Revisiting Australia’s five-star displays at the ODI World Cups

The Australian cricket team has a proud history in the annals of the ODI World Cup having won the title five times since its inception in 1975.

Besides their title triumphs in 1987 and 2015, the Aussies’ successful World Cup campaigns also include a hat-trick of wins in 1999, 2003, and 2007, when Australia enjoyed the luxury of having several world-class cricketers like Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, and Brett Lee.

Led by skipper Ian Chappell, Australia competed in the inaugural edition of the ICC ODI World Cup in England and managed to reach the final.

The first World Cup final culminated in a chaotic but thrilling contest between the top two teams at the time as the West Indies defeated Australia by 17 runs.

Australia, under Kim Hughes' leadership in the subsequent two editions of the World Cup, could not be the cricketing giants that they are at the moment as they were eliminated at the group stages in the 1979 and 1983 editions of the ODI World Cups.

However, after a long barren run for Australian cricket, skipper Allan Border and coach Bob Simpson scripted history at the Eden Gardens in 1987 as the Aussies lifted their first-ever World Cup trophy, setting in motion a rich legacy for the team in the history of the competition.

Over the years, Australia has emerged as the most successful team in ODI World Cup history with more triumphant campaigns than any other team in cricket history.

How many times has Australia won the ODI World Cup?

Australia has won the ODI World Cup on five occasions in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015. Regardless of how Australia heads into the global event, they usually find a way of being in the mix when it matters. 

The Aussies were last triumphant on home soil in 2015 led by Michael Clarke. They finished as runners-up at the 1975 and 1996 World Cups.

The Kangaroos also reached the semi-finals in 2019 where they were steamrolled by the England juggernaut.

Interestingly, India (2) and West Indies (2) are the only other sides who have won the ODI World Cup more than once so far. Meanwhile, Australia is the only team to grab the trophy five times in the history of World Cups.

1987 ICC ODI World Cup

In the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan, The Allan Border-led Australia were placed in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe. 

They registered five wins out of six in the group stages, only losing one game against the then-defending champions India.

Riding on David Boon’s 65 and Craig McDermott’s lethal 5-fer, Australia defeated Pakistan by 18 runs in the first semi-final and advanced to the final.

Boon continued his rich form and smacked 75 runs in the final against England as Australia posted 253/5. England failed in the run chase, falling short by seven runs, which gave Australia their maiden World Cup trophy.

1999 ICC ODI World Cup

Steve Waugh-led Australia entered the 1999 ODI World Cup as one of the favourites but struggled initially after losing two league games against New Zealand and Pakistan.

However, with three wins from five matches, Australia qualified for the Super Six stage and later advanced to the semi-finals.

South Africa and Australia played out a thrilling tie in the semi-final at Edgbaston as the game ended heartbreak for the Proteas with the Aussies progressing to the final due to finishing higher than the African nation in the Super Six standings.

Pakistan then took on the Aussies at Lord’s in the final but the contest was a lop-sided game as Australia lifted their second ODI World Cup title in comfortable fashion.

2003 ICC ODI World Cup

Under Ricky Ponting, Australia became the toughest side to beat on the globe during the early 2000s and the 2003 ODI World Cup confirmed the same.

With the likes of Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Mcgrath, Lee, and Gilchrist at the peak of their form, the Aussie contingent qualified for the final without losing a game all tournament.

The final was once again lop-sided as the Aussies riding on Ponting’s quick-fire 140 went on to post 359/2 against India.

Australia then bundled out India for 234 to lift their third ODI World Cup title and confirm themselves as one of the best cricketing teams to have ever graced the sport.

2007 ICC ODI World Cup

Skipper Ponting built the 2007 World Cup squad around the core group from the 2003 World Cup-winning side and qualified for the final against Sri Lanka by dominating the tournament from start to finish.

In the final against the Lankans, a whirlwind 149-run knock from Gilchrist led the way for the mighty Aussies as they posted 281/4 after 38 overs in a rain-curtailed encounter. Sri Lanka lost the game by 53 runs via the D/L method as Australia completed a hat-trick of World Cup triumphs.

2015 ICC ODI World Cup

Michael Clarke’s Australia entered the ICC event at home to grab their fifth title. They registered four wins from six group games to qualify for the quarter-finals where they beat Pakistan to book a semis berth.

In their semi-final game, the young Australian side overcame the MS Dhoni-led India by a margin of 95 runs and booked their spot for another World Cup final.

In the final against New Zealand, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson joined forces with James Faulkner to rip through the Kiwis’ batting lineup and shared eight wickets among them as the Kiwis could only make 183 before being bundled out.

A subpar total of 183 runs never going to trouble Australia and that’s exactly how things panned out as the Aussie chased down the total in 33.1 overs to bag their fifth ODI World Cup title. 

Photo credit: Alamy