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2003 Cricket World Cup

Hosted by South Africa and Zimbabwe and Kenya, 9 February - 23 March 2003. 14 teams, 54 matches.

Australia — champions

Teams
14
Matches
54
Winner
Australia
Final margin
125 runs

The final

How 2003 was decided

Australia 359/2 (50 overs) beat India 234 (39.2 overs) by 125 runs

Date
23 March 2003
Venue
Wanderers Stadium
City
Johannesburg
Player of the match
Ricky Ponting

Format

Two pools of seven playing round robin. The top three from each pool went into the Super Sixes, carrying forward the points won against fellow qualifiers plus a quarter of the points won against the teams that went out, then semi-finals and a final.

Semi-finalists

  • Australia
  • India
  • Sri Lanka
  • Kenya

The first World Cup staged in Africa, and the first time an associate member, Kenya, reached the semi-finals.

Leading players

Player of the tournament
Sachin Tendulkar
Most runs
Sachin Tendulkar
673 runs · India
Most wickets
Chaminda Vaas
23 wickets · Sri Lanka

What happened

  • Australia won all eleven of their matches, and their 359 for 2 in the final remains the highest total made in a World Cup final.
  • Ricky Ponting made 140 not out from 121 balls in the final with eight sixes, and shared an unbroken stand of 234 with Damien Martyn, who finished on 88 not out.
  • Sachin Tendulkar scored 673 runs, the most by any player in a single World Cup, and was named player of the tournament.
  • Kenya reached the semi-finals, the only associate member ever to do so, beating Sri Lanka in Nairobi and Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein along the way.
  • England forfeited their pool match in Harare and New Zealand theirs in Nairobi, both citing player safety. The four points each conceded took Zimbabwe into the Super Sixes and Kenya into the semi-finals.
  • South Africa went out of their own World Cup after misreading the Duckworth-Lewis par score against Sri Lanka at Durban and settling for a tie, one run short of the win they needed.
  • Shane Warne was sent home before Australia's first match after failing a drug test.

The tournament

The first World Cup in Africa

Fourteen teams, fifty-four matches and three host nations. The 2003 tournament was the first held on the African continent, and the ICC spread it across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya so that it would read as a continental event rather than a South African one. The arrangement became the story before a ball was bowled.

England did not play their pool match in Harare, citing fears for their players' safety, and forfeited the four points. New Zealand did the same with their fixture in Nairobi. Both decisions reshaped the tournament. Zimbabwe went through to the Super Sixes two points clear of England. Kenya, given four points they never had to earn, went further than any associate side has managed before or since.

The night South Africa did the arithmetic

Australia lost Shane Warne before their opening match, sent home after a failed drug test, and then won all eleven games they played. Nobody else came close to that. The senior host did not survive the pool stage. At Kingsmead on 3 March, chasing Sri Lanka's 268 in fading light, Mark Boucher hit Muttiah Muralitharan for six, blocked the next ball and walked off with the game apparently won. The figure he had been given was the Duckworth-Lewis par score, which meant a tie. South Africa needed one more run than that. Rain arrived, the match was tied, and the hosts were out of their own World Cup by a single run.

Ponting, and a final decided inside an hour

Kenya beat Sri Lanka in Nairobi and Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein to reach the semi-finals, where India were far too good for them. That set up a final at the Wanderers nobody has since pretended was a contest. Sourav Ganguly won the toss and bowled. Adam Gilchrist made 57 from 48 balls, Matthew Hayden 37, and then Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn added 234 without being parted, Ponting finishing on 140 not out with eight sixes. Javagal Srinath conceded 87 in his last international match. Australia's 359 for 2 is still the highest total made in a World Cup final. Sachin Tendulkar, who ended the tournament with 673 runs, more than anyone has scored in a single World Cup, was caught and bowled by Glenn McGrath for 4 in the first over. India were out for 234.

Afterwards

It was Australia's second title running and their third overall, and they became the third side to win a World Cup without losing a match. The Super Sixes were never used again. Kenya's run was taken by the ICC as evidence that the field should be wider, and 2007 duly went to sixteen teams and a Super Eight round, a change that survived exactly one tournament.

Results

Every match of 2003

All 54 matches in order. A blank scoreline means we could not verify the figures, not that the match was not played.

Group B

  1. #1West Indies v South AfricaWest Indies 278/5 (50 overs) beat South Africa 275/9 (49 overs) by 3 runs9 February 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  2. #3Sri Lanka v New ZealandSri Lanka 272/7 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 225 (45.3 overs) by 47 runs10 February 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  3. #5Canada v BangladeshCanada 180 (49.1 overs) beat Bangladesh 120 (28 overs) by 60 runs11 February 2003 · Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban
  4. #7Kenya v South AfricaSouth Africa 142/0 (21.2 overs) beat Kenya 140 (38 overs) by 10 wickets12 February 2003 · North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom
  5. #9New Zealand v West IndiesNew Zealand 241/7 (50 overs) beat West Indies 221 (49.4 overs) by 20 runs13 February 2003 · St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth
  6. #10Bangladesh v Sri LankaSri Lanka 126/0 (21.1 overs) beat Bangladesh 124 (31.1 overs) by 10 wickets14 February 2003 · City Oval, Pietermaritzburg
  7. #12Canada v KenyaKenya 198/6 (48.3 overs) beat Canada 197 (49 overs) by 4 wickets15 February 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  8. #15South Africa v New ZealandNew Zealand 229/1 (36.5 overs) beat South Africa 306/6 (50 overs) by 9 wickets (D/L method)16 February 2003 · New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
  9. #16West Indies v BangladeshWest Indies 244/9 (50 overs); Bangladesh 32/2 (8.1 overs); match abandoned18 February 2003 · Willowmoore Park, Benoni
  10. #19Canada v Sri LankaSri Lanka 37/1 (4.4 overs) beat Canada 36 (18.4 overs) by 9 wickets19 February 2003 · Boland Park, Paarl
  11. #21Kenya v New ZealandKenya won by forfeit (New Zealand did not travel to Nairobi)21 February 2003 · Nairobi Gymkhana Club, Nairobi
  12. #23Bangladesh v South AfricaSouth Africa 109/0 (12 overs) beat Bangladesh 108 (35.1 overs) by 10 wickets22 February 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  13. #25Canada v West IndiesWest Indies 206/3 (20.3 overs) beat Canada 202 (42.5 overs) by 7 wickets23 February 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  14. #27Kenya v Sri LankaKenya 210/9 (50 overs) beat Sri Lanka 157 (45 overs) by 53 runs24 February 2003 · Nairobi Gymkhana Club, Nairobi
  15. #30Bangladesh v New ZealandNew Zealand 199/3 (33.3 overs) beat Bangladesh 198/7 (50 overs) by 7 wickets26 February 2003 · De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
  16. #32South Africa v CanadaSouth Africa 254/8 (50 overs) beat Canada 136/5 (50 overs) by 118 runs27 February 2003 · Buffalo Park, East London
  17. #34Sri Lanka v West IndiesSri Lanka 228/6 (50 overs) beat West Indies 222/9 (50 overs) by 6 runs28 February 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  18. #36Kenya v BangladeshKenya 217/7 (50 overs) beat Bangladesh 185 (47.2 overs) by 32 runs1 March 2003 · New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
  19. #39Canada v New ZealandNew Zealand 197/5 (23 overs) beat Canada 196 (47 overs) by 5 wickets3 March 2003 · Willowmoore Park, Benoni
  20. #40Sri Lanka v South AfricaSri Lanka 268/9 (50 overs) tied with South Africa 229/6 (45 overs) (D/L method)3 March 2003 · Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban
  21. #42West Indies v KenyaWest Indies 246/7 (50 overs) beat Kenya 104 (35.5 overs) by 142 runs4 March 2003 · De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley

Group A

  1. #2Zimbabwe v NamibiaZimbabwe 340/2 (50 overs) beat Namibia 104/5 (25.1 overs) by 86 runs (D/L method)10 February 2003 · Harare Sports Club, Harare
  2. #4Australia v PakistanAustralia 310/8 (50 overs) beat Pakistan 228 (44.3 overs) by 82 runs11 February 2003 · Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
  3. #6India v NetherlandsIndia 204 (48.5 overs) beat Netherlands 136 (48.1 overs) by 68 runs12 February 2003 · Boland Park, Paarl
  4. #8Zimbabwe v EnglandZimbabwe won by forfeit (England did not travel to Harare)13 February 2003 · Harare Sports Club, Harare
  5. #11India v AustraliaAustralia 128/1 (22.2 overs) beat India 125 (41.4 overs) by 9 wickets15 February 2003 · Centurion Park, Centurion
  6. #13Netherlands v EnglandEngland 144/4 (23.2 overs) beat Netherlands 142/9 (50 overs) by 6 wickets16 February 2003 · Buffalo Park, East London
  7. #14Pakistan v NamibiaPakistan 255/9 (50 overs) beat Namibia 84 (17.4 overs) by 171 runs16 February 2003 · De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
  8. #17India v ZimbabweIndia 255/7 (50 overs) beat Zimbabwe 172 (44.4 overs) by 83 runs19 February 2003 · Harare Sports Club, Harare
  9. #18England v NamibiaEngland 272 (50 overs) beat Namibia 217/9 (50 overs) by 55 runs19 February 2003 · St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth
  10. #20Australia v NetherlandsAustralia 170/2 (36 overs) beat Netherlands 122 (30.2 overs) by 75 runs (D/L method)20 February 2003 · Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
  11. #22England v PakistanEngland 246/8 (50 overs) beat Pakistan 134 (31 overs) by 112 runs22 February 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  12. #24India v NamibiaIndia 311/2 (50 overs) beat Namibia 130 (42.3 overs) by 181 runs23 February 2003 · City Oval, Pietermaritzburg
  13. #26Zimbabwe v AustraliaAustralia 248/3 (47.3 overs) beat Zimbabwe 246/9 (50 overs) by 7 wickets24 February 2003 · Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
  14. #28Pakistan v NetherlandsPakistan 253/9 (50 overs) beat Netherlands 156 (39.3 overs) by 97 runs25 February 2003 · Boland Park, Paarl
  15. #29India v EnglandIndia 250/9 (50 overs) beat England 168 (45.3 overs) by 82 runs26 February 2003 · Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban
  16. #31Australia v NamibiaAustralia 301/6 (50 overs) beat Namibia 45 (14 overs) by 256 runs27 February 2003 · Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
  17. #33Zimbabwe v NetherlandsZimbabwe 301/8 (50 overs) beat Netherlands 202/9 (50 overs) by 99 runs28 February 2003 · Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
  18. #35Pakistan v IndiaIndia 276/4 (45.4 overs) beat Pakistan 273/7 (50 overs) by 6 wickets1 March 2003 · Centurion Park, Centurion
  19. #37England v AustraliaAustralia 208/8 (49.4 overs) beat England 204/8 (50 overs) by 2 wickets2 March 2003 · St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth
  20. #38Netherlands v NamibiaNetherlands 314/4 (50 overs) beat Namibia 250 (46.5 overs) by 64 runs3 March 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  21. #41Pakistan v ZimbabwePakistan 73/3 (14 overs); match abandoned4 March 2003 · Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

Super Six

  1. #43Australia v Sri LankaAustralia 319/5 (50 overs) beat Sri Lanka 223 (47.4 overs) by 96 runs7 March 2003 · Centurion Park, Centurion
  2. #44Kenya v IndiaIndia 226/4 (47.5 overs) beat Kenya 225/6 (50 overs) by 6 wickets7 March 2003 · Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
  3. #45Zimbabwe v New ZealandNew Zealand 253/4 (47.2 overs) beat Zimbabwe 252/7 (50 overs) by 6 wickets8 March 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  4. #46India v Sri LankaIndia 292/6 (50 overs) beat Sri Lanka 109 (23 overs) by 183 runs10 March 2003 · Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
  5. #47Australia v New ZealandAustralia 208/9 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 112 (30.1 overs) by 96 runs11 March 2003 · St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth
  6. #48Zimbabwe v KenyaKenya 135/3 (26 overs) beat Zimbabwe 133 (44.1 overs) by 7 wickets12 March 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  7. #49New Zealand v IndiaIndia 150/3 (40.4 overs) beat New Zealand 146 (45.1 overs) by 7 wickets14 March 2003 · Centurion Park, Centurion
  8. #50Sri Lanka v ZimbabweSri Lanka 256/5 (50 overs) beat Zimbabwe 182 (41.5 overs) by 74 runs15 March 2003 · Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
  9. #51Kenya v AustraliaAustralia 178/5 (31.2 overs) beat Kenya 174/8 (50 overs) by 5 wickets15 March 2003 · Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban

Semi-final

  1. #52Australia v Sri LankaAustralia 212/7 (50 overs) beat Sri Lanka 123/7 (38.1 overs) by 48 runs (D/L method)18 March 2003 · St George's Park Cricket Ground, Port Elizabeth
  2. #53India v KenyaIndia 270/4 (50 overs) beat Kenya 179 (46.2 overs) by 91 runs20 March 2003 · Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban

Final

  1. #54Australia v IndiaAustralia 359/2 (50 overs) beat India 234 (39.2 overs) by 125 runs23 March 2003 · Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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Compiled from published tournament records, cross-checked across more than one source. Unlike the player, IPL and Big Bash pages, these figures are not computed from our own ball-by-ball archive. Anything we could not verify is left blank rather than guessed.

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