhi, Akasa Singh and S. P. Charan. However, the song was subject to backlash and bad reviews. The opening ceremony was cancelled and replaced by a closing ceremony ahead of the final. During this a drone show was held.
Qualification
Other than India, who qualified as hosts, all teams had to qualify for the tournament through the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa qualified via the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, with the Netherlands and Sri Lanka securing the final two places via the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe during June and July 2023.
As a result of the qualifying process, the competition was the first not to include former winners West Indies, who failed to progress for the first time after their defeat to Scotland. Full members Ireland and Zimbabwe also missed out on qualification, meaning three of the four full members who took part in the knock-out qualification stage did not qualify, with only Sri Lanka progressing. The final qualification spot was decided by an eliminator match between associate members Scotland and the Netherlands, with the Dutch team taking the final place.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | — | — | 1 | India |
| ICC Super League | 30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023 | Various | 7 |
|
| Qualifier | 18 June 2023 – 9 July 2023 | Zimbabwe | 2 |
|
| Total | 10 | |||
Venues
The tournament took place in ten stadiums, situated in ten cities across India. The first and second semi-finals were held at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Eden Gardens in Kolkata respectively, while the final took place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The BCCI provided funding for renovations and refurbishments at stadiums. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium received a new grass surface, drainage system, seating, and hospitality boxes. Wankhede Stadium had upgrades to the outfield, floodlights, corporate boxes, and toilets. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium installed new floodlights and relaid two wickets.
With the autumn scheduling of this World Cup, the ICC instituted protocols for reducing the impact of moisture—including dew and rain—on pitch conditions, so that they did not give the team batting second an advantage (as had frequently occurred in the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup). These included using a specific wetting agent, and the boundary set at around 70 m (77 yards) at each stadium, with more grass on the pitch to encourage seam bowling over spin bowling.
| Location | Stadium | Capacity | No. of matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | Narendra Modi Stadium | 132,000 | 5 |
| Bangalore | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | 33,800 | 5 |
| Chennai | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | 38,200 | 5 |
| Delhi | Arun Jaitley Stadium | 55,000 | 5 |
| Dharamshala | HPCA Stadium | 21,200 | 5 |
| Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium | 39,200 | 3 |
| Kolkata | Eden Gardens | 68,000 | 5 |
| Lucknow | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium | 50,100 | 5 |
| Mumbai | Wankhede Stadium | 33,100 | 5 |
| Pune | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium | 42,700 | 5 |
Squads
All teams were asked to finalise their 15-player squads prior to 28 September, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC. All squads were announced by 26 September 2023. The oldest player of the tournament was Dutch player Wesley Barresi, who was 39 years old, while the youngest was Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad, who was 18.
Match officials
Match officials for the 2023 Cricket World Cup were selected by the International Cricket Council (ICC) umpire selection panel, headed by Sean Easey, the ICC's senior manager for umpires and referees. The panel selected 12 umpires to officiate at the tournament: three from Australia, four from England, four from Asia (one each from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), two each from New Zealand and South Africa and one from the West Indies. It also selected four match referees for the event.
Warm-up matches
Warm-up matches were held from 29 September to 3 October 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati, and Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
India's warm-up fixtures were announced on 27 June. The complete warm-up fixtures were announced on 23 August. The matches were broadcast live on television.
29 September 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka  263 (49.1 overs) | v |  Bangladesh264/3 (42 overs) |
Pathum Nissanka 68 (64) Mahedi Hasan 3/36 (9 overs) | Tanzid Hasan 84 (88) Lahiru Kumara 1/30 (6 overs) |
- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
29 September 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
South Africa  | v |  Afghanistan |
- No toss.
- No play was possible due to rain.
29 September 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Pakistan  345/5 (50 overs) | v |  New Zealand346/5 (43.4 overs) |
Mohammad Rizwan 103* (94) Mitchell Santner 2/39 (8 overs) | Rachin Ravindra 97 (72) Usama Mir 2/68 (10 overs) |
- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
30 September 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
v |  England | |
- India won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible due to rain.
30 September 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Australia 166/7 (23 overs) | v |  Netherlands84/6 (14.2 overs) |
Steve Smith 55 (42) Roelof van der Merwe 2/12 (3 overs) | Colin Ackermann 31* (37) Mitchell Starc 3/18 (3 overs) |
- Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was reduced to 23 overs per side due to rain.
- Rain prevented any further play.
2 October 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Bangladesh 188/9 (37 overs) | v | England 197/6 (24.1 overs) |
Mehidy Hasan 74 (89) Reece Topley 3/23 (5 overs) | Moeen Ali 56 (39) Mustafizur Rahman 2/23 (3 overs) |
- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was reduced to 37 overs per side due to rain.
- England were set a revised target of 197 runs from 37 overs due to rain.
2 October 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
New Zealand 321/6 (50 overs) | v | South Africa 211/4 (37 overs) |
Devon Conway 78 (73) Lungi Ngidi 3/33 (7 overs) | Quinton de Kock 84* (89) Trent Boult 2/20 (5 overs) |
- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.
- South Africa innings curtailed at 37 overs due to rain; DLS par score was 219.
3 October 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 294 (46.2 overs) | v | Afghanistan 261/4 (38.1 overs) |
Kusal Mendis 158 (87) Mohammad Nabi 4/44 (8 overs) | Rahmanullah Gurbaz 119 (92) Kasun Rajitha 1/18 (7 overs) |
- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Afghanistan were set a revised target of 257 runs from 42 overs due to rain.
3 October 2023 14:00 Scorecard |
Australia 351/7 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 337 (47.4 overs) |
Glenn Maxwell 77 (71) Usama Mir 2/31 (5 overs) | Babar Azam 90 (59) Marnus Labuschagne 3/78 (8.4 overs) |
- Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
Group stage
The ICC announced the World Cup schedule on 27 June 2023 at an event in Mumbai with a countdown of 100 days to the opening match of the World Cup on 5 October. The group stage started with the match between the finalists of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand and England, at Narendra Modi Stadium. On 9 August 2023, nine fixtures, including the match between India and Pakistan, were rescheduled by the ICC. The top seven teams in the tournament, excluding Pakistan who qualify automatically as host, qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (H, R) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2.570 | Advanced to the semi-finals and qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy |
| 2 | South Africa | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.261 | |
| 3 | Australia (C) | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.841 | |
| 4 | New Zealand | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.743 | |
| 5 | Pakistan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.199 | Qualified for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.336 | |
| 7 | England | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −0.572 | |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.087 | |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.419 | |
| 10 | Netherlands | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.825 |
(C) Champions; (H) Host; (R) Runners-up
Results
The ICC released the fixture details on 27 June 2023.
5 October 2023 Scorecard |
England 282/9 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 283/1 (36.2 overs) |
6 October 2023 Scorecard |
Pakistan 286 (49 overs) | v | Netherlands 205 (41 overs) |
7 October 2023 Scorecard |
Afghanistan 156 (37.2 overs) | v | Bangladesh 158/4 (34.4 overs) |
7 October 2023 Scorecard |
South Africa 428/5 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 326 (44.5 overs) |
9 October 2023 Scorecard |
New Zealand 322/7 (50 overs) | v | Netherlands 223 (46.3 overs) |
10 October 2023 Scorecard |
England 364/9 (50 overs) | v | Bangladesh 227 (48.2 overs) |
10 October 2023 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 344/9 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 345/4 (48.2 overs) |
12 October 2023 Scorecard |
South Africa 311/7 (50 overs) | v | Australia 177 (40.5 overs) |
13 October 2023 Scorecard |
Bangladesh 245/9 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 248/2 (42.5 overs) |
15 October 2023 Scorecard |
Afghanistan 284 (49.5 overs) | v | England 215 (40.3 overs) |
16 October 2023 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 209 (43.3 overs) | v | Australia 215/5 (35.2 overs) |
17 October 2023 Scorecard |
Netherlands 245/8 (43 overs) | v | South Africa 207 (42.5 overs) |
18 October 2023 Scorecard |
New Zealand 288/6 (50 overs) | v | Afghanistan 139 (34.4 overs) |
20 October 2023 Scorecard |
Australia 367/9 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 305 (45.3 overs) |
21 October 2023 Scorecard |
Netherlands 262 (49.4 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 263/5 (48.2 overs) |
21 October 2023 Scorecard |
South Africa 399/7 (50 overs) | v | England 170 (22 overs) |
23 October 2023 Scorecard |
Pakistan 282/7 (50 overs) | v | Afghanistan 286/2 (49 overs) |
24 October 2023 Scorecard |
South Africa 382/5 (50 overs) | v | Bangladesh 233 (46.4 overs) |
25 October 2023 Scorecard |
Australia 399/8 (50 overs) | v | Netherlands 90 (21 overs) |
26 October 2023 Scorecard |
England 156 (33.2 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 160/2 (25.4 overs) |
27 October 2023 Scorecard |
Pakistan 270 (46.4 overs) | v | South Africa 271/9 (47.2 overs) |
28 October 2023 Scorecard |
Australia 388 (49.2 overs) | v | New Zealand 383/9 (50 overs) |
28 October 2023 Scorecard |
Netherlands 229 (50 overs) | v | Bangladesh 142 (42.2 overs) |
30 October 2023 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 241 (49.3 overs) | v | Afghanistan 242/3 (45.2 overs) |
31 October 2023 Scorecard |
Bangladesh 204 (45.1 overs) | v | Pakistan 205/3 (32.3 overs) |
1 November 2023 Scorecard |
South Africa 357/4 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 167 (35.3 overs) |
3 November 2023 Scorecard |
Netherlands 179 (46.3 overs) | v | Afghanistan 181/3 (31.3 overs) |
4 November 2023 Scorecard |
New Zealand 401/6 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 200/1 (25.3 overs) |
4 November 2023 Scorecard |
Australia 286 (49.3 overs) | v | England 253 (48.1 overs) |
6 November 2023 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 279 (49.3 overs) | v | Bangladesh 282/7 (41.1 overs) |
7 November 2023 Scorecard |
Afghanistan 291/5 (50 overs) | v | Australia 293/7 (46.5 overs) |
8 November 2023 Scorecard |
England 339/9 (50 overs) | v | Netherlands 179 (37.2 overs) |
9 November 2023 Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 171 (46.4 overs) | v | New Zealand 172/5 (23.2 overs) |
10 November 2023 Scorecard |
Afghanistan 244 (50 overs) | v | South Africa 247/5 (47.3 overs) |
11 November 2023 Scorecard |
Bangladesh 306/8 (50 overs) | v | Australia 307/2 (44.4 overs) |
11 November 2023 Scorecard |
England 337/9 (50 overs) | v | Pakistan 244 (43.3 overs) |
Knockout stage
The host India was the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after their 302-run win against Sri Lanka, their seventh successive win in the World Cup. India secured the top place amongst the semi-finalists after they beat South Africa by 243 runs on 5 November at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
South Africa became the second team to qualify for the semi-finals after Pakistan defeated New Zealand on 4 November, with Australia becoming the third team to qualify after defeating Afghanistan on 7 November. New Zealand confirmed their berth as the fourth team after Pakistan lost their final match against England.
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | India | 397/4 (50 overs) | |||||||
| 4 | New Zealand | 327 (48.5 overs) | |||||||
| SFW1 | India | 240 (50 overs) | |||||||
| SFW2 | Australia | 241/4 (43 overs) | |||||||
| 2 | South Africa | 212 (49.4 overs) | |||||||
| 3 | Australia | 215/7 (47.2 overs) | |||||||
Semi-finals
16 November 2023 14:00 (D/N) Scorecard |
South Africa 212 (49.4 overs) | v | Australia 215/7 (47.2 overs) |
Final
In the final, Australia comfortably defeated India, by six wickets and a full seven overs to spare, to win a record-extending sixth World Cup title.
Statistics
Most runs
| Runs | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 765 | Virat Kohli | India |
| 597 | Rohit Sharma | India |
| 594 | Quinton de Kock | South Africa |
| 578 | Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand |
| 552 | Daryl Mitchell | New Zealand |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Most wickets
| Wickets | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Mohammed Shami | India |
| 23 | Adam Zampa | Australia |
| 21 | Dilshan Madushanka | Sri Lanka |
| 20 | Jasprit Bumrah | India |
| 20 | Gerald Coetzee | South Africa |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Team of the tournament
The ICC announced its team of the tournament on 21 November 2023, with Virat Kohli being named as player of the tournament, and Rohit Sharma as captain of the team.
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Quinton de Kock | Opening batter/wicket-keeper |
| Rohit Sharma | Opening batter/captain |
| Virat Kohli | Batter |
| Daryl Mitchell | All-rounder |
| KL Rahul | Batter |
| Glenn Maxwell | All-rounder |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
| Dilshan Madushanka | Bowler |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler |
| Mohammed Shami | Bowler |
| Gerald Coetzee | 12th man |
Broadcasting
Disney Star served as host broadcaster of the tournament in association with ICC TV; in India, all matches were televised by Star Sports and streamed by Disney+ Hotstar, with coverage available in English and eight regional languages. Amid competition with JioCinema for domestic cricket rights, Disney announced that all matches would be available on Disney+ Hotstar for free on mobile devices. The broadcasts featured expanded player and Hawk-Eye ball tracking features (building upon those introduced in the 2022 men's T20 World Cup) for visualizing shots and fielding, and dedicated vertical video feeds of each match designed for streaming on smartphones. Commentary on the ICC's English-language world feed was led by Ricky Ponting and Eoin Morgan among others.
The ICC projected that global live viewing minutes of the tournament had increased by 17% over 2019. In India, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings reported that the tournament was seen on linear television by 518 million people in India, and Disney reported that streams peaked at 59 million concurrent viewers on Hotstar—both setting new records.
See also
- List of Cricket World Cup finals