The 1983 Cricket World Cup had matches which were played entirely during the day. The cricketers were dressed in traditional white clothing and red balls were used. The winner of this tournament was the Indian cricket team under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. West Indies, which began as favorites of this tournament, ended up as the runner-up. Group A was comprised of the following teams – Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. New Zealand lost its first group match, but won two consecutive matches.
Group match against England
On 15th June 1983, New Zealand played its fourth group match against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham. David Gower was 92 not out in 123 balls as England piled up 234 runs in 55.2 overs. Richard Hadlee displayed an excellent bowling spell of 10 overs, 32 runs and 3 wickets. Bob Willis made 4 dismissals in the New Zealand team, while giving away 42 runs in 12 overs. Still New Zealand managed to scored 238 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 59.5 overs, mainly due to the contribution of Jeremy Coney, who remained unbeaten on 66 in 144 deliveries. Later, he was adjudged the Man of the Match. New Zealand won this match by 2 wickets. 
Group match against Sri Lanka
New Zealand was bowled out for 181 in 58.2 overs in its fifth group match at County Ground, Derby on 18th June 1983 by Sri Lanka. This became possible due to the remarkable bowling of Ashantha de Mel who took 5 wickets for 32 runs in 12 overs. Martin Snedden chipped in 40 runs after facing 55 deliveries. Sri Lanka lost 7 wickets in 52.5 overs but scored 184 runs, due to the contribution of Roy Dias who was not out on 64 in 101 balls. Martin Snedden bowled 10.5 overs and made 2 dismissals for 58 runs. Ashantha de Mel was selected as the Man of the Match. Sri Lanka won this match by 3 wickets.
Group match against Pakistan
On 20th June 1983, New Zealand played its last group match of the 1983 Cricket World Cup. The venue of this match was Trent Bridge, Nottingham and the opponent was Pakistan. Pakistan stockpiled 261 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 60 overs. The major contribution came from Zaheer Abbas who remained unbeaten on 103 after facing 121 deliveries. Jeremy Coney made 2 dismissals in 12 overs, while conceding 42 runs. New Zealand failed to chase this target and succumbed to 250 in 59.1 overs. Jeremy Coney’s effort of 51 runs in 78 balls was in vain. Mudassar Nazar bowled 12 overs, conceded 43 runs and took 3 wickets. Pakistan won this match by 11 runs.
New Zealand won 3 group matches and lost 3 group matches. It had gained 12 points and was tied up with Pakistan. However, New Zealand had a run rate of 3.927 and Pakistan’s run rate was 4.014. Due to this, New Zealand slipped to the third position in Group A and was denied a place in the semi final.