The 1975 Cricket World Cup was played in England in June 1975. In this championship, 8 nations competed for the crown. In the group matches, each country played 3 matches and depending on the outcomes, the countries progressed to the semi finals. The favourites of this cup was the West Indies and this team did not disappoint its supporters and lifted the cup. England was present in Group A along with New Zealand, India and East Africa.
Group match against India
The first group match of England was on 7th June 1975 against India at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. England won the toss and decided to bat. In 60 overs, the team scored 334 runs for 4 wickets. Dennis Amiss scored 137, Keith Fletcher scored 68, Chris Old was unbeaten on 51 and Mike Denness was unbeaten on 37. In reply, India scored 132 runs for 3 wickets in 60 overs. Gundappa Vishwanath scored 37 while Sunil Gavaskar was unbeaten on 36. Dennis Amiss was chosen as the Man of the Match. England won this match by 202 runs.
Group match against New Zealand
The second group match of England was on 11th June 1975 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. New Zealand won the toss and put England to bat. In 60 overs, England scored 266 runs for 6 wickets. Keith Fletcher scored 131, Frank Hayes scored 34 while Mike Denness contributed 37. New Zealand was all out for 186 in 60 overs. John Morrison scored 55 while Tony Greig took 4 wickets for 45 runs. The Man of the Match was Keith Fletcher. England won this match by 80 runs. With this win, England entered the semi final.
Group match against East Africa
The third group match of England was on 14th June 1975 against East Africa at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. England won the toss and decided to bat. Barry Wood and Dennis Amiss put 158 for the 1st wicket. In 60 overs, England scored 290 for 5 wickets. Barry Wood scored 77, Dennis Amiss scored 88 and Frank Hayes contributed 52. East Africa was all out for 94 in 52.3 overs. Ramesh Sethi scored 30, Mehmood Quaraishy scored 19 while John Snow took 4 wickets for 11 runs and hence he was declared as Man of the Match. England won this match by 196 runs.
As England won all the three matches, it had 12 points and its run rate was 4.94.
Semi final against Australia
England played its semi final match against Australia on 18th June 1975 at Headingly Stadium in Leeds. Australia won the toss and put England to bat. England lost 7 wickets for 37 runs and 8 wickets for 52 runs. In 36.2 overs, England was all out for 93. Only Mike Denness and Geoff Arnold reached double figures. Gary Gilmour took 6 wickets for 14 runs. Max Walker took 3 wickets for 22 runs. At one stage, Australia lost 6 wickets for 39 runs. However, Gary Gilmour remained unbeaten on 28 while Doug Walters remained unbeaten on 20. Australia scored 94 runs for 6 wickets in 28.4 overs and won the match by 4 wickets. Chris Old took 3 wickets for 29 runs. For an all-round performance, Gary Gilmour was selected as Man of the Match. As England lost the semi final, it had to exit from the tournament.
