World Cup 1992: Teams, summary, winner, most runs and wickets

It was in 1992 that the World Cup really came into its own. For the first time, there was coloured clothing, with player names sported on the back. Floodlights were used regularly. There two new white balls in play – one from each end – and there were some field restriction rules in place for the first time. All of which meant it took some getting used to for the players.

It was also the tournament – held jointly in Australia and New Zealand – in which Pakistan completed an astonishing comeback, after a poor start filled with controversies, to win the tournament for the first time, seeing off England in the final. Pakistan posted 249/6 in the final, and despite Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb’s fine partnership, a young Wasim Akram’s prodigious swing took Pakistan to a 22-run victory.

The one big controversy in the tournament related to the rain rule – South Africa bore the brunt of it. They needed a fairly easily achievable 22 off 13 balls when the skies opened up – 12 minutes of rain meant that equation was reduced to an impossible 21 of 1 ball.  

Semi-final 1, Eden Park, Auckland, March 21: New Zealand 262/7 in 50 overs (Crowe 90, Rutherford 50; Akram 2/40, Ahmed 2/40) lost to Pakistan 264/6 in 49 overs (Miandad 57*, Inzamam-ul-Haq 60; Watson 2/39) by 4 wickets. Man of the Match: Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Semi-final 2, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, March 22: England 252/6 in 50 overs (Stewart 33, Hick 83; Pringle 2/36) beat South Africa 232/6 in 43 overs (Hudson 46, Rhodes 43; Illingworth 2/46) by 19 runs (revised target). Man of the Match: Graeme Hick.

Final, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, March 25: Pakistan 249/6 in 50 overs (Imran Khan 72, Miandad 58; Pringle 3/22) beat England 227 in 50 overs (Fairbrother 62, Lamb 31; Akram 3/49, Ahmed 3/41) by 22 runs. Man of the Match: Wasim Akram. Man of the Series: Martin Crowe.

Most runs: Martin Crowe (New Zealand) – 456 runs, 9 matches
Most wickets: Wasim Akram (Pakistan) – 18 wickets, 10 matches