The World Cup matches officially began in the year 1975 in England, with eight teams; the 6 Test playing nations England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan along with Srilanka and East Africa. A huge success the first time round, the tournament has been taking place every four years since then, participated by major teams all over the world. However much earlier, an attempt at a World triangular tournament was made way back in 1912 between Australia, England and South Africa where all the matches were Test matches. The hosts England won.

The prize

The permanent prize for the game adopted from 1999 by the International Cricket Council is the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy designed and manufactured in London by Garrard, the Crown Jewellers. The 60-cm high trophy cup crafted in silver and gilt, features a golden globe held aloft by three silver columns. The globe is presented in the form of a stylised cricket ball while the columns, styled as stumps and bails, represent the three essential pillars of the game - batting, bowling and fielding. Valued at over £40,000 and weighing in excess of 11 kilos, the trophy has been designed in platonic dimensions for instant recognition from any angle it is viewed. The six previous Champions have been acknowledged on inscription plates on its base.

Apart from the trophy the winning team will receive fabulous cash prizes. 

A glimpse of the past World Cups..

World Cup 1975

Venue : Lords, England
Teams : England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Srilanka and East Africa
Finals  : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and Australia led by Ian Chappell on June 21, 1975. 
Winner : West Indies beat Australia for 17 runs 
Score :   291 for 8 off 60 Overs
Man of the match : Clive Lloyd scoring 102 runs off just 85 balls
Sponsors : Prudential Insurance Company, hence called the Prudential World Cup

World Cup 1979

Venue : Lords, England
Teams : Australia, Canada, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Srilanka and West Indies
Finals  : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and England led by Mike Brearley on June 23, 1979. 
Winner : West Indies beat England by 92 runs 
Score :    286 runs for 9 wickets
Man of the match : Vivian Richards scoring an unbeaten 138 runs
Sponsors : Prudential Insurance Company, hence called the Prudential World Cup

World Cup 1983

Venue : Lords, England
Teams : Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Srilanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe
Finals  : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and India led by Kapil Dev on June 25, 1983. 
Winner : India beat West Indies by 43 runs 
Score :  183 runs all out off 54.4 Overs
Man of the match : Indian Vice Captain Mohinder Amarnath for picking 3 wickets for 12 balls. Also took 26 runs
Sponsors : Prudential Insurance Company, hence called the Prudential World Cup

World Cup 1987

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India
Teams : Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Srilanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe
Finals  : Between Australia led by Allan Border and England led by Mike Gatting on November 8, 1987. 
Winner : Australia beat England by 7 runs
Score :   253 runs for 7 wickets off 50 Overs
Man of the match : David Boon scoring 75 runs 
Sponsors : Reliance company, hence called the Reliance World Cup. Jointly hosted by India and Pakistan.

World Cup 1992

Venue : Australia
Teams : Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Srilanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and South Africa
Finals  : Between Pakistan led by Imran Khan and England led by Graham Gooch on March 25, 1992. 
Winner : Pakistan beat England by 22 runs
Score :   249 runs for 6 wickets off 50 overs
Man of the match : Wasim Akram, who picked up three important wickets late in the England innings
Player of the tournament : New Zealand captain Martin Crowe for scoring 456 runs
Sponsors : Jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand called the Benson and Hedges World Cup.

World Cup 1996

Venue : Lahore, Pakistan
Teams : Australia, England, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Srilanka, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and Zimbabwe 
Finals  : Between Srilanka led by Arjuna Ranatunga and Australia led by Mark Taylor on March 17, 1996. 
Winner : Srilanka beat Australia by 7 wickets. For the first time in the history of the tournament, the team chasing won.
Score :   241 runs with 22 deliveries to spare off 50 overs
Man of the match : Aravinda da Silva for his unbeaten 107 runs
Player of the Tournament : Sanath Jayasurya for aggressive batman ship with runs at the amazing rate of 1.32 per ball faced.
Sponsors : Jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Srilanka called the Wills World cup

World Cup 1999

Venue : Lords, England
Teams : Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Scotland, Srilanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe
Finals  : Between Australia led by Steve Waugh and Pakistan led by Wasim Akram on June 20, 1999. 
Winner : Australia beat Pakistan by 8 wickets. 
Score :   133 runs in 29.5 overs to spare
Man of the match : Shane Warne for picking 4 wickets for 33 balls
Player of the tournament : South Africa's All rounder, Lance Klusener for scoring 281 runs at an average of 140.50, with his strike rate an amazing 1.22 runs per ball faced. He also captured 17 wickets, just three off the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, at an average of just over 20.
Sponsors : ICC World Cup hosted by England

World Cup 2003

Venue : Johannesburg, South Africa
Teams : Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Kenya, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Scotland, Srilanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe
Finals  : March 23
Winner : Australia beat India by 125 runs.
Sponsors : ICC World Cup jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimambwe and Kenya

World Cup 2007

Commencing : March-April 2007. 
Venue : Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
Teams : Australia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, England, The Netherlands, India, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Srilanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Finals  : April 18.
Winner :
Sponsors : ICC World Cup jointly hosted by, LG Electronics, Pepsi, Hutch & Hero Honda (Official Global Partners). Indian Oil, Cable & Wireless and Scotia Bank (Official Sponsors) .