The 12th edition of ODI Cricket World Cup is around the corner. It starts on 30th May in England and Wales. All participating countries and many other countries are likely to come out with stamps to promote and commemorate the game and this event. Philately and cricket World Cups have had a unique relationship.
In this article, we shall feature on stamps and philatelic material issued to commemorate the 2015 cricket World Cup. The 2015 cricket World Cup was played in Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 Mar 2015. Fourteen teams participated in the 11th World Cup.
New Zealand issued a unique miniature sheet on 4th February 2015. This miniature sheet contained 14 stamps on the Fourteen participating teams. Each country was represented by a Cricket ball and the Flag of the Country. Each stamp had a face value of 80 cents. The stamps were imperforate and peel off variety. In the centre, a label with ICC World Cup logo was printed.
India specific sheet - This sheet was also sold by New Zealand Post through India Post Philatelic Bureaus. The India specific sheet had a different label in the centre of the sheet. It showed the Trophy established in 1975 and below that a caption which reads "ICC Cricket World Cup Champions 1983 & 2011 India".
Bangladesh issued a commemorative postage stamp of 10 taka denomination on 15 Mar 2015 to commemorate the 2015 Cricket World Cup. It features the Trophy, Bangladesh players on the Field and a Stadium. The total print run for this was 350,000 stamps only.
The first day cover Issued by Bangladesh features the Flags of all the 14 participating countries and the World Cup Trophy.
Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka played his last match during the 2015 World Cup. It was the quarter-final match against Australia. Sri Lanka lost the match and failed to qualify for the semi-finals. A Special Commemorative cover was issued by Sri Lanka post on Mahela Jayawardene on 13 September 2014. He is now the coach of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2019.
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