From the 1960s to the mid-1990s, West Indies cricket was synonymous with dominance. Packed with aggressive and talented players, the West Indies team was a formidable force during their golden era. Their peak was evident when they won back-to-back titles in the first two editions of the Cricket World Cup.
Defeating Australia by 17 runs in the final at the Lord’s, West Indies clinched the inaugural edition of the World Cup in 1975. Four years later, Clive Lloyd and his team returned to England with the aim of defending their trophy. They started the campaign with a comfortable nine-wicket win against India and signalled their intentions to the rest of the teams right from the outset.
Their next match against Sri Lanka was abandoned without a ball being bowled. With a 32-run win over New Zealand, the West Indies team secured a berth in the semi-finals. They were assigned to face Pakistan in the second semi-final at London’s Kennington Oval. Batting first, a collective batting resulted in the West Indies posting a massive score of 293-6 in 60 overs. In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 250 runs and West Indies secured the final for the second time in a row.
Sir Viv Richards’ scintillating hundred blows away the hosts
This time, the iconic Lord’s Stadium was fully packed as thousands of home fans thronged to watch their team take on the defending champions. England’s impressive run in the 1975 World Cup was halted by Australia in the semi-finals. But this time they beat the Kangaroos to start their campaign and enter the finals.
West Indies batted first and amassed 286-9 on the back of a scintillating century from Sir Viv Richards (138* off 157). Collis King also played a crucial knock (86 off 66). Sir Ian Botham, Mike Hendrick, Chris Old and Phil Edmonds shone for England with two wickets each.
Chasing a competitive target, the English openers made a solid start to their innings. Mike Brearley (64 off 130) and Sir Geoff Boycott (57 off 105) put on a 129-run partnership for the first wicket. However, Windies pacer Michael Holding suddenly shifted the momentum towards his side by removing the duo in quick succession.
Derek Randall and Graham Gooch then tried to put on a partnership but West Indies were able to break it before it threatened. The hosts fell like a pack of cards from a comfortable position as Joel Garner (5/38) and Colin Croft (3/42) also joined the fun. England were eventually bowled out for 194 runs and West Indies won by 92 runs to clinch their second Cricket World Cup title.
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