In 1979, the ICC organized a Cricket World Cup tournament with a format that was considered unambitious, and was dominated by England and Australia. The tournament included eight teams playing three qualifiers each in two groups, and only 15 games in total. Due to Australia not selecting cricketers who had played for Kerry Packer’s World Series, only England and West Indies were seen as strong teams in the tournament. The final match between England and West Indies was closely contested until Viv Richards and Collis King took the game away from England’s four-man attack, ultimately leading West Indies to victory as they successfully chased a target of 286 runs. The dominance of England’s opening pair of Michael Brearley and Geoff Boycott, who occupied 38 of the 60 overs, left no chance for other batsmen to accelerate and ultimately led to their loss.
In the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Kenya, an unheralded team, was making headlines in the sport. The team’s unexpected success in the tournament was a surprising occurrence in the world of cricket at the time.
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