How the host nation fared in each ODI World Cup

#5 England, 1999

The World Cup returned to England after a gap of 16 years and although other hosts included Netherlands, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, the majority of games were played in England.

However, the hosts were in a precarious position as a cricket team at the time and indeed, a pale shadow of the team that had reached three World Cup finals and bowed out at the semi-final stage twice.

Led by Alex Stewart, England started off well and in fact, beat defending champions Sri Lanka in their opening game. However, in spite of losing the same number of games as Zimbabwe and India, they finished 4th due to an inferior net run rate. It was an unfortunate exit for the home team and led to Alex Stewart's sacking.