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Fifty years ago in 1975, the International Cricket Conference (ICC) staged the first Cricket World Cup (CWC) of sixty overs per team. At the time that format of cricket was in its infancy; as a matter of fact, so immature was it that only 18 such international matches had ever been played.
Those matches had only taken place in Australia, England and New Zealand. However, the ICC decided to hold a CWC as an investment.
The plan was to hold it every four years, adapting the Fifa World Cup model of time between tournaments. It turned out to be a tremendous success that included just eight teams; the six major Test-playing countries, plus Sri Lanka and East Africa (a combination of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda).
[caption id="attachment_1153485" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Deryck Murray, former West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman. -[/caption]
The teams were divided into two groups, A & B, comprising four teams a group opposing each other, then the two top teams per group clashed in the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final. The matches created great excitement. The final at Lord’s, the "headquarters" of cricket, was sold out with a capacity crowd of 26,000 spectators. They were not disappointed with the finalists being Australia and the West Indies. It was a thriller.
However, the WI almost didn’t make it. Four teams in a group in a tournament with two teams qualifying, means that one only has to lose one game to minimise the opportunity to qualify for the semi-final. WI won their first game without a murmur, against Sri Lanka.
The Caribbean cricketers were placed in a group that consisted of Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They won the toss against the Sri Lankans, sent them in and bowled them out for 86 in 37.2 overs. Bernard Julien, the eventual man-of-the-match, used his left-arm, over-the-wicket bowling to claim four wickets for 20 runs in his allotted 12 overs, a marvellous performance to start a series, being the first CWC match for the WI. Keith Boyce also bowled well collecting three for 22 in eight overs and Andy Roberts, that classical bowler, was quite miserly in his spell removing two batsmen for 16 in his 12-over spell.
WI got the runs in 20.4 overs. Deryck Murray, the wicket keeper, opened the batting with Roy Fredericks, giving the team a winning boost with a start of 52. Fredericks was out for 33 while Murray returned to the pavilion not out on 30 and Alvin Kallicharran, batting at number three, was also undefeated on 19. Windies reached 87 for one in 20.4 overs.
[caption id="attachment_1153484" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption]
It was the first game the WI played in the CWC. It turned out to be no contest. But the scare came in the second game against Pakistan and especially as WI were the favourites, chosen by the bookmakers to win the tournament. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat as teams were wont to do in those early days of limited-overs cricket, compared to the present trend of opting to field so there’s a target to chase – though mostly in T20’s.
Three Pakistani batsmen struck fifties in a total of 266 for seven, having batted out the 60 overs. Majid Khan (60), Mushtaq Mohammad (55) and Wasim Raja (58), all being top of the world in classic batsmanship. No West Indian bowler claimed more than a single wicket; there were two run outs.
Sarfraz Nawaz, opening bowler for the Pakistanis swiftly broke through the defences of the first three batsmen for 36 runs. The target of 267 looked a long way off. The three men sent back to the dressing room were Fredericks (12), Gordon Greenidge (four) and Kallicharran (16). In no time wickets were tumbling.
Great batsmen like Rohan Kanhai and Viv Richards were sent back, leaving the innings in tatters at 99 for five. Although Julien fought for a while alongside captain Clive Lloyd, he lost his wicket for 18 with the total at 145. He was the sixth out, which let in Murray who opened the batting against Sri Lanka. Lo and behold, Lloyd soon left for 53 followed by Boyce and Vanburn Holder, as West Indies slipped to 203 for nine.
But Roberts joined Murray and together they displayed a valuable partnership of 64 runs which was superb. The strong character and the will to win revealed the fighting qualities and cricket intelligence of these two cricketers when one wicket away from defeat. Unbelievable!
The self-belief gained from that game gave the WI team a surge of confidence to march on to be champs. The final will be addressed closer to the 50th anniversary date of June 21, 2025.
 
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