ICC World Cup Flashback - 1975: Of Lloyd’s conquest & Gavaskar’s 36 not out

With the world changing around cricket at a fast pace and the powers that be looking to make the sport more consumer friendly, the idea of a global limited overs tournament emerged and the concept of the ODI World Cup came to life in the year 1975.

THE STORY

England was the obvious choice to host a grand event of this scale and the hosts were among the favourites to clinch the trophy. But the tournament belonged to the ‘Calypso Charmers’. Led by the sagacious Clive Lloyd, West Indies had a fast bowling arsenal that could gun the best batsmen down and they did just that.

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Bernard Julien (10 wickets), Keith Boyce (10 wickets) and Andy Roberts (8 wickets) were at their menacing best as the Windies made their way to the last four. Riding high on the brilliance of captain Glenn Turner, New Zealand locked horns with the Windies in the semis, but were blown away by the fast men. Gordon Greenidge and Alvin Kallicharran did the rest with the bat.

The final at Lord’s was lit up by skipper Lloyd himself as he stroked a fluent century (102) of just 85 balls to take West Indies to a formidable 291/8. Australia, led by the courageous Ian Chappell, had been beaten by the Windies earlier in the tournament. But the host slayers were not ready to throw in the towel and made a match of it. Keith Boyce picked up 4 wickets to restrict the Aussies to 274 as West Indies kick-started the new era as champions of the world.

THE PLAYER

There were many who shone bright at the global stage. New Zealand’s Glenn Turner (333 runs) and England’s Dennis Amiss (243 runs) topped the run charts while the pacers (mentioned above) from West Indies ruled the roost with the ball. The tournament though belonged to a man who came in from nowhere and left an indelible mark.

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Australian left-arm swing bowler Gary Gilmour did little before and after the tournament to find mention in cricket history books, but rose to the occasion on the big day. Drafted into the playing XI for the semi-final against hosts England, Gilmour wreaked havoc with a spell of 6/14. Making the most of the spicy conditions at Headingley, Gilmour removed six of England’s top seven to all but end the hosts’ dreams.

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Gilmour wasn’t done though, as he lifted the Aussies from a deep hole with the bat as well. With Australia looking down the barrel at 39/6, Gilmour blasted 5 boundaries to score an unbeaten 28 of 28 deliveries and helped his side cross the line with no further damage.

He picked up another 5-wicket haul in the final against the Windies to end the tournament as the highest wicket-taker. His 11 scalps coming in just 2 matches. He would go on to play just 3 more ODIs for Australia.

THE MATCH

While the final between West Indies and Australia was a well contested one, the match of the tournament was played between the eventual champions and a belligerent Pakistan side. Having lost their opener against Australia, Majid Khan’s Pakistan knew they had to beat West Indies to stay alive in the tournament.

The match at Edgbaston saw Majid Khan lead from the front with a steady 60 at the top of the order. Handy contributions from Mushtaq Mohammed (55) and Wasim Raja (58) helped the Asians notch up a challenging 266 on the board.

Sarfraz Nawaz produced a breathtaking spell of swing bowling to scalp 4 wickets and kept Pakistan in the hunt till the end. But a feisty unbeaten 61 by wicket-keeper batsman Deryck Muray and an odds-defying unbeaten 24 by last man Andy Roberts saw the Windies steal victory by a single wicket.  

INDIA CORNER

India’s maiden World Cup campaign was nothing short of a disaster with the team failing to come to terms with the new format. The first match of the tournament featured the Indians against hosts England. A fine Dennis Amiss century helped England pile up a massive 334/4 in 60 overs. But it was the approach of India’s premier batsman that left a bad taste in the mouth.

Sunil Gavaskar played 174 deliveries to stay unbeaten on 36 as India meandered to an aimless 132/3 to lose the match by 202 runs.

“It was the most disgraceful and selfish performance I have ever seen… his excuse [to me] was, the wicket was too slow to play shots but that was a stupid thing to say after England had scored 334. The entire party is upset about it. Our national pride is too important to be thrown away like this,” India’s manager GS Ramchand told the Daily Express in the aftermath of the match.

India went on to defeat minnows East Africa by 10 wickets with Gavaskar and Farokh Engineer scoring unbeaten half-centuries. The match against New Zealand at Old Trafford was a virtual quarter-final and Syed Abid Ali’s 70 down the order helped India post 230 on the board. But Glenn Turner’s virtuoso (114*) effort with the bat helped the Kiwis win by 4 wickets as India’s campaign came to and end.