THE SRI LANKA TEAM FOR THE 1975 INAUGARAL CRICKET WORLD CUP
Image Source : cricbuzz.com
Source: SPC Melbourne
50 years ago the inaugaral World Cup was held between 7 to 21 June in England.This was the first major tournament in the history of One Day International cricket.The tournament was won by the West Indies captained by Clive Lloyd. The six Test playing teams of the time – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies – and the two leading Associate nations at the time – Sri Lanka and East Africa participated in the tournament.The most runs was scored by Glen Turner of of New Zealand(333) and the most wickets taken by Gary Gilmour of Australia(11).
Sri Lanka played their very first World cup match against West Indies on 7/6/1975 and scored 86 runs with West Indies winning by 11 wickets.
At the 1975 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka played only two matches (against the West Indies and Australia), as they did not progress beyond the group stage.
The player who scored the most runs for Sri Lanka in the tournament was Ranjit Fernando:
- Total Runs: 64
- Matches: 2
- Top Score: 48 (vs West Indies)
Sri Lanka played thier very first World Cup match against Australia on 11/6/1975.
Here is a detailed summary of the Sri Lanka vs Australia match in the 1975 Cricket World Cup:
Venue: The Oval, London
Result: Australia won by 52 run
Australia Innings
- Total: 328/5 in 60 overs
- Top Scorers:
- Alan Turner – 101 (113 balls)
- Greg Chappell – 50
- Doug Walters – 59
- Best SL Bowler:
- Tony Opatha – 1/47 (12 overs)
- Somachandra de Silva – 1/51 (12 overs)
Australia dominated the batting, with a century from Turner and solid support from Walters and Chappell.
Sri Lanka Innings
- Total: 276/4 in 60 overs
- Top Scorers:
- Michael Tissera – 52
- Sunil Wettimuny – 53
- Anura Tennekoon – 48
- Ranjit Fernando – 41
Despite facing a strong bowling attack and injuries (notably to Sunil Wettimuny, who retired hurt after his fifty), Sri Lanka impressed by scoring 276, showing spirit and resilience.
- Sri Lanka’s total of 276/4 was the highest by a non-Test team at the time in an ODI.
- Sunil Wettimuny was hit on the foot by a Jeff Thomson bouncer and had to retire hurt.
- The match earned Sri Lanka praise for their fighting performance against one of the strongest teams.
L to R:
Standing-
David Heyn(Peterite)
Roy Dias(Peterite)
Sarath Fernando
Neil Perera
Squatting –
Duleep Mendis
Bandula Warnapura
Ajith De Silva
Anura Ranasingha
Lalith Kaluperuma
D.S. De Silva
Ranjith Fernando
Tony Opatha(Petetite)
Anura Tennakoon(Captain)
Standing –
K.M.T Perera ( Manager)
The other three are TBA
The pictures show Sri Lanka at their training camp in Nuwara Eliya and the coin toss for the West Indies x Sri Lanka match
Image Source : Rex Clementine Twitter
