Down Memory Lane: The 1975 Cricket World Cup

The first cricket World Cup, officially called the Prudential Cup, was held in 1975, four years after the birth of the one-day internation format of the game. England was chosen to be the venue for the tournament. Eight teams were in the fray, the six test playing nations – England, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand, and two associate members, Sri Lanka and East Africa. The teams were divided into two groups; group A comprising England, India, New Zealand and East Africa while the remaining four teams formed group B. The matches were played on a sixty over basis with the top two teams from each group moving into the semi-finals. The tournament kicked off on the 7^th of June 1975 with the hosts taking on India. It ended on the wonderful evening of the 21^st of June with Clive Lloyd’s West Indies lifting the title to become the first ever World Champions.

Glenn Turner in action during his innings of 171* against East Africa

England faced India in the opening encounter of group A at Lord’s. As expected, the hosts crushed India by 202 runs courtesy a century from their opener Dennis Amiss (137), the first century in a World Cup. It was in this match that Sunil Gavaskar batted the entire sixty overs and faced as many as 174 balls to score an unbeaten 36. Elsewhere in another group A encounter, New Zealand thrashed East Africa by 188 runs with skipper Glenn Turner leading the way with an unbeaten 171. In the second round of matches of group A, England rode on Keith Fletcher’s 131 to go past New Zealand whereas India registered the first ever 10-wicket victory in ODIs over East Africa. England’s unbeaten run continued as they defeated East Africa too by a massive 196 runs. The final group A encounter between India and New Zealand was a thrilling affair. Both teams had previously won one and lost one match each and the winner of this match would be going through to the semis. India’s decision to bat first after winning the toss didn’t seem to be a great one as none of the top order batsmen could hang around for a big knock. A crucial 70 from Syed Abid Ali helped the Indians to 230 at the end of their 60 overs. A patient unbeaten century from Kiwi skipper Glenn Turner (114*) enabled his team to pip India to the post with just 7 balls to spare. Thus, hosts England made it to the semi-finals as the group toppers with three convincing victories and they were joined by the New Zealanders who had done just about enough to be there.

Alvin Kalicharan drives during his 78 against Australia

The first group B encounter was between Australia and Pakistan at Headingley. The Aussies, helped by useful cameos from the top order and an unbeaten 80 from Ross Edwards, beat Pakistan by 73 runs. Dennis Lillee was the star with the ball as he became the first man to pick up a five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. Meanwhile, a wonderful show by the Caribbean fast bowlers took West Indies past Sri Lanka with 9 wickets in hand. The Aussies won their second match too, riding on Alan Turner’s century to beat the Lankans. The match between West Indies and Pakistan was by far the most thrilling encounter of the tournament. Half-centuries from Majid Khan (60), Mushtaq Mohammad (55) and Wasim Raja (58) took Pakistan to 266 in their allocated 60 overs. In reply, the West Indies slumped to 203 for 9 courtsey a wonderful spell from pacer Sarfaraz Nawaz. But the last pair, Deryck Murray (61*) and Andy Roberts (24*), defied all odds and stitched together an unbeaten 64-run stand to see West Indies past the finishing line. Thus, Australia and West Indies had both already booked their semi-final berths by the end of the second round of matches. The Windies kept up their winning run, going past Australia with ease in the final group stage match courtsey another impressive bowling performance. Pakistan ended an otherwise disappointing campaign with a 192 run victory over their Asian counterparts, the Lankans.

Gary Gilmour traps Dennis Amiss leg before wicket during his amazing spell in the semi-final against England

The first semi-final brought two age-old rivals, Australia and England, up against each other. The outcome of the match was a massive disappointment for the home crowd. Gary Gilmour, playing his first match of the tournament, ripped through the English top order to bowl them out for just 94. Gilmour’s match figures of 6 for 14 in 12 overs remained the best figures in an ODI for the next 12 years. Australia too didn’t have a good start and in no time, they had six men back in the pavilion with just 39 runs on the board. But Doug Walters (20*) and Gary Gilmour (28*) battled hard and they put together an unbeaten 55-run stand to see Australia through to the final. The second semi-final between New Zealand and West Indies was pretty much a one-sided affair. The Caribbean fast bowlers prove to be too hot to handle and the Kiwis were shot out for 158, despite being 98 for 1 at one stage after a 90-run second wicket stand between Glenn Turner (36) and Geoff Howarth (51). A 125-run second wicket stand between Gordon Greenidge (55) and Alvin Kalicharan (72) took the Windies to the doorstep of victory and though they lost a few quick wickets, there wasn’t much drama and West Indies marched into the finals with a five wicket victory.

Clive Lloyd in action during his match-winning 102* in the 1975 World Cup final

Clive Lloyd’s West Indies faced Ian Chappel’s Australia in the final of the inaugural World Cup at Lords’. Chappel won the toss and he decided to field first in what turned out to be a perfect finale to the tournament. West Indies lost their top three fairly quickly, including Roy Fredricks who had stepped onto the stumps while hooking Dennis Lillee for a six over fine-leg. However, a 149-run stand between Rohan Kanhai and Lloyd brought the innings back on track. Kanhai fell for 55, but Lloyd hung around till the end, scoring an unbeaten 102 off just 85 deliveries. Gilmour once again impressed with the ball, picking up a second successive five-wicket haul. West Indies ended with 291 runs at the end of their 60 overs. The Aussies knew that the chase was not an easy one. Ian Chappel led the way with an impressive 62. He got good support from Alan Turner (40) and Doug Walters (35). It took three excellent fielding efforts from Vivian Richards to swing things back in favour of West Indies. He ran out Turner and Greg Chappel with a couple of direct hits and followed it up with the all important wicket of Ian, a wonderful pick up and flick back to the bowler that caught the Aussie skipeer short of his ground. Kieth Boyce ran through the lower middle order and Australia were 9 down for 233. That’s when Dennis Lillee walked in to join Jeff Thompson and the duo started to slowly take Australia closer to the target. The last pair added 41 runs before Thompson was run-out in the penultimate over with the Aussies 17 runs short of the target.

West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd with the trophy after triumphing in the first ever cricket World Cup

Lloyd and his warriors had won the cup. The captain led from the front with a scintillating century that won him the man-of-the-match award. Kiwi skipper Glenn Turner ended as the highest run scorer with 33 runs that included two centuries. Gary Gilmour played just two matches, but his 11 wickets in those matches was good enough to take him to the top of the list of wicket-takers. The inaugural edition of the World Cup was a big success that exceeded the expectations of most of the experts. The crowd response was overwhelming as people thronged the grounds in large number for most of the matches and the quality of cricket on display didn’t disappoint them. The wonderful weather played its part too in the success of this grand event. A final before a packed stadium at Lords’ was a fitting finale to a wonderful tournament. The tournament was over, but the concept was here to stay.

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