West Indies to celebrate 50 years of World Cup win; Holding says great idea

The West Indies will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their historic World Cup triumph, achieved at Lord's Cricket Ground in London on June 21, 1975. Then known as the Prudential World Cup, the tournament saw Clive Lloyd famously lift the trophy after a thrilling final against Australia. Lloyd himself played a match-winning innings, smashing a century as the West Indies won by 17 runs.

"Yes it is (true). But of course we will announce in due course the specific date and details of the celebration," CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chris Dehring told Cricbuzz. The commemorative celebrations will be held in Barbados coinciding with a Test against Australia, slated to start at the Kingston Oval on June 25.

"I think it's a great idea. I obviously don't know the details of the celebrations but it's a great idea to recognise our achievements," Michael Holding, a world and West Indies cricket legend, told this website. Holding was not part of the 1975 squad but featured in the subsequent World Cups - playing in 1979, when the West Indies clinched their second title, and in 1983, when India famously defeated them in the final.

"Everyone else shows pride in their achievements and don't wait on others to shine a light on them. We need to write our own history and celebrate our achievements," Holding (71) said welcoming the grand CWI plans.

The World Cup triumph was one of the greatest moments in Caribbean cricket history, coming at the height of the West Indies' dominance in world cricket. Their reign continued for another decade before they began to decline, and they have not fully recovered since.

CWI president Dr. Kishore Shallow recently announced the plans at a media conference. "This year we celebrate our 50th anniversary of the first World Cup success we had in 1975. We are in advanced planning stages... just a few things left to finalize.

"It will be a key feature of our annual calendar. We have some 12 of those legends still alive, and we are going to celebrate their success at an event hosted in Barbados. That is another fantastic event for us to look forward to this year, along with all the home series," the CWI president was quoted as saying by Sportsmax website.

The surviving 12 members of the squad are Gordon Greenidge (73), Alvin Kallicharran (76), Rohan Kanhai (89), Clive Lloyd (80), Viv Richards (73), Bernard Julien (75), Deryck Murray (81), Vanburn Holder (79), Andy Roberts (74), Collis KIng (73), Lance Gibbs (90) and Maurice Foster (81). The two players who are no more are Roy Fredericks (died in September 2000 at the age of 57) and Keith Boyce (died in October 1996 at the age of 53).