The First Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup) was the first edition of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricket world cup. It was held from 7 June to 21 June 1975 in England. The tournament was sponsored by Prudential Assurance Company and had 8 participating countries. These were the 6 Test playing teams of that time (namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan & West Indies) and Sri Lanka & East Africa. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each. The top two teams from each group then played the knock-out rounds of semi-finals and final.
Some Specialty First Cricket World Cup:
The First Cricket World Cup was played as 60 overs per team in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day and, hence, started early. One of the most bizarre batting efforts in one-day history was made by Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar. England scored 334 (4 wickets, 60 overs) with Dennis Amiss (137 from 147 balls, 18 fours) scoring the first ever World Cup century, nobly supported by Keith Fletcher (68 from 107 balls, 4 fours, 1 six). The response of Gavaskar (36 from 174 balls, 1 four) was to bat through the 60 overs for 36 not out.The Prudential Cup was lifted by Clive Lloyd, captain of West Indies, who had started the tournament as the favourites.
Venues:
The major venues that hosted the matches were County Cricket Ground at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds, Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, Trent Bridge in Nottingham and Kennington Oval Cricket Ground in London.
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| Lord's |
Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the European Cricket Council (ECC) and, until August 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is widely referred to as the "home of cricket" and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.
Lord's today is not on its original site, being the third of three grounds that Lord established between 1787 and 1814. His first ground, now referred to as Lord's Old Ground, was where Dorset Square now stands. His second ground, Lord's Middle Ground, was used from 1811 to 1813 before being abandoned to make way for the construction through its outfield of the Regent's Canal. The present Lord's ground is about 250 yards (230 m) north-west of the site of the Middle Ground. A major redevelopment has been proposed for Lord's which would increase capacity by another 10,000 as well as adding apartments and an ice rink.
The Oval: The Brit Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval. In past years it was officially named as the 'Fosters Oval', 'AMP Oval', and, presently, as the 'Brit Insurance Oval' (or 'Brit Oval') due to commercial sponsorship deals.
The Oval is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, and also traditionally hosts the final Test match of each English summer season in late August or early September. The Oval was the first ground in the United Kingdom and second in the world (after the Melbourne Cricket Ground) to host Test cricket.
Edgbaston Cricket Ground (also known as Edgbaston Stadium) is a cricket venue in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. It is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and is also used for Test matches and One Day Internationals.
Edgbaston Cricket Ground is situated in central Birmingham along Edgbaston Road. The original 12-acre (49,000 m2) site was leased, by its owner Lord Calthorpe, to the Warwickshire Club and the first match was played in June 1886 against an MCC team. The ground capacity is 21,000.Test status was gained in 1902.
