Clive Lloyd made 102 off 85 balls in the very first World Cup final at Lord's in 1975, leading West Indies to a 17-run victory over Australia in a match that ran until 8:43pm under floodlights — and established the World Cup as a viable global cricket competition.
The first ever Prudential World Cup was played in England in June 1975 — 60 overs per side, all white-ball cricket. The innovation of a knockout tournament was experimental. West Indies under Lloyd were the dominant cricketers of the era.
Australia had a powerful batting line-up — Chappell, Ian and Greg, with Ian Redpath and Ross Edwards. West Indies had Richards, Kallicharan, Lloyd, Greenidge, Fredericks. The final at Lord's was expected to be close.
Roy Fredericks hit the opening delivery for six — stumps broken, given out hit wicket. West Indies fell to 50/3. Then Lloyd arrived and played what might be the most important innings in ODI history — not for its quality alone, but for its context.
102 off 85 balls in the first World Cup final. Lloyd drove and hit through the line with casual authority. Rohan Kanhai made 55. West Indies made 291/8.
Australia chased 292 in what became a famous run-out exhibition — five Australian batsmen run out as West Indies' fielding produced some extraordinary collaborative effort. Australia fell short by 17 runs. West Indies won the first World Cup.
The Lord's crowd of 26,000 were still in the ground when the final wicket fell at 8:43pm. The World Cup had worked.
Lloyd's 102 off 85 balls — the innings that set the final
Five Australian batsmen run out — West Indies' fielding brilliance
West Indies win the inaugural World Cup at Lord's
June 21, 1975
First World Cup Final, Lord's
West Indies innings
Lloyd 102 off 85 — West Indies 291/8
Australia chase
Five run outs — Australia 274 all out, West Indies win by 17
West Indies retained the title in 1979 before losing it to India in 1983. Lloyd captained them to both wins. The World Cup became cricket's second-biggest event, generating revenues that have grown exponentially since 1975.
The innings that made the World Cup's future viable. Lloyd's hundred confirmed that West Indies were the dominant ODI team and that the World Cup format produced the quality of cricket its creators had hoped for.
Lloyd's 102 is the founding batting performance of ODI cricket's most important competition. Everything — the billion-dollar broadcast deals, the T20 World Cup, the expansion to 16 nations — traces its commercial origins to the success of 1975 and Lloyd's innings at Lord's.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.