I love cricket, even though I’m a crap batter. Cricket is a crazy and confusing sport at the best of times. Seriously, it really is, because everything in the video below is true.
I told you, cricket is crazy. Have you ever tried to explain the rules of cricket to someone; especially someone from a country where cricket is not popular? It’s madness!
But do you know what is also madness? The Men’s Cricket World Cup Trophy. On Sunday 19th November 2023, Australia lifted the Men’s Cricket World Cup for a record 6th time. The 2023 Cricket World Cup was the 13th edition of the competition, but it was only the 7th time the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy had been used. In total, there have been five different Cricket World Cup Trophies!
I told you that cricket is crazy!
1975-1983 (Prudential World Cup Trophy)
The first Men’s Cricket World Cup was hosted by England in 1975, and the main sponsor of the tournament was Prudential, which is a British multinational insurance company. This won’t come as a huge surprise that the trophy was named The Prudential Cup, so the tournament and trophy were known as the same thing.
The West Indies won the tournament in 1975, beating Australia in the final, thus being the first team to win the World Cup and lift the trophy. England hosted the tournament again in 1979, with the West Indies defeating England in the final, and in 1983, India defeated the West Indies in the final, to become world champions for the first time.
The trophy now sits at the Lord’s cricket museum, London, England.
1987 (Reliance World Cup Trophy)
The 1987 World Cup tournament was moved outside of England for the first time because India and Pakistan were the co-hosts. This World Cup had another change, which was over the sponsorship rights. Reliance Industries, which is an Indian multinational conglomerate was the new sponsor.
This resulted in the World Cup being known as the Reliance World Cup, as well as getting a brand new trophy; which you guessed it, was known as the Reliance World Cup Trophy. This trophy was gold-plated and covered in diamonds, which was estimated to have cost around 600,000 Indian rupees, and adjusted for inflation, around 8 million rupees at today’s price.
Australia became world champions for the first time by winning the final against England, and they remain the only country to have won this trophy. I’m unsure of its location, but I would guess it would be held in some cricket museum in Australia.
Credit: ICC
1992 (Benson and Hedges World Cup Trophy)
The 1992 World Cup moved to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, with Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the tournament. History likes to repeat itself because the sponsorship and naming rights changed again.
Benson & Hedges, a cigarette conglomerate of all things, became the new sponsor, along with renaming the tournament and a new trophy. The Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy is a Waterford crystal globe on a wooden base, which was accompanied by the logos of all nine teams. This trophy was rumoured to have cost around £8,000, and adjusted for inflation, around £16,900 at today’s price.
Pakistan won the final, defeating England by 22 runs. There are three facts from the final:
1.) This was Pakistan’s first and only World Cup title.
2.) Pakistan were the only team to have ever won the Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy.
3.) The trophy is situated at the National Cricket Academy, Lahore, Pakistan.
1996 (Wills World Cup Trophy)
In 1996, the Cricket World Cup returned to the subcontinent, with India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament. By now you would have noticed the tournament’s new name; Wills World Cup, named after another cigarette company, Wills, after they won the sponsorship and naming rights.
The newly named and designed Wills World Cup Trophy was won by Sri Lanka, defeating Australia in the final by 7 wickets. Just like the 1992 tournament, some facts are important about this trophy.
1.) This was Sri Lanka’s first and only World Cup title.
2.) Sri Lanka were the only team to have ever won the Wills World Cup Trophy.
3.) The trophy is situated at the Sri Lanka Cricket Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Credit: Sri Lanka Cricket
1999-Present (ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy)
24 years after the first tournament, the ICC (International Cricket Council) decided to change things up and award their own trophy. With England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands co-hosting, the ICC unveiled the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy.
This trophy has been constructed from gold and silver, and the centre piece is a golden globe, which is held up by three columns. The symbolism here is represented with the columns, which are shaped as stumps and bails; as well as batting, bowling, and fielding, the three fundamental aspects of cricket. The globe also represents a cricket ball.
The trophy’s height is 60 cm and the weight is approximately 11.0567 kilograms. The names of the previous winners are engraved on the base of the trophy, with space for more. I think the trophy was valued at around £25,000, but I could be wrong.
From 1999, the winning team of each tournament is awarded this trophy; but there’s a catch. As Uddipta Banerjee explained:
“The original World Cup trophy remains at the ICC headquarters in Dubai. A replica of the trophy, which is identical to the original in all aspects apart from the inscriptions of the previous champions, is awarded to the winning team of the Cricket World Cup and remains in their possession.”
Credit: Reuters
So, will the real Cricket World Cup trophy please stand up? You have five to choose from. Alright, that’s another blog finished for yet another week, so I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And speaking of enjoying things, guess what’s coming back next week? I’ll give you a clue, Brian May, Michelle Thaller, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and Becky Smethurst, would want nothing to do with it.
That’s right, our Tour of the Solar System continues! Yay. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. My third anniversary of running New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website is coming up soon, so that’s going to be an achievement of a sort.
Anyway, please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and lose at Risk, watch out for the Fagradalsfjall volcano, and I’ll see you next week.
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