1975 Prudential World Cup - An Introduction

A new chapter was written in Cricket books with the introduction of 'WORLD CUP' in 1975. The tournament that gained immediate success is undoubtedly the most popular and most awaited sporting tournament at present in cricket playing nations across the globe.

England hosted the inaugural edition of the world cup. It was played in between 7 to 21 June 1975 and popularly known as the 'Prudential Cup'. Total 8 Teams including six Test-playing nations - India, Australia, England, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and two associate members - Sri Lanka and East Africa participated in the tournament. 

All the matches were 60-overs-a-side games and played in traditional white clothing with red balls. Eight teams were divided in two groups of four each. The top two teams from each group then played the knock-out rounds of semi-finals and final.

The final was played between West Indies and Australia on 21st June at the famous Lords' cricket ground in which Clive Lloyd’s West Indies Team beat the Australians by 17 runs and become first cricket World Cup Champion. 

The tournament proved an outstanding success and laid the foundation of future editions. This was the only ODI World Cup which didn't feature a sub-continent team in the semi-finals

1975 Prudential World Cup Statistics

• Format - One Day International
• Tournament formats - Round robin and Knockout
• Host - England
• Champions - West Indies 
• Participants - 8
• Matches played - 15
• Attendance - 158,000 (10,533 per match)
• Most runs - Glenn Turner (333)
• Most wickets - Gary Gilmour (11)

​1975 Prudential World Cup Match Summary

• 1st Match - ​England v India at Lord's - Jun 7, 1975
  • England won by 202 runs (Eng 334/4; Ind 132/3)

• 2nd Match - East Africa v New Zealand at Birmingham - Jun 7, 1975
  • New Zealand won by 181 runs (NZ 309/5; EA 128/8)

• 3rd Match - Australia v Pakistan at Leeds - Jun 7, 1975
  • Australia won by 73 runs (Aus 278/7; Pak 205)

• 4th Match - Sri Lanka v West Indies at Manchester - Jun 7, 1975
  • West Indies won by 9 wickets (with 39.2 overs remaining) (SL 86; WI 87/1)

• 5th Match - England v New Zealand at Nottingham - Jun 11, 1975
  • England won by 80 runs (England 266/6; NZ 186)

• 6th Match: East Africa v India at Leeds - Jun 11, 1975
  • India won by 10 wickets (with 30.1 overs remaining) (EA 120; India 123/0)

• 7th Match - Australia v Sri Lanka at The Oval - Jun 11, 1975
  • Australia won by 52 runs (Aus 328/5; SL 276/4)

• 8th Match - Pakistan v West Indies at Birmingham - Jun 11, 1975
  • West Indies won by 1 wicket (with 2 balls remaining) (Pak 266/7; WI 267/9)

• 9th Match: England v East Africa at Birmingham - Jun 14, 1975
  • England won by 196 runs (Eng 290/5; EA 94)

• 10th Match - India v New Zealand at Manchester - Jun 14, 1975
  • ​New Zealand won by 4 wickets (with 1.1 overs remaining) (Ind 230; NZ 233/6)

• 11th Match - Australia v West Indies at The Oval - Jun 14, 1975
  • ​West Indies won by 7 wickets (with 84 balls remaining) (Aus 192; WI 195/3)

• 12th Match - Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Nottingham - Jun 14, 1975
  • ​Pakistan won by 192 runs (Pak 330/6; SL 138)

• 1st Semi Final - England v Australia at Leeds - Jun 18, 1975
  • ​Australia won by 4 wickets (with 31.2 overs remaining) (Eng 93; Aus 94/6)

• 2nd Semi Final - New Zealand v West Indies at The Oval - Jun 18, 1975
  • ​West Indies won by 5 wickets (with 19.5 overs remaining) (NZ 158; WI 159/5)

• Final - Australia v West Indies at Lord's - Jun 21, 1975
  • ​West Indies won by 17 runs (WI 291/8; Aus 274)

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