A Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 3: Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards Drag West Indies Through a Chaotic World Cup Final

Australia needed 59 runs from the final seven overs. Only one wicket remained, yet Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson kept swinging, running and refusing to let the first men’s World Cup final settle into history.

The crowd at Lord’s repeatedly spilled onto the field. The ball disappeared among spectators. Fielders lost shoes, an umpire eventually lost his hat, and Australia’s last pair reduced West Indies’ apparently secure position to a nervous 18-run gap.

Then came the fifth run-out of the innings.

Deryck Murray gathered the ball and removed the bails with Thomson short of his ground. West Indies had won by 17 runs, becoming cricket’s first men’s world champions after a final shaped by Clive Lloyd’s century, Rohan Kanhai’s patience, Keith Boyce’s four wickets and Viv Richards’ extraordinary fielding.

This is Match No. 3 in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs, The Sports Encounter’s 100-match journey through the contests that explain why one-day cricket continues to hold its audience.

TL;DR

• West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs in the inaugural men’s World Cup final at Lord’s on June 21, 1975.
• Clive Lloyd rescued West Indies from 50 for three with 102 from 85 balls and was named Player of the Match.
• Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai added 149 for the fourth wicket.
• Gary Gilmour took 5 for 48, giving him 11 wickets from only two matches at the tournament.
• Viv Richards influenced the final without scoring heavily, playing a direct role in three Australian run-outs.
• Australia lost five batters to run-outs but still threatened through a 41-run last-wicket stand.

West Indies vs Australia 1975 Final: Match Information

Detail	Information
Match	West Indies vs Australia, 1975 World Cup Final
Date	June 21, 1975
Venue	Lord’s, London
Toss	Australia won the toss and fielded
West Indies	291/8 in 60 overs
Australia	274 all out in 58.4 overs
Result	West Indies won by 17 runs
Player of the Match	Clive Lloyd, 102 from 85 balls and 1/38
Leading bowler	Gary Gilmour, 5/48
Turning point	Lloyd and Kanhai’s 149-run fourth-wicket partnership
Historic impact	West Indies became the first men’s Cricket World Cup champions

Complete Match Scorecard

West Indies innings: 291/8 in 60 overs

Batter	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Roy Fredericks	Hit wicket b Lillee	7	13	0	0
Gordon Greenidge	c Marsh b Thomson	13	61	1	0
Alvin Kallicharran	c Marsh b Gilmour	12	18	2	0
Rohan Kanhai	b Gilmour	55	105	8	0
Clive Lloyd	c Marsh b Gilmour	102	85	12	2
Viv Richards	b Gilmour	5	11	1	0
Keith Boyce	c Greg Chappell b Thomson	34	37	3	0
Bernard Julien	Not out	26	37	1	0
Deryck Murray	c and b Gilmour	14	10	1	1
Vanburn Holder	Not out	6	2	1	0
Andy Roberts	Did not bat
Extras	6 leg byes, 11 no-balls	17
Total	8 wickets, 60 overs	291

Australia bowling

Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Dennis Lillee	12	1	55	1
Gary Gilmour	12	2	48	5
Jeff Thomson	12	1	44	2
Max Walker	12	1	71	0
Greg Chappell	7	0	33	0
Doug Walters	5	0	23	0

Australia innings: 274 all out in 58.4 overs

Batter	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Alan Turner	Run out Richards	40	54	4	0
Rick McCosker	c Kallicharran b Boyce	7	24	1	0
Ian Chappell	Run out Richards/Lloyd	62	93	6	0
Greg Chappell	Run out Richards	15	23	2	0
Doug Walters	b Lloyd	35	51	5	0
Rod Marsh	b Boyce	11	24	0	0
Ross Edwards	c Fredericks b Boyce	28	37	2	0
Gary Gilmour	c Kanhai b Boyce	14	11	2	0
Max Walker	Run out Holder	7	9	1	0
Jeff Thomson	Run out Murray	21	21	2	0
Dennis Lillee	Not out	16	19	1	0
Extras	2 byes, 9 leg byes, 7 no-balls	18
Total	All out, 58.4 overs	274

West Indies bowling

Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Bernard Julien	12	0	58	0
Andy Roberts	11	1	45	0
Keith Boyce	12	0	50	4
Vanburn Holder	11.4	1	65	0
Clive Lloyd	12	1	38	1

Clive Lloyd Turned 50 for Three Into a World Cup-Winning Total

Australia’s decision to bowl first worked immediately. Fredericks fell hit wicket after hooking Lillee for six, while Gilmour removed Kallicharran and Thomson dismissed Greenidge.

At 50 for three, West Indies faced the possibility of wasting an unbeaten tournament with one poor batting session.

Lloyd changed the pace of the final. He attacked Australia’s fast bowlers with 12 fours and two sixes, reaching his century from 82 deliveries before finishing with 102 from 85. In a 60-over match played with a red ball and no modern fielding restrictions, his strike rate of 120 was exceptional.

Kanhai provided the control Lloyd required. His 55 took 105 balls, but the contrast between their methods gave West Indies stability and aggression. Their 149-run stand carried the score to 199 before Gilmour finally removed Lloyd.

The innings remains the clearest reason Lloyd earned Player of the Match. He also bowled 12 economical overs and dismissed Walters during Australia’s chase.

Gary Gilmour Nearly Won Another Match by Himself

Gilmour entered the final after producing one of cricket’s greatest knockout performances against England. His six wickets and unbeaten 28 had rescued Australia in Match No. 2 of the 5,000 ODIs series.

At Lord’s, he took 5 for 48, dismissing Kallicharran, Kanhai, Lloyd, Richards and Murray. Those figures gave him 11 wickets from only two appearances and made him the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.

Australia’s decision to leave him out until the semifinal remains one of the inaugural World Cup’s more intriguing selection stories.

Viv Richards Won the Final With His Arm

Richards scored only five, yet his fielding changed the chase more sharply than many innings could have done.

He ran out Turner with a direct hit, removed Greg Chappell with another and recovered from a slight misfield to help dismiss Ian Chappell for 62. Australia had built promising positions, but the run-outs repeatedly forced a new batter to begin under rising pressure.

Five Australian batters were eventually run out, a joint ODI record in a single innings. Richards’ three interventions gave the final its tactical identity.

Keith Boyce Broke Australia’s Middle and Lower Order

Boyce supplied the conventional wickets while Richards created chaos in the field.

His 4 for 50 included McCosker, Marsh, Gilmour and Edwards. Three of those wickets came as Australia attempted to keep pace with a demanding target, preventing any lower-order batter from settling beside Ian Chappell or Walters.

Boyce also contributed 34 from 37 balls, making his performance one of the final’s most valuable all-round efforts.

Australia’s Final Resistance Extended the Drama

At 233 for nine, Australia needed 59. Lillee and Thomson then added 41, using aggressive running and clean lower-order hitting to disturb West Indies.

A premature crowd invasion complicated the closing overs after spectators failed to recognize a no-ball. Play resumed amid confusion, and Australia kept pushing until Thomson’s attempted run ended in Murray’s gloves.

The resistance mattered because it prevented the final from becoming a comfortable coronation. Australia forced West Indies to earn the trophy until the last wicket.

Why This Match Was Included in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs

The first World Cup final established what ODI cricket could become.

It contained a recovery from 50 for three, a captain’s century, a five-wicket haul, five run-outs and a last-wicket partnership that kept the result uncertain late into the evening. The ICC’s official review of the 1975 tournament still recognizes it among the competition’s finest finals.

The victory also launched West Indies’ period of World Cup supremacy. Four years later, they retained the trophy before India ended their reign in 1983, a triumph central to Kapil Dev’s enduring cricket legacy.

Readers can revisit the series from the dedicated A Celebration of 5000 ODIs hub, explore Match No. 1 between West Indies and Pakistan, or follow current stories through The Sports Encounter’s Cricket hub.

Fifty-one years later, the scorecard still feels restless. Lloyd supplied the innings, Richards created the disruption, and Australia kept the first World Cup alive until its final frantic run.