Saturday, 17 January 2015
The colours of 1992 are back.!
As the ball sailed back over Imran Khan’s head and into the safe hands of Ramiz Raja, the world stood and applauded a resilient Pakistan team who had just claimed its maiden ICC Cricket World Cup crown.
The colours of 1992 are back! - Cricket News
David Boon in action at the ICC Cricket World Cup 1992
Despite narrowly scraping into the knockout stages of the 1992 tournament, the lime-green sub-continental team had pushed through to topple title favourites and co-hosts New Zealand, before beating England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And as the confetti fell, it brought to an end a memorable tournament for more reasons than one.
It was a tournament of firsts. It was the first time the ICC Cricket World Cup was held in the Southern Hemisphere with trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand welcoming the world into their backyard. It also marked South Africa’s first appearance in an ICC Cricket World Cup and was the first time white balls and black sight screens were used in the tournament’s history.
However, all these years on, perhaps the change 1992 will most remembered for was this: It was the first time the ICC Cricket World Cup ever saw coloured player clothing. And boy, did the teams take the idea and run with it!
From Pakistan’s green get-up to the canary yellow of Australia’s kit, the royal blue of Sri Lanka, the rosewood red of the West Indies, the baby blue of England, the forest green of South Africa, the oxford blue of India, the candy apple red of Zimbabwe and the powder grey of New Zealand, every team had its own unique colour representing it. A rainbow strip across the top linked all nations to the one common goal – to be the best cricketing nation in the world.
These were the playing kits that inspired generations of sports apparel, that sparked the retail sale of replica cricket gear worldwide and, over 20 years on, are still arguably the most iconic of all time.
Now, they’re back by two decades’ worth of popular demand. And you can own your very own by heading to shop.cricketworldcup.com.
In 2015, the nine nations from that year – along with five relative newcomers – will return to Australia and New Zealand in the hope of holding the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy aloft. Will you be there showing pride in the original colours of your nation?
