World Cup 2015: Teams, summary, winner, most runs and wickets

The most recent World Cup was also one of the most exciting. Social media played a bigger role than ever in a tournament that was expertly run and served up some exciting cricket – it is also likely to be one of the more inclusive World Cups for some time, given the 2019 edition will comprise just ten teams.

Australia and New Zealand, both hosts, met in the final, with New Zealand capturing the imagination of the wider world, playing an attractive form of the game in the right manner. However, it was Australia that won the tournament – their fifth triumph, which regained them the title after they were dethroned by India in 2011.

Australia saw off New Zealand in a largely one-sided encounter by seven wickets – New Zealand were bundled out for 183, with Steve Smith and Michael Clarke scoring half-centuries in a chase that was completed in 33.1 overs.

There were also a couple of World Cup classics in the tournament – Australia and New Zealand played out a thriller at Eden Park earlier in the tournament, and in the semi-final, New Zealand squeezed past South Africa in another thriller.

It all made for a great tournament.

Semi-final 1, Auckland, March 24: South Africa 281/5 in 43 overs (du Plessis 82, de Villiers 65; Anderson 3/72) lost to New Zealand 299/6 in 42.5 overs (Elliott 84*, Anderson 58; Morkel 3/59) by 4 wickets (D/L Method). Man of the Match: Grant Elliott.

Semi-final 2, Sydney, March 26: Australia 328/7 in 50 overs (Smith 105, Finch 81; Umesh Yadav 4/72) beat India 233 in 46.5 overs (Dhawan 45, Dhoni 65; Faulkner 3/59, Starc 2/28) by 95 runs. Man of the Match: Steven Smith.

Final, Melbourne, March 29: New Zealand 183 in 45 overs (Taylor 40, Elliott 83; Johnson 3/30, Faulkner 3/36) lost to Australia 186/3 in 33.1 overs (Smith 56*, Clarke 74*; Henry 2/46) by 7 wickets. Man of the Match: James Faulkner. Man of the Series: Mitchell Starc.

Most runs: Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 547 runs, 9 matches
Most wickets: Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 22 wickets, 8 matches