Great Men, Great Moments

(Image courtesy: New Indian Express)

L Suresh profiles the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from the past World Cups…

From 1975 to 2003, each World Cup has been a battleground where the world’s biggest superstars of their time have battled it out against one another, pulling something special out of the hat – a performance that has gone down in history as a frozen moment in time.

Super Cat, Big Bird, The King, Haryana Hurricane, Zulu, The Little Master, The Wall… here’s a look at the warriors who made the World Cup an event worth waiting for. And to make sure that the best - in terms of stars and big names, it never really got bigger than the inaugural World Cup – is saved for last, the journey down memory lane begins in the reverse chronological order...

2003 World Cup – South Africa
While Lara’s whirlwind 116 and Fleming's defiant rain-interrupted knock of 134 not out of 132 balls – both against South Africa - stunned the host nation and virtually ended its World Cup run, it was not just batting all the way in the 2003 edition of the tournament. Shane Bond’s 6 for 23 against Australia almost won the match for Kiwis, but Ashish Nehra’s 6 for 23 did win the match for India against England in a glorious encounter.

The rags-to-an-embarrassment-of-riches story of the tournament however featured a blistering 143 from a man who was contemplating retirement before the tournament. Andrew Symonds single-handedly put Pakistan out of contention in Australia’s opening match and set the stage for things to come.

But the hero of the 2003 World Cup was a man on a mission who took on every bowler who shot his mouth off before the match. Shoaib Akthar, Caddick and every other bowler who was ‘looking for a challenge’ ran for cover as Sachin plundered 673 runs from 11 matches. The hallmark was consistency - and coming from a man who had averaged .66 in the three one dayers against the Kiwis just before the World Cup, it was a progression from a flightless bird to Jonathan Livingston Seagull taking majestic flight.

1999 World Cup - England
It was Dravid's comeback vehicle into one day internationals, with 461 runs in 8 matches that left the cricketing fraternity wondering why the wise men of Indian cricket didn't find him good enough for the shorter version of the game. But it was Lance Klusener's saga all the way. Big hitting and deadly bowling came together in one brilliant package with the Zulu warrior ending the tournament with an incredible strike rate of 122.17, an average of 140.50 and with 17 wickets at an average of just over 20.

India had a few individual performances to cheer about in an otherwise losing cause – Sachin’s 140 off 101 balls, coming days after his father’s demise, Sourav and Dravid’s 318 run partnership against Sri Lanka, an inspiring 5 for 27 by Venkatesh Prasad against Pakistan. But trust an Australian to steal the thunder at the very last minute. Steve Waugh waited for the dust to die down and scored a match-winning 120 in the last Super Six match against South Africa. He then tormented them further with a 56 in the semi-finals that led to a historic tie and the one of the most breath-taking semi-finals in the history of the tournament.

1996 World Cup – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
If it’s India, it has to be Sachin. The Master stamped his class across the tournament and ran past the classy Mark Waugh to becoming the highest run getter in the tournament with 523 runs, while Kumble ended up being the tournament's best bowler, with 15 wickets.

Jayasuriya’s pinch-hitting shocked the world as he showed a sample with his 44-ball 82 against England in the quarterfinals. Lara organized his own fireworks show too as he belted 111 off 94 balls against South Africa and ensured that they didn’t go anywhere but home after the match. Jadeja’s 45 off 25 balls and Sidhu’s 93 against Pakistan in the third quarter-final ended a nightmarish day for Pakistan that began with Wasim Akram pulling out of the patch – it also ended their World Cup dreams.

But the knock of the tournament was a special one, reserved for a special occasion - Aravinda de Silva decided to make the finals his own, took on the best team in the world and made them look second-best, with his 107 as Sri Lanka chased Australia's modest 241 with 4 overs to spare.

1992 World Cup – Australia, New Zealand
‘It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Jonty' became the slogan of the ’92 World Cup as Jonty Rhodes, unlike Icarus, needed no wings of wax to became the first airborne fielder in the history of the game. It was also a tournament where the biggest contribution came not from the bat or ball, but from a captain. Imran Khan inspired his team - that had capitulated to a mere 74 all out to England – to come back to win the World Cup.

Two other gentlemen who got their names inscribed in the history books were Messrs. Duckworth and Lewis as their new-fangled calculations for rain-affected matches resulted in the situation swiftly changing from South Africa needing 22 off 13 balls to 21 off 1 ball after a bout of rain.

Martin Crowe showed what a class act he was with 456 runs and a sensational average of 114. Wasim Akram tore through the top order of several teams and topped the wickets tally with 16 scalps. But the revelation of the World Cup was a youngster whose quickfire 60 off 37 balls, saw Pakistan into the finals. Of course, Inzy didn't entirely deviate from convention - he was run out at the end of his innings.

1987 World Cup – India, Pakistan
This was the first time a man swept his way to the finals - the Indian bowlers misread the signals when they found Graham Gooch on his knees. The sweep shot worked - Gooch ended the tournament scoring 471 runs in 8 innings.

The batting accolades went to two men who would play their last world cups. It was ironical that India's lone century in the tournament came from a man who scored the only one day 100 of his career. Gavaskar played a scorcher of an innings against New Zealand, scoring 103 off 88 balls - this from a man whose claim to World Cup fame was a 36 not out off 60 overs. The other innings was one that would stand for years as the highest World Cup score - one that beat Kapil’s 175 not out. King Richards piled up 181 runs off 125 balls against Sri Lanka, meting out unspeakable levels of cruelty to the likes of Asantha De Mel who went for 97 in his 10 overs.

What came as a surprise was that the fast bowlers excelled in the land of spinners. Abdul Qadir, Eddie Hemmings, Maninder Singh and Tim May were edged out by the roar of McDermott - who picked up 18 wickets in the tournament - and the wily spells of Imran Khan who followed with 17.

1983 World Cup – England
This could well have been the story of Lagaan, two decades before it was filmed. A scintillating knock of 175 not out by Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe was clearly the defining moment of the tournament and set the stage for India to get their hands on the Prudential World Cup.

While England, Pakistan and the Windies were notching up the big hundreds that became the talking point of the tournament, it was the 30s and the 50s of India that mattered most. Krish Srikkanths's 38 in the finals, Yashpal Sharma's 61 in the semis, an 8 for 49 off 16.2 overs between Madan Lal and Roger Binny that decimated Australia, the prodigious inswinger from Balwinder Singh Sandhu that started so wide off the pitch and knocked back Greenidge’s stumps, Kapil’s unbelievable catch of Richards, with the ball coming from behind him – every little contribution counted.

And for the only time in his career, Gavaskar played neither as a batsman or a captain - he played as a lucky charm. His six matches fetched just 59 runs at an average of 9.83, but he was the talisman - when he didn't play, India lost!

1979 World Cup – England
The story of the ’79 edition in four words - Windies on the roll. The final was truly the tale of two Caribbean Kings - Vivian 'King' Richards and Collis King. An amazing 138 by Richards and a hell-raising 86 by King put the West Indies in a position from where there was only one place to go - the podium to pick up the cup. While the batsmen plundered runs, it was the turn of ‘Big Bird’ Joel Garner to swoop down and prey on the unfortunate Englishmen, with a haul of 5 for 38.

The rest of the World Cup was more about partnerships than individual brilliance - Greenidge and Haynes, Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas, Brearley and Boycott. It was also amusing to see batsmen like Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan and Geoff Boycott make their mark as bowlers – of course, Richards couldn’t be kept out of it as he picked up three wickets in the semi-finals against Pakistan.

But for the Windies, it was the big four - Holding, Croft, Roberts and Garner. Together with the likes of Greenidge, Richards and Haynes, they made their World Cup journey a tale of the fast and the furious.

1975 World Cup – England
Big hundreds, bigger names, devastating bowling spells, excitement, stunning finishes, one sided contests - the inaugural World Cup may well rank as the best to those who got their first taste of a one day competition.

Dennis Amiss made the first World Cup ton - 137 off 147 balls and Chris Old gave meaning to the world pinch-hitter with 51 off just 30 balls. Glenn Turner's 171, Alan Turner’s 101, Keith Fletcher's 131 - runs flowed as the competition went on to the penultimate stages. And two heart-stopping semi-finals followed - the first where Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts put on 64 runs to take the Windies to a win, from 203 for 9 and the second where Gary Gilmour’s 6-14 resulted in England collapsing for 93. In reply, Australia were 39 for 6 and it took Gilmour to star with the bat as he scored 28.

The Australia vs West Indies final was evenly matched with lusty hitting by Lloyd (102 off 85 balls) and a splendid bowling effort of 5-48 by Gilmour. But one particular performance stood out - Vivian Richards had not yet been proclaimed king, but singlehandedly stole the thunder with three runouts that broke the Aussie top order. After a catch off a no-ball, the crowds repeatedly rushing in, a missing ball, and five runouts, Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief as he held aloft the World cup for the first time ever in cricketing history.

(Appeared in the New Indian Express Sunday Supplement on 18 February, 2007)