11 bowlers who bowled the first ball of the 11 World Cups

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ICC Cricket World Cup brought a drastic change in the history of cricket from the year 1975. The World Cup became a cricket festival for the fans, taking place after every four years and lasting around 2-3 months. During these days, the audiences were always on the edge of their seats thanks to some of the most nail-biting matches of the mega-event of cricket.

The first Cricket World Cup in 1975 brought a drastic change in the game of cricket. It was played between eight nations, including Sri Lanka and ‘East Africa’. So far, 11 editions have been played from 1975 to 2015 and while 20 nations have competed at the World Cup, only five have won it.

The first match is the end to a wait of fours years for both fans and players. Eleven bowlers have so far etched their name in the history books by bowling the first ball of the mega-event. Here’s a list of each.

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#1 1975 World Cup - Madan Lal, India

Madan Lal was the first ever bowler to bowl in a Cricket World Cup

The inaugural edition of the World Cup was a unique one due to its format. It was a 60-over World Cup which was played for the first time in the year 1975 and was hosted by England. The 2 mighty nations, India and England met in the opening match of this World Cup.

Madan Lal from India etched his name in the history by bowling the first ball of World Cup to Dennis Amiss. Though India lost the match by 202 runs, Madan Lal made history by becoming the first bowler to bowl in a Cricket World Cup.

#2 1979 World Cup - Sir Andy Roberts, West Indies

Sir Andy Roberts of West Indies bowled the first ball of 1979 World Cup.

West Indies were the most dominant cricket team during the 19th century. Their fast bowlers had created a huge fear in the entire world with their extreme pace and bounce. No other bowling attack could compete with them. Sir Andy Roberts was an integral part of this bowling attack.

Sir Andy Roberts along with Malcolm Marshall were the 2 main pillars of the West Indian side during the 19th century. Even the greatest batsmen could not play their deliveries.

Andy Roberts was the bowler who bowled the first over of the 1979 World Cup against the Indian side when the two teams clashed in the World Cup’s opening match. Roberts took 2 wickets by just conceding 32 runs in the 9.1 overs he bowled in that innings.

#3 1983 World Cup- Sir Richard Hadlee, New Zealand

Richard Hadlee bowled the first over of the 1983 ICC World Cup to G Flower.

The 1983 Cricket World Cup scripted a major turnaround in the history of Indian cricket. The fate of Indian cricket completely changed after this as they became the world champions for the first time. After this, a new era for the Indian team started as they lifted the trophy after conquering the major cricketing nations in the World Cup.

However, the opening match of this cup was played between England and New Zealand on 9 June 1983. After winning the toss, England elected to bat first which gave the opportunity of bowling the first ball of the World Cup to Richard Hadlee.

Richard Hadlee led the New Zealand bowling line-up in the opening match as he bowled 4 maiden overs out of his 12 overs quota in that match by just conceding 26 runs.

#4 1987 World Cup- Vinothen John, Sri Lanka

Vinothen John took the total of 34 wickets in his ODI career.

The 4th edition of the World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council was played in the year 1987. India and Pakistan were selected as the official hosts for this World Cup. This was the first time that an Asian nation was given a chance to host it as the first 3 World Cups were hosted by England only.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan faced each other in the opening match of this World Cup on 8 October 1987 at Hyderabad. VB John was the bowler who bowled the first ball of this World Cup as Pakistan decided to bat first after winning the toss.

VB John bowled the first over to Rameez Raja and Ijaz Ahmed and ended his spell conceding a total of 31 runs from 10 overs with 0 wickets.

#5 1992 World Cup- CJ McDermott, Australia

CJ McDermott

The 1992 World Cup brought about a major change in the history of World Cups as compared to past. This was the first time that a World Cup was played in coloured clothes with the white ball in use under the floodlights. Before this, the situation was completely different and had become monotonous to watch and also didn’t attract viewers to a major extent.

Australia and New Zealand were given the chance to host this World Cup hence, the opening match of this event was played between them only. CJ McDermott was the bowler selected to bowl the first ball of this World Cup from the Australian side.

McDermott bowled his first over to JG Wright and RT Latham and won the match for his side by bowling a mind-boggling spell. He just gave 43 runs from 10 overs and picked 2 major wickets which changed the fate of his side in that match.

#6 1996 World Cup- DG Cork, England

Dominic Cork bowled the first ball of the 1996 World Cup.

The 1996 World Cup was the second one which was played with coloured clothes after the introduction of this concept in the year 1992. This edition was hosted by India and its first match was played at the Sardar Patel Stadium of Ahmedabad. New Zealand and England met in the opening match on 14 February 1996.

With England electing to field first, Dominic Cork etched his name in the history books by bowling the first ball of the 1996 World Cup. He bowled the first over to New Zealand’s batsmen- CM Spearman and NJ Astle.

He bowled a very consistent spell of 10 overs in that match by just giving 36 runs. He bowled with an economy of 3.6 runs per over along with picking 1 wicket which was the second best economy rate of that innings.

#7 1999 World Cup, Darren Gough, England

Darren Gough had a shining cricketing career as a fast bowler from England.

England again came back to hosting the World Cup in the year 1999 after hosting the World Cup for 3 continuing times from the years 1975 to 1983. This time they hosted the 7th edition of World Cup played in the year 1999 which was won by Australia, who defeated Pakistan in the finals. Australia lifted the trophy for the 2nd time after first winning it in 1987.

Sri Lanka and England were the 2 teams selected for the opening match of this World Cup which was played on 14 May 1999. Darren Gough was the bowler who bowled the first over of this World Cup to Sanath Jayasuriya and RS Mahanama. He didn’t have a good opening match as he just bowled 8.4 overs by conceding 50 runs with 1 wicket in his name.

#8 2003 World Cup- Shaun Pollock, South Africa

Shaun Pollock was known as the best opening bowler in the history of cricket because of his accuracy

Shaun Pollock was known as a revolutionist in the history of cricket. He brought the major change in the concept of fast bowling as he stunned the whole world with his spectacular swing bowling. He is known as the best opening bowler in the history of cricket.

Shaun was also known for his accurate bowling in the world of cricket. He was the bowler who bowled the first ball in the opening match of 2003 World Cup. 2 mighty nations known as West Indies and South Africa met in that match which went in the West Indies’ way as they won the match by 3 runs.

However, Pollock finished his 10 over quota by conceding 52 runs along with picking 2 wickets in his name.

#9 2007 World Cup- Umar Gul, Pakistan

Umar Gul had a fantastic career as a fast bowler playing for Pakistan.

The 9th edition of the mega-event of cricket took place in the year 2007. This was the first occasion that West Indies was hosting the Cricket World Cup. The 2 mighty teams, West Indies and Pakistan played the first match of this World Cup on 13th March 2007. Both the teams were a part of group D in the league stage, which also featured Ireland and Zimbabwe.

After electing to field first, the captain of the Pakistan side, Inzamam-ul-Haq gave the ball to Umar Gul for the first over. Umar Gul bowled the first ball of the 2007 ICC World Cup to Chris Gayle. Gul finished that innings by being the most economical bowler from the Pakistani side.

Unfortunately, Pakistan could not progress to the 2nd round of that World Cup as they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Ireland in the group stage.

#10 2011 World Cup- Shafiul Islam, Bangladesh

Shafiul Islam bowled the first ball of 2011 World Cup to Virender Sehwag.

The 2011 World Cup win was a dream come true moment for India as they regained their title back after 28 years. India won that cup with the combined effort of all the players in respect to their roles. Bangladesh and India were the 2 teams who met in the opening match of that World Cup.

Shafiul Islam from Bangladesh bowled the first ball of that World Cup to Indian opener Virender Sehwag who smashed it for a fantastic four. Shaiful didn’t complete his 10-overs spell in that match as he just bowled 7 overs by conceding 69 runs with 1 wicket in his name. It was also Virat Kohli’s debut World Cup match. The match was dominated by V Sehwag and V Kohli as both registered centuries in that match.

#11 2015 World Cup- Nuwan Kulasekara, Sri Lanka

Nuwan Kulasekara bowled the first ball of 2015 ICC World Cup.

The latest edition of World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council was conducted in the year 2015 which was jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Australia emerged as the Champions of that World Cup by defeating the co-host, New Zealand in the final match. This was for the 5th time that Australia had lifted the World Cup trophy.

But, New Zealand and Sri Lanka were the 2 teams who clashed in the opening match of 2015 World Cup. With NZ batting first, Sri Lankan captain gave the ball to Nuwan Kulasekara to open the bowling.

Hosts, New Zealand easily won the match by 98 runs as Sri Lanka lost all their wickets at 233 runs chasing a target of 322 runs. However, Nuwan etched his name in the history by bowling the first ball of the mega-event of cricket of 2015.