Cricket World Cup 2015 kicks off in five days in Australia; Sport360 takes a look at the magic behind the number ‘5’, with Ricky Ponting’s remarkable record and Steve Bucknor’s standalone umpire exploits.
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Australia legend Ricky Ponting may have played in one less World Cup than Sachin Tendulkar and Javed Miandad but his five tournaments yielded a record 46 appearances.
Ponting won three World Cups in his career out of the five in which he competed, with two coming as captain in 2003 and 2007, leading from the front as his willow smashed all balls that came its way.
The Tasmanian Tiger, who is also one of the best fielders to have played the game, smashed five centuries and six fifties in his career amassing 1743 runs in his world cup ride.
One of his best knocks came in the final of 2003 when his 140 not out against India guided Australia to a one-sided triumph.
Meanwhile, there is another legend who is associated with the No. ‘5’ but he never batted nor bowled, instead officiating the game and making a name for himself with his extraordinary decisions.
The man is umpire Steve Bucknor, whose credibility was so immense that he officiated five World Cup finals – the most by any umpire.
Overall he stood in 44 World Cup matches, second only to England’s David Shepherd, who stood in 46 matches.
44: Umpire Steve Bucknor officiated highest number of @cricketworldcup matches, 44 in total #CountdownToCWC15 pic.twitter.com/ORy92sBRvW
— MoneyGram Cricket (@MGCricket) January 1, 2015
SPORT 360’s CRICKET WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
– 5 days to go:Ricky Ponting rocks the biggest stage
– 6 days to go: Tendulkar and Miandad’s immortal sextuplet
– 7 days to go: Taylor sends Shoaib Akhtar off in style
– 8 days to go: Zimbabwe’s record eight-wicket stand
– 9 days to go: Crazy nines from World Cup minnows
– 10 days to go: Chris Old’s record still new
– 11 days to go: Viv Richards wins it for West Indies
– 12 days to go: The support from outside the rope
– 13 days to go: O’Brien storm blows England away
– 14 days to go: Arvinda de Silva in world of his own
– 15 days to go: Australia bamboozle the Namibians
– 16 days to go: New format catches out India, Pakistan
– 17 days to go: Madan Lal’s 17 wickets help India to triumph
– 18 days to go: Dennis delight at first World Cup century
– 19 days to go: Economical Imran Khan of Pakistan
– 20 days to go: Bichel cleans up against England
– 21 days to go: Sachin Tendulkar the runs machine
– 22 days to go: The unwanted record of Nathan Astle
– 23 days to go: Nehra rattles England in South Africa
– 24 days to go: The great Kapil Dev’s strike rate for India
– 25 days to go: Australia’s Invincibles dominate for eight
– 26 days to go: Glenn McGrath’s wicket-taking exploits
– 27 days to go: Zaheer Khan’s striking ability
– 28 days to go: Herschelle Gibbs just loves sixes
– 29 days to go: Australia’s 29-ball haul destroys India
