ICC World Cup 2019: England's journey in the history of the tournament

World Cup 1987; lost in final to Australia:

This was the first World Cup which took place outside England but Mike Gatting’s side did well to reach the final, defeating India in the semi-final to avenge the 1983 loss. They won four out of their six matches in the group stage – defeating Windies by 2 wickets, Sri Lanka by 108 runs, Windies by 34 runs and Sri Lanka by 8 wickets to end as the second place holder in the group.

England lost to Pakistan by 18 runs and 7 wickets in both their group encounters. In the semi-final, Graham Gooch swept India out of the match by hitting a century as England won by 35 runs. But a suicidal reverse sweep attempt by captain Gatting saw England falling short of Australia’s score by just seven runs in the final.

World Cup 1992; lost in final to Pakistan:

England proved to be third time unlucky in the title clash when they lost to Imran Khan’s Pakistan by 22 runs in the final of the 1992 edition played in Australia and New Zealand. In the round-robin league, Graham Gooch’s England won five out of eight matches, lost two while one was washed out.

They beat India by 9 runs, Windies by 6 wickets, Australia by 8 wickets, Sri Lanka by 106 runs and South Africa by 3 wickets. They lost to New Zealand by 7 wickets and also to Zimbabwe by 9 runs. In the infamous semi-final, England beat South Africa by 20 runs, thanks to the ridiculous rain rule but lost to Pakistan by 22 runs in the title match.