The story behind the first century at the ICC World Cup
It all goes back to the beginning, doesn't it? English batsman Dennis Amiss, who is credited with scoring the first century in the history of ICC World Cup, set the benchmark for the next generations of cricketers to follow in the quadrennial showpiece that returns for its 12th edition on 30th May this year.
On the inaugural day of the first World Cup which was played on 7 June 1975, Amiss scored a century against India at the iconic Lords. He amassed 137 runs, while another cricketer scored a century on the same day.
Glenn Turner of New Zealand also reached the three-figure mark against East Africa on 7th June, in a math that was running in parallel. Turner went on to score a mammoth 171.
Amiss' century helped England piled up a total of 334 runs on the board in the stipulated 60 overs. That remained the highest score by any team in World Cups for eight years.
A lunch break and a place in the record books
Interestingly, both Amiss and Turner scored their centuries at almost the same time. It so happened that four matches were underway on the opening day of the Prudential World Cup 1975.
As per reports, Amiss was batting on 98 after 35 overs and Turner had reached 82 after 40 overs. It was a practice in those times to go for a lunch break in the middle of an innings, and that's exactly what happened at this stage.
When play resumed, the English opener reached the milestone before Turner did.
However, Turner's 171 ended up as the highest individual score in the tournament. In fact, Turner was also the highest run-getter in that particular edition of the tournament with 333 runs. Amiss finished on 243 for the tournament.
Amiss, who was one of the openers, scored his 137 runs from 147 balls and hit as many as 18 boundaries. He was dismissed by Madan Lal.
India eventually lost the match by an embarrassing margin of 202 runs. The West Indies went on to lift the title under the leadership of Clive Lloyd.
Over the years the tournament has grown in stature, and many legendary figures have showcased their cricketing genius to earn a place in the record books. Sachin Tendulkar of India went on to score 6 hundreds in World Cups, which is the highest by any batsman.
However, that first instance of Amiss reaching the landmark will always have a special place in the books.
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