Prize Money to Avg Score: How Men's Cricket World Cup Evolved From 1975 to 2023

See how the data and statistics of the men's cricket World Cup changed between the first World Cup in 1975 to 2023.

We take a look at some key parameters and see how the tournament has evolved from its first edition in 1975.

(Image: The Quint)

As the 13th edition of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup kicks off in India, we take a look at some key parameters and see how the tournament has evolved from its first edition in 1975.

Has the average runs scored per innings increased? Are batsmen scoring more runs and bowlers taking less wickets? How many times has the prize money increased between 1975 to 2023? Let's find out.

Average runs scored per innings

Average runs scored per innings have increased 18.6% from 205 in the 1975 World Cup in 1975 to 252 in the 2019 World Cup.

From 1975 to 1983, ODI World Cup matches had 60 overs per innings. This reduced to 50 overs per innings from 1987 onwards.

Two main factors affecting the average innings score include are the differing batting conditions of the host nations and the number of participants.

For instance, the 2003 World Cup held in South Africa, which saw participation of 14 nations, saw a lower average. The participants included weaker teams. Whereas the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales had a higher average as only top 10 teams played the tournament.

Average runs scored per over

Average runs scored per over saw a 64% increase from 3.91 in the 1975 World Cup to 5.59 in the 2019 World Cup.

This means that batsmen are now scoring more than before. But does that mean bowlers have not taking enough wickets?

Average wickets fallen per match

The World Cups of 1992 and 1996 were the worst for the bowlers with just 13.17 and 13.16 average wickets fallen per match respectively in each edition. The 1983 World Cup was the best with an average of 15.11.

Average runs per wicket

At 25.58, average runs per wicket was the lowest in 1979 World Cup. It rose to 33.3 in the 2019 World Cup.

Prize money for the winning team

The prize money for the winning team rose 45 times in 45 years from 1975 to 2019.

The 2023 edition will be the first World Cup when the prize money hasn't seen any rise from the previous World Cup.