1975: West Indies win by five wickets
The Oval: ODIs were still in their infancy when a West Indies side with plenty of limited overs experience in English county cricket proved too strong in the last four of the inaugural World Cup. Paceman Bernard Julien's haul was mainly responsible for the Kiwis batting fewer than 53 of their then scheduled 60 overs, with Geoff Howarth top-scoring with 51. A second-wicket stand of 125 between Gordon Greenidge and Alvin Kallicharran then took the Windies, the eventual champions, to the brink of victory.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 158 (G Howarth 51; B Julien 4-27) lost to the West Indies 159-5 (A Kallicharran 72, G Greenidge 55) by five wickets

1979: England win by nine runs
Old Trafford: The closest New Zealand have yet come to a World Cup final. The match saw the Kiwis just edged out in a match that went the distance. New Zealand great Richard Hadlee took a miserly one for 32 in 12 overs but fifties from Graham Gooch and England captain Mike Brearley saw the hosts to a decent total. Opener John Wright anchored New Zealand's chase until he was run out by Derek Randall and, as wickets kept falling, a target of 14 off the last over, bowled by Ian Botham, proved just beyond New Zealand.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 212-9 (J Wright 69) lost to England 221-8 (G Gooch 71, M Brearley 53) by nine runs