The Cricket World Cup was played for the first time in 1975. 8 teams took part in this championship. These were divided into 2 groups – A and B and each team played 3 group matches and depending on the outcome of these the teams progressed to the semi finals. The winners of the semi final moved ahead to the final. The West Indies team was not only the favorites but also the winner of this World Cup. East Africa was placed in Group A along with England, India and New Zealand. The captain of the East Africa team was Harilal Shah.

Group match against New Zealand

The first group match of East Africa was against New Zealand on 7th June 1975 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. The umpires for this match were AE Fagg and HD Bird. New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat. In 60 overs, they scored 309 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Glenn Turner was unbeaten on 171 while John Parker contributed 66. Parbhu Nana took 1 wicket and conceded 34 runs in 12 overs. In reply, East Africa scored 128 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 60 overs. Frasat Ali scored 45 while Zulfiqar Ali put in 30. Dayle Hadlee took 3 wickets for 21 runs and Hedley Howarth took 3 wickets for 29 runs. Glenn Turner was declared as Man of the Match. New Zealand won this match by 181 runs.

Group match against India

The second group match of East Africa was against India on 11th June 1975 at Headingly Stadium in Leeds. The umpires of this match were A Jepson and HD Bird. East Africa won the toss and decided to bat. At one stage, the team had lost 5 wickets for just 56 runs. In 53.5 overs, the team was all out for 120 runs. Jawahir Shah scored 37 runs. Bishen Singh Bedi bowled 12 overs out of which 8 were maidens and he conceded 6 runs while taking 1 wicket. India scored 123 runs without losing any wicket in 29.5 overs. Sunil Gavaskar was unbeaten on 65 and Farokh Engineer was unbeaten on 54. The Man of the Match was Farokh Engineer. India won this match by 10 wickets.

Group match against England

The third group match of East Africa was against England on 14th June 1975 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. The umpires of this match were JG Langridge and WE Alley. England won the toss and decided to bat. For the first wicket, Barry Wood and Dennis Amiss made a partnership of 158 runs. In 60 overs, England scored 290 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Barry Wood scored 77, Dennis Amiss scored 88 and Frank Hayes contributed 52. Zulfiqar Ali bowled 12 overs, conceded 63 runs and took 3 wickets. In reply, East Africa was all out for 94 in 52.3 overs. Only two batsmen were able to reach double figures. These were Ramesh Sethi who scored 30 and Mehmood Quaraishy who scored 19. John Snow took 4 wickets while conceding 11 runs and was selected as Man of the Match. England won this match by 196 runs.

East Africa lost all the group matches and had gained nil points. So, it did not qualify for the semi finals and had to exit from the tournament.