A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 Official logo | |
| Dates | 9 February 2003 – 23 March 2003 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | One Day International |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Host(s) |  South Africa Zimbabwe Kenya |
| Champions |  Australia (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  India |
| Participants | 14 |
| Matches | 54 |
| Attendance | 626,845 (11,608 per match) |
| Player of the series | Sachin Tendulkar |
| Most runs | Sachin Tendulkar (673) |
| Most wickets |  Chaminda Vaas (23) |
The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the first to be played in Africa.
The tournament featured 14 teams, the largest number in the World Cup's history at the time, playing a total of 54 matches. It followed the format introduced in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, with the teams divided into two groups, and the top three in each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage.
The tournament saw numerous upsets, with South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England all being eliminated at the group stage (South Africa missed by 1 run after misreading the Duckworth-Lewis method rules).[1] England forfeited their match with Zimbabwe, due to the political unrest in the country, which ultimately enabled that team to reach the Super Sixes. Similarly, New Zealand forfeited their match with Kenya, due to security reasons which enabled the latter to reach the semi-finals, the only non-Test playing nation to do so. Another shock wave came two days after the tournament had started, when Shane Warne, at the time one of the game's leading spinners, was sent home in disgrace after testing positive for a banned substance.[2]
The tournament was eventually won by Australia who won all 11 of their matches, beating India in the final played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.[3] This was Australia's third World Cup win, the only team to do so. Pakistani player Shoaib Akhtar also set a world record, becoming the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England.[4][5][6]
Teams and squads
Fourteen teams played in the 2003 World Cup, the largest number of teams to play in a Cricket World Cup at the time. The 10 Test playing nations automatically qualified for the tournament including the recently appointed member Bangladesh, while Kenya also qualified automatically due to their full One Day International status. The other three spots were filled by the top three teams in the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada, which served as a qualifying tournament. These teams were, respectively, the Netherlands who won the ICC Trophy, Canada and Namibia. This was Namibia's World Cup debut, while the Netherlands and Canada were both appearing in the tournament for the second time, having previously appeared in 1996 and 1979 respectively.
The format used in the 1999 World Cup was retained, with the 14 teams divided into two groups of seven, and the top three from each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage, carrying forward the results they had achieved against other qualifiers from their group. The top four teams in the Super Sixes qualified for the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches contested the final.
| Full Members | |
|---|---|
 Bangladesh
|
Australia
|
 England
|
India
|
 New Zealand
|
 Pakistan
|
| South Africa
|
Sri Lanka
|
 West Indies
|
Zimbabwe
|
| Associate Members | |
| Kenya
|
 Canada
|
 Namibia
|
 Netherlands
|
Host cities and venues
| Cities | Venues | Capacity | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg, South Africa | Wanderers Stadium | 34,000 | 5 |
| Durban, South Africa | Sahara Stadium Kingsmead | 25,000 | 5 |
| Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands Cricket Ground | 25,000 | 5 |
| Centurion, South Africa | Centurion Park | 23,000 | 5 |
| Bloemfontein, South Africa | Goodyear Park | 20,000 | 5 |
| Port Elizabeth, South Africa | St George's Oval | 19,000 | 5 |
| Potchefstroom, South Africa | North West Cricket Stadium | 18,000 | 3 |
| East London, South Africa | Buffalo Park | 16,000 | 3 |
| Kimberley, South Africa | De Beers Diamond Oval | 11,000 | 3 |
| Paarl, South Africa | Boland Park | 10,000 | 3 |
| Benoni, South Africa | Willowmoore Park | 20,000 | 2 |
| Pietermaritzburg, South Africa | Pietermaritzburg Oval | 12,000 | 2 |
| Harare, Zimbabwe | Harare Sports Club | 10,000 | 3 |
| Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | Queens Sports Club | 9,000 | 3 |
| Nairobi, Kenya | Nairobi Gymkhana Club | 8,000 | 2 |
|
Venues in Zimbabwe |
Venues in Kenya |
Pool stage
The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.[7]
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | T | NRR | Pts | PCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.05 | 24 | 12 |
| 2 | India
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.11 | 20 | 8 |
| 3 | Zimbabwe
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.50 | 14 | 3.5 |
| 4 | England
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.82 | 12 | – |
| 5 | Pakistan
|
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.23 | 10 | – |
| 6 | Netherlands
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | −1.45 | 4 | – |
| 7 | Namibia
|
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | −2.96 | 0 | – |
Source: Points Table
10 February 2003
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- Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
- Rain interrupted the innings of Namibia and eventually the match was called off with Zimbabwe winning by 86 runs via D/L method
- Points: Zimbabwe 4, Namibia 0
11 February 2003
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- Pakistan won the toss elected to field.
- Points: Australia 4, Pakistan 0
- Pakistan were fined 1 over for a slow over rate.
13 February 2003
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- No toss
- Points: Zimbabwe 4, England 0
- England forfeited the match due to safety concerns
16 February 2003
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- England won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: England 4, Netherlands 0
- Nick Statham (Netherlands) made his ODI debut
16 February 2003
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Pakistan 4, Namibia 0
19 February 2003
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: India 4, Zimbabwe 0.
19 February 2003
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- Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: England 4, Namibia 0
20 February 2003
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- Netherlands won the toss elected to field.
- Match reduced to 36 overs per side due to rain
- Points: Australia 4, Netherlands 0
22 February 2003
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