The World Cup is the signature event of the cricketing circus.It comes once in every 4 years. It is time now to cash in on the World Cup fever.
The below piece looks at the World Cup's leading performers and the superstars with special emphasis on their stats too.

1.Clive Lloyd:
The Westindies skipper for the first 3 editions in 1975,79 and 83...His impact on the inaugural editon was spectacular. His stroke filled 100 in the final was a smashing effort which shut out the Aussies.The only skipper till now to successfuly hold 2 World Cups apart from reaching another final.



2.Vivian Richards:
The original and the true Master Blaster. His unbeaten 138 of 157 balls against a hapless England in the 1979 World Cup final was worth his stature. English bowlers were just destroyed by Viv. In the 1987 WC in the subcontinent, Sir Viv's 181 against Srilanka was a tournament record that stood for 9 years



3.Kapil Dev:
Indian cricket's first superstar was truely inspirational in the 1983 World Cup. First he demolished Zimbabwe with his unbeaten 175 of 138 balls with 16 4s and 6 6s and then he was instrumental in the final against the mighty Windies. His spectacular catch to dismiss Richards and his cheerful face whilst holding the trophy are enduring images of the 1983 WC



4.Wasim Akram:
The Sultan of swing and the finest left arm bowler the world has seen was the star of the 1992 triumph for Pakistan Downunder.He demolished England in the final at MCG with a Man of the Match performance. He continued to impress for his team in the subsequent editions too until his last effort in 2003. He ended his WC career as the highest wicket taker with 55 wickets



5.Imran Khan:
The finest allrounder from Pakistan. He was world reknowned for his pace bowling and his inspirational captaincy. He was a disciplined batsman too as was evident from his 72 batting in the top order in the final of the 92 WC against England.



6.Javed Miandad:
The ultimate example for longevity. Though he cannot be slotted in the section of superstars and entertainers, he had no parallels when it came to fire fighting and never say die attitude. He played upto the 96 WC.

7.Martin Crowe:
The impact which the NZ skipper had on the 92 WC at home was great. As captain and as a top order batsman, he truly led the way for NZ to reach the semifinals.He scored 456 runs at an average of 114 in that edition. His scores were 100*,74*,81*73*,91*. Truly path breaking



8.Sanath Jayasuriya:
He burst onto the scene in the 96 WC in the subcontinent. His pinch hitting at the top of the order along with Kaluwitharana just took the world by surprise. They just re-invented the way the ODI game is being played now.The first 15 overs were played much the same way as the last 10 overs. His returns in the 96 WC included a 79 of 76 balls against India and an 82 of a mere 44 balls against England.



9.Aravinda Desilva:
He was the soul of the Lankan team. He inspired the team to its maiden triumph in the WC in 96 with his allround efforts.The impact he had on his team had to be seen to be believed. He made 145 of 115 balls against Kenya,a glorious 66 against India in the semifinals and his legendary unbeaten 107 of 124 balls with 13 4s against the Aussies in the final
in addition to his 3 wkts in the first session. Aravinda was a true WC legend



10.Sachin Tendulkar:
The Run Machine, Phenomenon, Little Master, Bombay Bomber etc etc has been the WC's most successful batsman by a mile. He has top scored in 2 editions in 1996 and 2003. He has ended up on the loosing side always in the WC. He would like to set that record straight in the Caribbean. His record stays at 1732 WC runs at an avarage of 59.72
with 4 100s and 12 50s. His top score is 152 made against Namibia in 2003. Awesome numbers these are



11.Sourav Ganguly:
Indian Cricket's comeback man, Dada and the Maharaj of Bengal has been a glorious success in the WC. He holds the record for the highest WC score by an Indian when he made 183 against Srilanka at Taunton in 1999. He led the way gloriously in the 2003 WC as captain with 3 100s as part of a total of 465 runs. He would like to sign off in style in his last WC this year



12.Lance Klusener:
The most aggressive batsman the WC has ever seen. His heroics in the 99 WC in England ll never be forgotten.Though he ended up in the loosing side in that semifinal heartbreaking tie against the Aussies, his brave and hard hitting ll never cease to amaze the fans. His record in that editon was 281 runs made at an average of 140.5. He was dismissed only twice in the 99 WC. His strike rate hovered around the 150 mark most of the time.



13.Glenn Mcgrath:
The second highest WC wicket taker with 45 wickets. The 'Pigeon' has impressed with his nagging line,length and accuracy. He has nailed the biggies Sachin and Lara in his WC battles. This WC ll see the last of Mcgrath who ll be retiring at the end of the 2007 WC. He ll be expecting a third successive WC crown for his Aussie team



14.Shane Warne:
The blonde Aussie made his mark in the 96 semifinal victory over the Windies where he took a 4 wicket haul. His 99 WC was truly memorable. His 4 wkt hauls in the semifinal against South Africa and in the final against Pakistan won him the Man of the Match awards. 2003 WC was a big embarassment as he was banned for taking a forbidden diuretic on the eve of the Aussie's first match against Pakistan. He subsequently retired from the ODI game too



The subsequent WCs will see many more superstars hopefully and the fans ll have their fill of action packed matches in the upcoming WC in the Caribbean.



THE COUNTDOWN STARTS