1975
Final: West Indies def. Australia by 17 runs
Hosted by England, the inaugural two-week tournament was seen at the time as a major innovation for the sport. Eight teams were divided into two round-robin groups of four, with the top two advancing to the semifinals before a showcase final at Lord's.
The West Indies and Australia flourished in the 60-over format, while other test nations struggled to grasp the need for quick runs.
India's Sunil Gavaskar memorably plodded through all 60 overs against England, scoring just 36 runs in a heavy group stage defeat.
Australia beat England in the semifinals after a superb display by Gary Gilmour, whose bowling figures of 6-14 were a World Cup record and whose 28 runs in as many balls helped seal a four-wicket victory.
The West Indies went one better, beating New Zealand by five wickets in the other semifinal, to line up a decider in which Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards dominated the pace attack of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.
Lloyd's 102 in an innings total of 291 had Australia under pressure right from the start, while Richards' three run outs -- among a remarkable total of five -- decided an entertaining contest.
A series of pitch invasions by an impatient crowd marred the closing stages, with umpire Dickie Bird losing his hat in the final jubilant surge.
