The History of One Day Internationals

One Day Internationals (ODIs) are a form of cricket matches which developed in the 1970s to allow a match to be completed in a shorter amount of time than the five days required for a test match. When ODIs were first introduced, many countries refused to take them seriously. In fact it wasnt until 1975 when ODIs became the standard form for Cricket World Cup matches, that they became an accepted and necessary alternative to test matches, due to the impossibility of exercising the round robin format required by world cup matches with five day tests. ODIs consist of fifty overs per side which are intended to be played in one day, although a reserve day is often set aside for more important matches to allow a match more chance of being completed in poor weather conditions.

The first ODI was played in Melbourne in 1971, between England and Australia, when the first three days of the test match were rained off. Cricket officials abandoned the match and instead organised a one day match in which each side played forty overs, with Australia winning the match by five wickets. Over the next four years, eighteen ODIs were played around the world until Tony Cozier initiated ideas for the first World Cup held between June 7 and June 21 1975. England was chosen as the ideal venue for the tournament because its long hours of daylight meant that a sixty over match could be completed in one day, weather permitting. Officially known as the Prudential Cup, named after its sponsors Prudential PLC, the World Cup consisted of the early ODIs, sixty over matches with six balls per over. The 1975 World Cup saw fifteen single innings matches which took place between the Test nations of the time: Australia, England, New Zealand, India, the West Indies and Pakistan, as well as a team made up of contestants from East Africa and Sri Lanka who at that point did not take part in Test Cricket. The notable South African team did not play as they were banned from international cricket due to apartheid. The final took place between the West Indies and Australia when, after a ten hour contest the West Indies were presented with the first world cup trophy winning 291 for 8, winning by 17 runs. The man of the match was Clive Lloyd of the West Indies who scored 102 runs off 85 balls.

Since its inauguration in 1975 the amount of overs played by each side has been reduced to fifty and is now the official ICC standard for ODIs but most of the rules remain the same. The World Cup is contested between international teams with ICC-designated ODI status. The ten test playing nations and members of the ICC have permanent ODI status and teams who win the ICC trophy are allowed temporary ODI status for a specified period of time (usually three years). The cricket teams with permanent ODI status and the debut of their first ODI match are:

• England (5th January, 1971)
• Australia (5th January, 1971)
• New Zealand (11th February, 1973)
• Pakistan (11th February, 1973)
• West Indies (5th September, 1973)
• India (13th July, 1974)
• Sri Lanka (7th June, 1975)
• Zimbabwe (9th June, 1983)
• Bangladesh (31st March, 1986)
• South Africa (10th November, 1991)

Historic World Cups

The Cricket World Cup is the most high profile ODI tournament and has been played every four years with the exception of the 1999 contest which was held only three years after the previous one.

• 1979 In the early years of the World Cup many of the best international cricketers played in the rival World Series Cricket and in 1979 Australia was forced to enter an unknown team as its top players were contracted to WSC. The 1979 World Cup, held in England, was played between England, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies and India, the six test playing nations of the time. Sri Lanka and Canada were also allowed to enter as teams known as minnows (non-test nations) based on their performance in the ICC trophy. The second World Cup once more consisted of one innings with sixty overs per side and bowlers were limited to no more than twelve overs per match. After the fortnights contest the final was played between the West Indies and England, with the West Indies claiming victory with 286 for 9, winning by 92 runs. Following the success of the 1979 World Cup it was decided that the tournament would be contested every four years.

Man of the match: Vivian Richards of the West Indies who scored 138 runs.

• 1983 The 1983 World Cup was once again held in England, although this time some matches were played on non-test grounds. The tournament was contested between the six test nations of 1979 plus Sri Lanka who became a test nation in 1980, as well as Zimbabwe who were victorious in the ICC trophy. After the rain stopped play in some of the 1979 matches, each team played the other teams in their group twice, to prevent teams being knocked out by the weather. The tournament was marked in the early rounds when India beat the West Indies and Zimbabwe beat Australia in their first ever World Cup. The surprising success of the Indian team continued into the final, when India beat the West Indies 183 all out, winning by 26 runs.Man of the match: Mohinder Amarnath, Indian vice captain who picked 3 wickets for 12 balls and scored 26 runs.

• 1987 The first World Cup to be held away from England, the 1987 tournament, officially known as the Reliance World Cup, was co-hosted by India and Pakistan and was contested by the seven test nations and Zimbabwe. Due to the reduced hours of sunlight, the matches consisted of just fifty overs per side and was also the first World Cup to have neutral umpires. After a series of close matches, Australia and England met in the final with Australia achieving victory with 253 for 7, winning by just 7 runs.

Man of the match: David Boon of Australia who scored 75 runs.

• 1992 Hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the 1992 World Cup was the longest to date, with all teams playing each other in the early rounds. The teams consisted of the seven test nations to play in the 1987 cup, as well as South Africa who, with the end of apartheid, were allowed back into international cricket, plus a non-test team from Zimbabwe. The 1992 World Cup saw a number of new features introduced to the game. Drawing on World Series Cricket, players wore coloured clothing with names on the back, white balls were used, the games were floodlit to allow play after dark and the fielding rules changed to allow only two men outside of the ring during the initial 15 overs. The final saw a meeting of Pakistan and England, with victory going to Pakistan who scored 249 for 6, beating the English team by 22 runs.

Man of the match: Wasim Akram of Australia who picked three important wickets.

Player of the tournament: The 1992 World Cup also saw the introduction of a Player of the Tournament award. The first winner was Martin Crowe, captain of the New Zealand team who scored a total of 456 runs.

• 1996 The sixth World Cup was co-hosted by test nations India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and sponsored by Wills. The tournament was contested by the test nations of Australia, England, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka, as well as the non-test nations of Kenya, the Netherlands and a team from the United Arab Emirates. The final was played between Sri Lanka and Australia, with Sri Lanka becoming the first team to win the World Cup as a host nation, scoring 241 runs and beating Australia by 7 wickets.Man of the match: Aravinda da Silva of Sri Lanka for scoring 107 runs.

Player of the tournament: Sanath Jayasurya of Sri Lanka for particularly aggressive batting.

• 1999 Sponsored by the ICC and played between the ten current test nations, as well as the Netherlands, Scotland and Kenya, the World Cup returned to its roots by being hosted by England once again. The tournament culminated in a notably one-sided final between Pakistan and Australia, with Australia winning the match after just five hours of play. For the first time Australia became the best test nation in the world and the best ODI team, beating Pakistan by 8 wickets after Pakistan scored just 132 runs, the lowest number of runs in the history of the World Cup.Man of the match: Shane Warne of Australia for picking an outstanding 4 wickets for 33 balls.

Player of the tournament: Lance Klusener of South Africa for scoring a total of 281 runs with an average of 1.22 runs per ball and for taking 17 wickets.

• 2003 Co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, the eighth World Cup was played between the ten test nations, with teams also entering from Kenya, Namibia, the Netherlands, Canada and Scotland. For the second year running, the World Cup was sponsored by the ICC and was known as the ICC World Cup. Seeing a huge increase in profits from the $US 51 m made from the 1999 World Cup, the 2003 tournament was the most financially successful to date, with profits of $US 194 m. Australia shone once again, winning all eleven of their matches and, to nobodys surprise, beating India by 125 runs, scoring 359 for 2, becoming the first team to win three World Cup titles.

Man of the match: RT Ponting of Australia who scored 140 runs from 121 balls.

Player of the tournament: Sachin Tendulkar of India who clocked up a total of 673 runs over the course of the competition.

2007 Hosted by the West Indies for the first time in World Cup history, the 2007 competition was contested by the ten test nations, Scotland, the Netherlands, Bermuda, Kenya, Canada and Ireland. The sixteen teams were divided into four groups, with the top two teams of each group going through from the early rounds. Once again Australia dominated the competition, meeting Sri Lanka in the final and winning the tournament by 53 runs, scoring 281 for 4.

Man of the match: Adam Gilchrist of Australia for scoring 149 runs from 109 balls.

Player of the tournament: Glenn Mcgrath of Australia for taking a total of 26 wickets.

Record-breaking ODIs

• Highest innings total 443 runs for 9 by Sri Lanka against the Netherlands, Amstelveen, 2006.
• Lowest innings total 35 runs all out by Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka, Harare, 2004.
• Highest total counting both teams scores 872 runs by Australia and South Africa, (Australia: 434 for 4, South Africa: 438 for 9), Johannesburg, 2006.
• Highest individual innings 194 runs by Saeed Anwar for Pakistan against India, Chennai, 1996.