Statistical Comparison of the 2015 World Cup with the previous editions

Australia won the World Cup for the 5^th time in their history

A lot of runs were scored; many sixes were hit and we witnessed a lot of wickets as well in the ICC World Cup 2015 hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, the hosts met each other in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to decide who would be crowned the champion of the World. In the end, it was the home team Australia that got to the World Cup trophy beating the Kiwis comfortably by seven wickets.

38 centuries, seven 150s, two double centuries, 3 400+ totals, 463 sixes and 2170 fours – a short summary of World Cup 2015 statistics. So much of talk about it being a batsman’s World Cup, but how about the bowlers?

Let’s compare the statistics and aggregates of this World Cup with the previous editions and see if it was really a batsman-dominant one like everyone says.

Average Batting and Bowling Strike Rates in each World Cup

World Cup	Batting Strike Rate	Bowling Strike Rate
1975	59.84	48.60
1979	54.52	47.50
1983	61.99	47.80
1987	74.48	48.00
1992	66.47	45.80
1996	72.15	47.50
1999	64.85	41.40
2003	72.63	37.30
2007	75.87	39.20
2011	78.39	38.00
2015	88.97	36.90

If 88.97 runs were scored for every 100 balls, there was a wicket every 36.90 number of deliveries. The batting strike rate is higher than all World Cups. At the same time, the bowling strike rate is the best among all World Cups. Hence, both the batsmen and the bowlers had their best time in this World Cup.

The highest wicket taker and the player of the tournament Mitchell Starc took 22 wickets at a strike rate of 17.4 which is the best by any bowler who took more than 15 wickets in a World Cup edition. Josh Davey picking up 15 wickets had a strike rate of 20.0 and Jerome Taylor’s 17 wickets were at 20.2. In the top seven bowling strike rates among bowlers with 15 or more wickets in a World Cup edition, three are from this World Cup.

Run-Rate in each World Cup

World Cup	Run-Rate
1975	3.91
1979	3.54
1983	4.08
1987	4.87
1992	4.42
1996	4.67
1999	4.47
2003	4.76
2007	4.95
2011	5.03
2015	5.65

The average run rate throughout this tournament was 5.65 which is comfortably higher than the previous best a World Cup had – 5.03 in 2011. 23531 runs were scored in 4163.2 overs in this edition.

Runs per wicket in each World Cup

World Cup	Runs per Wicket
1975	26.62
1979	25.58
1983	29.52
1987	32.52
1992	29.39
1996	32.12
1999	28.41
2003	27.84
2007	29.42
2011	29.18
2015	32.91

This year’s edition stands out in this parameter as well. 32.91 runs per wicket in this tournament just overcame the 1987 World Cup which had 32.52 runs scored per wicket. This is the first World Cup since the 1996 edition where there were more than 30 runs per wicket.

Number of centuries in each World Cup

World Cup	50s	75s	100s	125s	150s	200s
1975	41	12	6	3	1	-
1979	29	8	2	1	-	-
1983	65	29	8	2	1	-
1987	80	29	11	3	1	-
1992	92	33	8	-	-	-
1996	85	42	16	8	2	-
1999	86	30	11	4	1	-
2003	110	40	21	8	2	-
2007	131	52	20	5	2	-
2011	127	53	24	6	2	-
2015	149	68	38	16	7	2

This World Cup had the most 50+ scores, 75+ scores, 100+ scores, 125+ scores and 175+ scores. For the first time there was a double century in World Cup history. And there were two.

Until the previous World Cup, none of the editions had more than two 150+ scores but there were seven 150+ scores in this edition.

Centuries and half-centuries per match in each World Cup

World Cup	Matches	50+ score per match	100+ score per match
1975	15	2.73	0.40
1979	14	2.07	0.14
1983	27	2.41	0.30
1987	27	2.96	0.41
1992	39	2.36	0.21
1996	36	2.36	0.44
1999	42	2.05	0.26
2003	52	2.12	0.40
2007	51	2.57	0.39
2011	49	2.59	0.49
2015	48	3.10	0.79

More than three 50+ scores were recorded every match on an average in this World Cup which is the highest in any edition. Almost one century was recorded per match this time. In the previous editions, a century was scored after atleast two matches.

Sixes and Fours in each World Cup

World Cup	Matches	Fours	Fours/Match	Sixes	Sixes/Match
1975	15	575	38.33	28	1.87
1979	14	369	26.36	28	2.00
1983	27	914	33.85	77	2.85
1987	27	883	32.70	126	4.67
1992	39	1099	28.18	93	2.38
1996	36	1264	35.11	148	4.11
1999	42	1377	32.79	153	3.64
2003	52	1793	34.48	266	5.12
2007	51	1808	35.45	373	7.31
2011	49	1902	38.82	258	5.27
2015	48	2170	45.21	463	9.65

The fours and sixes have increased at a very high rate. An average of more than 45 fours were hit every match and almost ten sixes per match. It is the highest for any World Cup again.

Number of four and five wicket hauls in each World Cup

World Cup	Matches	4 wickets	Matches per 4 wkt	5+wickets	Matches per 5+ wkt
1975	15	6	2.50	3	5.00
1979	14	5	2.80	2	7.00
1983	27	6	4.50	8	3.38
1987	27	8	3.38	1	27.00
1992	39	8	4.88	0	-
1996	36	5	7.20	3	12.00
1999	42	15	2.80	6	7.00
2003	52	23	2.26	12	4.33
2007	51	14	3.64	3	17.00
2011	49	25	1.96	9	5.44
2015	48	21	2.29	7	6.86

There was a good number of four and five wicket hauls by bowlers but not at a good rate as in the previous World Cups. There were 25 occasions of a bowler picking four wickets in the last World Cup compared to 21 this time. Also there were nine five-wicket hauls and this time only seven. In the 1983 edition, there were eight 5-wkt hauls in 27 matches.

Number of 300+ totals in each World Cup

World Cup	Matches	300+ totals	Matches per 300+ total
1975	15	4	3.75
1979	14	-	-
1983	27	4	6.75
1987	27	1	27.00
1992	39	2	19.50
1996	36	5	7.20
1999	42	3	14.00
2003	52	9	5.78
2007	51	16	3.19
2011	49	17	2.88
2015	48	28	1.71