In the final match held in Ahmedabad, Australia emerged victorious in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup. Despite a slow start, they bounced back and claimed victory in their next nine matches, ultimately securing their sixth World Cup title.
Meanwhile, the Indian team made the mistake of playing their worst cricket in the final match, after remaining unbeaten and winning all their previous ten matches in the tournament. It is common to compare the recently concluded World Cup to past ones once the initial excitement settles down.
While the formats have been ever-changing based on the number of participating teams, the last two World Cups have seen ten teams play each other in a single group during the round-robin stage.
Although comparisons between two separate editions four years apart are subjective, there were some parallels and variations between 2019 and 2023.
However, comparing the 2019 and 2023 World Cups may assist determine whether competition is more fascinating.
1. Similar top four, Indian domination & New Zealand’s rollercoaster defined the 2019 and 2023 league stages
In the semi-finals of the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, the same three teams qualified: India, Australia, and New Zealand. The fourth team differed each time, though. In 2019, England clinched that spot. But in 2023, it was South Africa’s turn.
Team India dominated both competitions’ league stages, winning seven of their eight completed games in 2019 and going one better by topping the table in 2023.
New Zealand’s runs in 2019 and 2023 were quite similar, with the team beginning out strongly and then falling down. Nonetheless, in both situations, they finished fourth and advanced to the semi-finals.
The Kiwis almost missed out on a semifinal position to Pakistan, who finished seventh in both games.
2. Closer games in 2019 vs Closer points table in 2023
It is a preference decision between having more tight games throughout the tournament and having more teams competing for semi-final qualifying. If the former is correct, the 2019 World Cup outperforms the previous edition.
However, if having more teams compete adds to the excitement, the recently finished event should be elevated.
The absence of close games and tight endings was one of the accusations leveled during the 2023 World Cup. For the first time in a World Cup, no game lasted 100 overs, according to a startling statistic.
Over half of the league stage games were decided by 100+ run margins or by four-plus wickets with 60+ balls to spare. There were just a few tight encounters, like as South Africa-Pakistan in Chennai and Australia-New Zealand in Dharamshala.
In contrast, the 2019 World Cup had fewer than 30% of matches that were decided with such significant differences in scores.
In this year’s tournament, all ten teams won at least two games, making the competition much closer. There were more surprises, as Afghanistan and the Netherlands won a total of six games together.
Until Glenn Maxwell’s heroics against them, the Afghans were in contention for a semi-final position in a three-way fight with New Zealand and Pakistan. The race for a top-four finish was alive until the penultimate weekend of the league stage, with only two victories separating the fifth and bottom-placed clubs.
However, Afghanistan’s loss of all nine games in 2019, combined with the fifth and sixth-place teams (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) being separated by four points, demonstrated the non-competitive character of the bottom half of the league.
The reigning champions England’s inexplicable troubles during the season added to the uncertainty of the 2023 World Cup.
3. More exciting semi-finals in 2023 vs the classic final of 2019
The just finished World Cup in India delivered two diametrically opposed but equally thrilling semi-final games. Team India scored 397 against New Zealand in a high-scoring match, but the Black Caps rallied with an amazing run chase before succumbing to a 70-run loss.
The next day, an old-fashioned low-scoring thriller ensued, with Australia winning by three wickets in a 213-run chase against South Africa. The grand finale, however, was a letdown as Australia easily chased India’s 240 despite being in early difficulty at 47/3 in just 43 overs.
In 2019, the opposite occurred, with New Zealand defeating India by 18 runs in an entertaining first semi-final. Nonetheless, the battle for the second finalist slot between Ashes rivals England and Australia was a one-sided affair. England defeated Australia’s 223-run target with eight wickets and over 18 overs to spare.
The 2019 World Cup, on the other hand, hosted the most evenly-matched and exciting World Cup final in history. While New Zealand scored one run more than India’s 240 this time, England battled their way to a tie off the penultimate ball of their innings.
The last-ball finish in regulation set up a Super Over, which likewise resulted in a tie off the final delivery, with England winning on the boundary count rule.
Although spectator and broadcast viewership increased significantly this year compared to the 2019 World Cup, it is difficult to choose between the two competitions. Apart from the obvious parallels, both had parts that were more intriguing than the other, making it hard to select between the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.
