The 1975 cricket World Cup took place from June 7 to June 21 and featured 15 matches, with each team playing 60 overs. The West Indies won the championship by defeating Australia in the final.
The first Men’s Cricket World Cup, officially called the Prudential Cup ’75, was a major event in the history of One Day Internationals (ODIs), which had only seen 18 matches before this. Hosted in England from June 7 to June 21, 1975, the tournament was organized by the International Cricket Conference (now known as the International Cricket Council, or ICC) and was sponsored by the Prudential Assurance Company.
Eight teams took part: the six main Test-playing nations at the time—Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West Indies—along with two notable Associate countries, Sri Lanka and East Africa. These teams were divided into two groups of four. Each team played the others in its group once, with the top two teams from each group moving on to the semi-finals. The winners of these matches then competed in the final.
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1975 Cricket World Cup: Group Stage
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| England | Australia |
| India | Pakistan |
| New Zealand | West Indies |
| East Africa | Sri Lanka |
Each match followed a 60-over format, and players wore traditional white clothing with a red ball. If a match was rained out, teams could use one of their two reserve days.
In the semi-finals, Australia beat England, while the West Indies, the favorites to win, defeated New Zealand. In the final at Lord’s, the West Indies, led by Sir Clive Lloyd, triumphed over Australia by 17 runs, becoming the first World Cup champions.
The Final Match
In the final showdown on June 21 at Lord’s, Australia chose to bowl first against the West Indies. The match had a dramatic start when opener Roy Fredericks, while attempting a six off Dennis Lillee’s delivery, lost his balance and accidentally hit the stumps, making him the first player to be out hit-wicket in international cricket. The West Indies soon found themselves at 50 for 3. However, captain Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai turned the game around, scoring 149 runs for the fourth wicket. Lloyd hit 102 runs off 85 balls, while Kanhai, in his last match, scored 55. Other key contributions helped the West Indies reach 291 for 8. Australia’s Gary Gilmour stood out with the ball, taking 5 wickets for 48 runs.
In response, Australia started steadily but faced challenges. They reached 80 for 1 in 20 overs, with significant contributions from Alan Turner (40) and captain Ian Chappell (62), both of whom were run out. Unfortunately, the rest of the team struggled, and Australia fell short of the target by 17 runs. The West Indies’ excellent fielding resulted in five Australian batsmen being run out.
The West Indies became the first team to win the World Cup, later winning again in 1979. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, presented the trophy to Lloyd, who was also named Player of the Match for his outstanding century. Lloyd is celebrated as one of cricket’s greatest captains, leading the West Indies from 1974 to 1985 and winning two World Cups.
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Match Results
| Date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Winner | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | England | India | England | Lord’s |
| June 7 | East Africa | New Zealand | New Zealand | Birmingham |
| June 7 | Australia | Pakistan | Australia | Leeds |
| June 7 | Sri Lanka | West Indies | West Indies | Manchester |
| June 11 | England | New Zealand | England | Nottingham |
| June 11 | East Africa | India | India | Leeds |
| June 11 | Australia | Sri Lanka | Australia | The Oval |
| June 11 | Pakistan | West Indies | West Indies | Birmingham |
| June 14 | England | East Africa | England | Birmingham |
| June 14 | India | New Zealand | New Zealand | Manchester |
| June 14 | Australia | West Indies | West Indies | The Oval |
| June 14 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | Nottingham |
| June 18 | England | Australia | Australia | Leeds |
| June 18 | New Zealand | West Indies | West Indies | The Oval |
| June 21 | Australia | West Indies | West Indies | Lord’s |
Top Performers
New Zealand’s Glenn Turner was the highest run-scorer with 333 runs in four matches, averaging 166.50. He made an unbeaten 171 against East Africa, which was the highest individual score of the tournament. England’s Dennis Amiss followed with 243 runs at an average of 60.75, and Pakistan’s Majid Khan scored 209 runs. Keith Fletcher (England) and Alan Turner (Australia) secured fourth and fifth places with 207 and 201 runs, respectively.
The top wicket-taker was Australia’s Gary Gilmour, who took 11 wickets in just two matches (the semi-final and the final). West Indies’ Bernard Julien and Keith Boyce each took 10 wickets. New Zealand’s Dayle Hadlee and West Indies’ Andy Roberts both took eight wickets.
India’s Performance in 1975 Cricket World Cup
India entered the World Cup with only two ODIs played and it showed in their performance. Led by Srinivasa Raghavan Venkataraghavan, India won just one of their three matches. Their only victory came against East Africa, marking India’s first-ever win in a World Cup.
A memorable moment from India’s campaign was Sunil Gavaskar’s slow innings against England, where he scored just 36 runs from 174 balls. India lost that match by 202 runs while chasing 335 runs, finishing with only 132-3.
Despite the criticism, Gavaskar ended as India’s top run-scorer in the tournament with 113 runs, mostly thanks to his unbeaten 65 against East Africa. Seamer Abid Ali led the team in wickets with six. India’s last match in the tournament against New Zealand was also the final ODI of Ali’s career.
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