The maximum number of teams to participate in a single Cricket World Cup edition is 16, reached at the 2007 tournament in the West Indies. The field included every nation then holding One Day International status.
The 2007 competition featured four groups of four teams. The top two from each group advanced to a Super Eight stage, where they competed for four semi-final places. This produced a large tournament field but, because of the format, the event still had 51 matches.
Six of the 16 teams were associate nations, including Ireland, Bermuda, Canada, the Netherlands and Scotland, alongside Kenya. Ireland made the Super Eights after defeating Pakistan, while Bangladesh also advanced and India and Pakistan were eliminated in the opening stage.
Australia won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. The field was later reduced to 14 teams for the 2011 World Cup, making 16 the record participation figure for the men’s 50-over competition.