After finishing the 1996 ODI World Cup, as runners-up, Australia made it count in the 1999 ODI World Cup. They became only the second team after the West Indies to win the ODI World Cup twice. The 1999 edition was known as the “ICC Cricket World Cup ’99,” which was the seventh edition of the biggest cricket tournament.
Just like in the previous edition, this time as well, there were a total of 12 teams competing for the most prestigious trophy in the game. Bangladesh and Scotland were making their debuts in the tournament. England and Wales were the official hosts for the tournament. It was Steve Waugh, who led Australia to their second ODI World Cup title.
Group A: South Africa, India, England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya
Group B: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland
Australia’s journey in 1999 ODI World Cup
Australia, who were in Group B, played their first game against Scotland on March 16 at New Road in Worcester. They registered a comprehensive six-wicket win. Mark Waugh was the MOTM for his 67 runs. In the second game, Australia lost to New Zealand by five wickets. It didn’t go well in the next game either, as they lost their third game to Pakistan by 10 runs.
That put Australia in a tricky situation, with all games being must-wins for them. But the Men in Yellow didn’t look back from there. They beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets and the West Indies by 6 wickets in their next two games to move on to the Super Six stage. In their first game of Super 6, Australia faced India on June 4 at the Kennington Oval, London.
In that game, Australia made 282/6 in their first inning. Then, they restricted India to 205 all out to win the game by 77 runs. Glenn McGrath was awarded “Man of the Match” for his 3/34. In their next game, they locked horns with Zimbabwe at Lord’s, which proved to be another dominating game for the Australian team. With a century from Mark Waugh (104), Australia made 303/4 in 50 overs.
🗓️ 20 June 1999.
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 20, 2018
Australia are crowned world champions at the @HomeOfCricket! pic.twitter.com/tN9O6fsUNQ
That proved to be more than enough for Zimbabwe, as they only scored 259/6 in reply, losing the game by 44 runs. Their third game of the Super Six against South Africa was at Headingley, Leeds. Batting first, South Africa made 271/7 with a century from Herschelle Gibbs (101). Australia struggled at the start, but a century from skipper Steve Waugh (120*) helped them reach 272/5 in 49.4 overs. Australia won by five wickets.
Then, Australia and South Africa met again in the semi-final at the Edgbaston, Birmingham. That game was another bizarre one that ended in a tie, and Australia became the winner due to some weird cricket rules. Batting first, Australia made 213 and dismissed South Africa for the same score. But because Australia won their all games in Super six, they won that game.
As a result, Australia advanced to the final, where they met Pakistan. The final took place at Lord’s on June 20. However, the game ended up being one-sided, with Australia dominating. Batting first, Pakistan were dismissed for 132 runs in 39 overs, with Shane Warne taking four wickets. In reply, Australia made 133/2 in just 20.1 overs to win their second ODI World Cup.
Australia Squad for the 1999 ODI World Cup
Steve Waugh (c), Michael Bevan, Damien Fleming, Paul Reiffel, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Shane Lee, Brendon Julian, Tom Moody, Darren Lehmann, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Adam Dale, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn
Australia Roadmap to 1999 World Cup Final
| Match | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
| Group | Scotland | Worcester | May 16, Sun | Won by 6 wkts |
| Group | New Zealand | Cardiff | May 20, Thu | Lost by 5 wkts |
| Group | Pakistan | Leeds | May 23, Sun | Lost by 10 runs |
| Group | Bangladesh | Chester-Le-Street | May 27, Thu | Won by 7 wkts |
| Group | West Indies | Manchester | May 30, Sun | Won by 6 wkts |
| Super Six | India | London | Jun 04, Fri | Won by 77 runs |
| Super Six | Zimbabwe | Lord’s | Jun 09, Wed | Won by 44 runs |
| Super Six | South Africa | Leeds | Jun 13, Sun | Won by 5 wkts |
| Semi-final | South Africa | Birmingham | Jun 17, Thu | Match Tied |
| Final | Pakistan | Lord’s | Jun 20, Sun | Won by 8 wkts |
AUS Most Runs in 1999 World Cup
| Batter | Mts | Runs | HS | Avg | 50/100 |
| Steve Waugh | 10 | 398 | 120* | 79.60 | 2/1 |
| Mark Waugh | 10 | 375 | 104 | 41.66 | 2/1 |
| Ricky Ponting | 10 | 354 | 69 | 39.33 | 1/0 |
| Michael Bevan | 10 | 264 | 65 | 52.80 | 2/0 |
| Adam Gilchrist | 10 | 224 | 63 | 22.40 | 2/0 |
AUS Most Wickets in 1999 World Cup
| Bowler | Mts | Wkts | BBI | Econ | 4/5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Warne | 10 | 20 | 4/29 | 3.82 | 2/0 |
| Glenn McGrath | 10 | 18 | 5/14 | 3.83 | 0/1 |
| Damien Fleming | 10 | 14 | 3/57 | 4.11 | 0/0 |
| Tom Moody | 7 | 7 | 3/25 | 4.31 | 0/0 |
| Paul Reiffel | 6 | 7 | 3/55 | 4.17 | 0/0 |