ICC Cricket World Cup 1975 (Inaugural Final): Clive Lloyd Scores 102 as West Indies Beat Australia by 17 Runs — Five Run-Outs Decide the Chase

West Indies won the inaugural ICC Cricket World Cup on 21 June 1975 at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, defeating Australia by 17 runs in the first-ever Cricket World Cup final. West Indies posted 291/8 in 60 overs; Australia were bowled out for 274 in 58.4 overs — five of their batters run out, three of those run-outs executed by Viv Richards from the outfield. Clive Lloyd scored 102 off 85 balls as Player of the Match, arriving at the crease when West Indies were 50/3 and turning an uncertain position into a commanding total. No Player of the Tournament award existed in the 1975 edition. Ian Chappell captained Australia.

Clive Lloyd 102: Rescuing West Indies and Defining the Final

Clive Lloyd's 102 off 85 balls in the inaugural World Cup final — arriving with West Indies in difficulty at 50/3, sharing a 149-run partnership with Rohan Kanhai, and then accelerating to reach his century before the tail — was the innings that gave the first-ever World Cup final its defining batting narrative. Lloyd, Guyana's left-handed batter and West Indies' captain, played with the combination of power and timing that made him the most destructive attacking batter in world cricket at his peak: 12 fours and 2 sixes in a Lord's final against Australia's full pace attack, including Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. His century rescued West Indies from a position where Australia's bowling had threatened to restrict the total to below 250 — instead reaching 291/8, which proved just sufficient to withstand one of cricket's most dramatic batting collapses.

Five Run-Outs: Viv Richards in the Field Wins the World Cup

Australia's 274 all out — five of their batters run out in the chase of 292 — was the batting collapse that made the inaugural World Cup's conclusion one of cricket's most dramatic finishes. Viv Richards executed three of those five run-outs from the outfield: Turner, Ian Chappell, and Greg Chappell were all dismissed by Richards' combination of anticipation, speed, and throwing accuracy from positions in the deep where most fielders would not have attempted the run-out. The five run-outs in a single innings (a joint record for any ODI innings) shifted the momentum of a chase that Australia's established batting lineup — including Greg Chappell (15), Ian Chappell (62), and Alan Turner (40) — had given genuine hope before the cluster of dismissals in the middle overs. Australia fell 17 runs short with 7 balls remaining.

ICC Cricket World Cup 1975 in Context

The 1975 Cricket World Cup was staged at the initiative of the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) and the International Cricket Council — a bold first step toward international limited-overs cricket at the highest level, building on the domestic one-day revolution in England that the John Player Sunday League and Gillette Cup had established through the late 1960s. West Indies' dominance in 1975 reflected the era's most complete cricket team: Clive Lloyd's leadership, a batting lineup of Richards, Greenidge, Kallicharran, and Kanhai, and a pace attack of Andy Roberts and Bernard Julien gave them supremacy across all dimensions. Australia's reach of 274 in the final — competitive throughout the chase until Richards' fielding intervention — confirmed that the inaugural World Cup's final was genuinely contested. The competition's 60-over format was later reduced to 50 overs for the 1987 edition.