 Official logo | |
| Dates | 7 June – 21 June 1975 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Conference |
| Cricket format | One Day International |
| Tournament format(s) | Round robin and knockout |
| Host(s) |  England |
| Champions |  West Indies (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Australia |
| Participants | 8 |
| Matches | 15 |
| Attendance | 158,000 (10,533 per match) |
| Most runs |  Glenn Turner (333) |
| Most wickets | Gary Gilmour (11) |
The 1975 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '75) was the inaugural men's Cricket World Cup, and the first major tournament in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket. Organised by the International Cricket Conference (ICC), it took place in England between 7 June and 21 June 1975.
The tournament was sponsored by Prudential Assurance Company and had eight participating countries: 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. The teams were divided into two groups of four, with each team playing each other in their group once; the top two from each group qualified for the semi-finals, with the winners of these matches meeting in the final. Each match consisted of 60 overs per team and was played in traditional white clothing and with red balls; all were played and ended in daylight.
England and New Zealand finished as the top two teams in Group A, while the West Indies finished top of the Group B table ahead of Australia as the four teams qualified through to the semi-finals. After Australia defeated England and the West Indies defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals, the West Indies which came into the tournament as favourites, defeated Australia in the final at Lord's by 17 runs to become the first World Cup winners. New Zealand batsman, Glenn Turner was the top run-scorer for the tournament with 333 runs, whilst Australian bowler Gary Gilmour was the top wicket-taker with 11 wickets despite only playing in the final two matches.