Checking the World Cup Stats

India is the perfect host for the Cricket World Cup

Test cricket will always hold a special place in our hearts and the various forms of T20 and even The Hundred have brought whole new crowds to the game. But it is possible that the Cricket World Cup is one of the most prestigious and most-loved competitions in the whole of the sport.

The one-day game played over 50 overs, has definitely fallen down the ranking since the emergence of the high-octane, quick-fire versions of the sport. The World Cup brings this format back into focus though - and is a tournament that every nation is desperate to win.

If you are looking through sportsbook reviews to find the best betting sites for the tournament, the statistics here may well help you pick your winners this year. The tournament begins in India at the start of October and goes through an intensive 10-team round-robin opening phase before moving on to the knockout rounds. Every nation playing each other will certainly throw up a few surprises - but will any of the following stats and records be matched? Or even beaten?

Most Wins

Let's start off with probably the most important statistic when it comes to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. There will forever be arguments over the best team in the history of the tournament, or the best innings or bowling spell. But the most successful nation has definitely been Australia.

India shocked the world by beating the dominant West Indies in 1983 and England finally lifted the trophy in dramatic style four years ago at Lord's. But it is the Aussies' five titles that lead the way. Three of those came back-to-back-to-back at the beginning of the century. Australia may not be the favorites to claim the title this year, but you can never rule them out.

Most Runs

Even the one-day game has been revolutionized in the last few years, as specialist players have moved to a more dramatic style of playing. T20 has definitely ushered in a faster, more exciting, way of playing the game. So it is possible that there will be some high runs totals in India this year.

But if you want to identify the player who has scored the most runs at the Cricket World Cup, look no further than Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master scored 2,278 runs in 45 matches, at an average of 56.95. He didn't manage the most runs in a single innings though - that plaudit goes to the 237 scored by Martin Guptil in Wellington in 2015.

Most Wickets

The other side of the cricket coin. There have been some incredible bowling displays at Cricket World Cups. Unsurprisingly, it is the Aussies once again that dominate the record books. Glenn McGrath's 71 total wickets record is unlikely to be beaten soon - and he also recorded the best-ever bowling figures with his 7 for 15 against Namibia in 2003.

But it is a bowler who will be hoping to be in India this year who has one of the most impressive Cricket World Cup CVs. Australia's Mitchell Starc is a fearsome bowler, no matter what the format. But is this competition he has the best average and the most five-wicket and four-wicket hauls. Maybe we will see more this year?

Win Totals and Margins

With some smaller nations coming against the big boys of international cricket, there have been some slightly one-sided games over the years. The game does seem to be evening out recently, but there have been some big totals - and winning margins - in the past.

Australia managed an incredible 417 for 6 against Afghanistan back in 2015, breaking the previous record held by India, who scored 413 for 5 against Bermuda eight years earlier. Unsurprisingly, those two games also hold the records for the largest winning margins. Hopefully, we will see some closer contests at the upcoming tournament.

Fastest 50

As we mentioned earlier, the impact of the shorter formats has completely changed the way that players bat these days. There was a time when even the one-day game saw relatively composed innings. But now we expect fours and sixes from every delivery and one of the current coaches teaching his team that way of playing holds the World Cup record for the fastest 50.

Brendon McCullum is the current head coach of the England national team and his bazball has been taken up by the players in all formats of the game. He showed the same aggressive style as a player and hit the fastest 50 at a World Cup - off of just 18 balls against England in 2015. That performance broke his own record of 50 in 20 balls against Canada in 2007.

Will we see more records broken in India?

King of the Tournament

Australia has always done pretty well at the Cricket World Cup but the current team will do well to match the performances of 2003 and 2007, when the Aussies won every single one of their games on the way to the title. Before then a 100% record had only been managed three times, once by Sri Lanka and twice by the West Indies in the early years of the competition.

The format of the tournaments probably helped with those 100% records as well. Being able to play a group stage before a Super Sixes round meant that the teams avoided some of the better nations on the way to glory. They were all still impressive achievements, but if a nation becomes King of the Tournament this year they will have had to have beaten all nine other teams - and then beaten two of them again in the semis and final.

World Cup 2023

It almost feels as though it is inevitable that we will see some records broken in India this year. The way the game is played now makes it very possible that run totals, in particular, could be smashed. Some of the career records may take a while longer to beat though.

Predicting a winner is a very difficult task. But we do predict an exhilarating tournament in a country that is absolutely crazy for cricket.