West Indies beat Australia in the final at the Lord’s Cricket Ground and became the first team to win the first-ever Cricket World Cup. Glenn Turner of New Zealand scored the most runs (333) and Gary Gilmour of Australia took the most number of wickets (11). There was no Match of the Series was awarded in the first edition.

The eight-team World Cup, officially known as the Prudential Cup ’75, was held in England from June 7 to June 21, 1975. The format of the event was that of two groups of four teams each with top two teams making the semi-finals. The teams were England, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and for the only time, East Africa.

A total of 15 matches were played in seven different venues, including two semi-finals and a final. The matches were 60 overs-a-side, a format which was maintained until the 1987 edition.

England, New Zealand, West Indies and Australia were the semi-finalists.

— The writer is an intern at Gulf News