ICC events are the flagship cricket events that test the best of the teams. Initially, the 50 over World Cups were the only ICC multi-nation tournament. In 1998, the ICC introduced the Champions trophy. It was called the mini World Cup. In 2007, ICC introduced the World Cup for the shortest format. The game’s longest format, Test cricket also finally saw a multi-nation event called the WTC. It came into being in 2019 and after a 2-year cycle, the top 2 teams battled in the finals to win the coveted prize. Here are the most ICC finals played by teams.
While the winners of the ICC tournaments have been well documented, we look at teams who have played the most number of ICC Finals:
#5 England (8)
England turned around their fortunes in the past decade after years of falling short of expectations. They ended up as runners-up in 1979, 1987, and 1992. England came second to West Indies in the Champions Trophy 2004 final. They finally won an ICC World Cup (T20) in 2010 defeating Australia. England again came second to India in the 2013 Champions Trophy final. They finally won the World Cup in their home conditions in 2019.
#4 Sri Lanka (8)
Sri Lankan team became a force to reckon with in international cricket under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga. They played their maiden ODI World Cup finals in 1996 and ended up winning it. Lankans enjoyed a glorious run in ICC events since then up to their major T20 World Cup win in 2014. Their 18 years glorious stretch in ICC events saw them being joint winners in the 2002 Champions Trophy. They ended up as runners-up in the 2007 ODI World Cup, 2009 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2012 T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka have played a total of 8 ICC finals.
#3 West Indies (8)
West Indies were by far the best team in the world when the 50-over World Cups came into existence. They made 3 straight finals (1975, 1979, and 1983) winning the first of the two and lost to India in the 3rd. Windies lost relevance in the late 80s and 90s. They entered the Champions Trophy finals 3 times (1998, 2004, and 2006). Windies won the tournament once in 2004. But they really came into their own in the T20I’s. They reached the finals twice and won the title both times (2012 and 2016). Windies are the only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice.
#2 Australia (10)
Australia have clearly been the most dominant team in the ICC tournaments. They won their maiden ODI World Cup in 1987. Australia went on to win 4 more ODI World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015. They finished twice as runners-up in 1975 and 1996. Australia twice won the Champions Trophy in 2006 and 2009. They missed out narrowly on winning the T20 World Cup in 2010 when they lost out to England. Interestingly, they are yet to win the coveted T20 World Cup.
#1 India (10)
India won their maiden ODI World Cup in 1983. It was for the first time that they had reached the finals. They went on to win the trophy after 28 years in 2011. India lost in the finals in 2003 agonisingly to Australia. They reached the Champions trophy finals four 4 times winning twice (2002 and 2013) and losing twice (2000 and 2017). India were the inaugural T20 World Cup champions (2007). They lost to Sri Lanka in 2014 (T20 World Cup) in the finals. India finished as runners-up in WTC finals (2021) losing out to New Zealand. They became the only country to play the finals of all the 4 major ICC trophies. Hence they occupy the first spot in this list.
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