ICC World Cup Cricket History,

The Cricket World Cup was first held in 1975 in England, with eight teams participating: Australia, England, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, and New Zealand (the six Test nations at the time), with Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa. The first three tournaments were held in England. N. K. P. Salve, President of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recounts the awarding of hosting rights for the 1987 World Cup in his book The Story of the Reliance Cup. According to Salve, he was given two tickets for the 1983 World Cup final at Lord's. When India unexpectedly qualified for the final, he requested two additional tickets from the MCC for friends who had just arrived from India. The MCC refused his request. Following this rebuff, Salve campaigned heavily amongst associate members of the International Cricket Council to form a bloc of voters, who ultimately awarded the hosting of the 1987 World Cup jointly to India and Pakistan. Since 1987, the hosting of the World Cup been shared by the major cricket playing regions of the world - England, the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, Southern Africa and the West Indies. The tournaments have been based mainly in the local superpowers, though matches are held in all regional cricketing nations. The World Cup is held in high esteem amongst fans, players, and administrators, unlike many of the myriad of one-day tournaments held around the world each year. It has been the scene of some of the major developments in the way one- day cricket is played.

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