The inaugural edition of the cricket World Cup was held in England, the place of the sport's birth, from June 7 to June 21. The tournament was played in the round-robin format followed by the knockout round. A total of eight teams featured in the event, and 15 matches were played during the duration of the tournament. The matches were 60 overs a side games, and were played in white clothing with the red ball. Glenn Turner of New Zealand, with 333 runs, was the top run scorer in the event. Australia's left-arm seamer Gary Gilmour claimed the most number of wickets -- 11.
Among the eight participating teams in the World Cup, six were Test playing nations -- Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies. Sri Lanka, who got Test status in 1982, and East Africa were the non-Test playing teams in the event. For the round robin phase, the teams were divided into two groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group then progressed to the knockout round, which featured the semi-final and the final.
Following the first round, the four teams that progressed to the first ever semi-finals of the World Cup were England, Australia, West Indies and New Zealand. England and Australia met in the first semis while West Indies and New Zealand battled it out in the second semi-finals.
Semi-final 1: The first semi-final at Leeds was all about Gary Gilmour and his splendid all-round showing. Australia bowled first, Gilmour stunned the Englishmen with a splendid display of left-arm fast bowling. He picked up 6 wickets giving away just 14 runs as England were bundled out for 93 in under 37 overs. In reply, Australia suffered an equally sensational collapse. They were struggling at 39/6 at one stage before Gilmour came to the team's rescue with the bat. He made an unbeaten 28 from as many balls to see his team home.
Semi-final 2: In the other semi-final at the Kennington Oval, West Indies won the toss and decided to insert the Kiwis in to bat. The New Zealanders made an assured start with skipper Glenn Turner (36) and Geoff Howarth (51) featuring in an impressive 90-run stand for the second wicket. The loss of the second wicket triggered an unbelievable collapse as the Kiwis crumbled to be bowled out for a mediocre 158. Needing only 159 to book a place in the final, West Indies had it all easy. Alvin Kallicharan (72) and Gordon Greenidge (55) featured in a dominating second-wicket stand of 125, which brought an extremely easy victory for the West Indians.
Final: And so, the two best teams, West Indies and Australia, squared off in the big final at Lord’s. West Indies batted first, and were led from the front from their skipper Clive Lloyd. The left-hander smashed a wonderful 102 from 85 balls with the aid of 12 fours and two sixes. Australia's batting was feeble in reply as they crumbled under pressure. Apart from Lloyd's spectacular hundred, the match is remembered for as many as five Australian batsmen getting run out, three of them effected by Vivian Richards. West Indies ended up winning the final by 17 runs.
--By A Cricket Analyst
