(Part 37.) West Indies too professional. With 14 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Australia in the 1975 World Cup final, Tony Cozier reports on the Caribbean side’s opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka, which was carried originally in his celebratory …
Read More »1975 CWC: Windies omit Greenidge for five bowlers, in opener against Sri Lanka
(Part 36.) Down to business. After all that build-up, with historical context, player profiles and a few other bits and pieces, the countdown to the 1975 World Cup final is now truly on ahead of the opening day of competition in the eight-team event. So, with 15 days to go …
Read More »1975 CWC: From Ollivierre to Sobers—Fazeer reviews WI’s first 12 England visits
(Part 35.) No unlucky 13. Clive Lloyd’s 1975 Cricket World Cup squad marked the first time that a West Indies team toured England to play limited-over matches exclusively. It was also the 13th visit there by a Caribbean side—certainly no ill omen as it turned out—in the 75 years since …
Read More »1975 CWC: Does the Caribbean care about Windies history? Does the CWI?!
(Part 34.) Because we forgot. As this 50th anniversary series approaches the actual days of competition at the 1975 World Cup, a question from the latest interviewee prompted today’s piece, which focuses inwards on our general attitude towards history—and, in this specific case, an historic sporting occasion that can serve …
Read More »1975 CWC: How Jeff Charles represented Dominica in historic WI moment
(Part 33.) Pride of Dominica. Tony Cozier and Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira were the two prominent members of the broadcast team bringing “live” radio ball-by-ball commentaries to the Caribbean audience of the five West Indies matches at the 1975 Cricket World Cup. But there was a third member of the team, …
Read More »1975 CWC: ‘Inculcating the right sort of habits’; how Lloyd helped guide Windies to title
(Part 32.) Let it snow, let it snow. Today is a significant day in the history of English cricket. Not for anything to do with action on the field of play, but a bizarre weather phenomenon which prevented play: a freak snowstorm. Yes, coming to the end of spring, with …
Read More »1975 CWC: To bounce or not to bounce?
(Part 31.) Manager’s view. To bounce or not to bounce? That seemed to be one of the questions occupying the minds of cricket’s administrators in the week leading up to the first Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1975. So, with 20 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the …
Read More »1975 CWC: ‘The 1975 World Cup final was the best cricket match that I’ve stood in!’
(Part 30.) A Bird’s eye view. Let’s just try to imagine the setting 50 years ago today, a week before the opening round of group matches at the 1975 Cricket World Cup. A real sense of anticipation no doubt with all eight teams competing for the first time for the …
Read More »1975 CWC: New Zealand, Pakistan and the chasing Cricket World Cup pack
(Part 29.) Contenders and pretenders. With 22 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Australia in the 1975 Cricket World Cup final, and having examined the credentials of the Caribbean side in great detail before considering the prospects of Australia and hosts England, let’s …
Read More »1975 CWC: Kings in the North? John Snow leads England challenge on home soil
(Part 28.) England expects… If experience alone was the deciding factor, England would have won the 1975 Cricket World Cup running away. In no other part of the cricketing world was the limited-over game played in such profusion at that time. We already established that the first limited-over competition started …
Read More »1975 CWC: Chappell’s ‘Ugly’ Australians—why fierce ‘Aussies’ offered tough test
(Part 27.) Chappell’s “Ugly” Australians. Ahead of the 1975 Cricket World Cup, West Indies were installed as the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy in the 21 June final at Lord’s. But with 24 days to go to the 50th anniversary of that golden moment in Caribbean cricket history, it …
Read More »1975 CWC: How Tony Cozier became the Sobers of WI cricket journalism
(Part 26.) Fountain of knowledge. While Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira was almost dizzy with delight at being selected on the Caribbean radio commentary team for the 1975 Cricket World Cup, notwithstanding his limited experience, the man who would become his great friend and travelling companion over the next 40 years had …
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