Cricket World Cup: History

1975 England

Ian Chappell led an Australia side forged in his own image: rebellious, anti-establishment and aggressively confident. Clive Lloyd captained a talented, extrovert West Indies' side, well-schooled in English conditions where most of their team played county cricket.

Australia were at the peak of their powers, with Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson forming a destructive pace duo who had torn England apart in the last Ashes series. West Indies were to assume the mantle of unofficial world champions in the following decade. Both were among the best teams in history.

England, despite their struggles in Australia, had the bowlers to exploit green English pitches but fell victim in the semifinals to a third Australia pace bowler, left-arm swing merchant Gary Gilmour. West Indies predictably defeated New Zealand to qualify for a sell-out final at Lord's.

On the longest day of the year in brilliant sunshine Lloyd (102) combined with the experienced Rohan Kanhai (52) to rescue West Indies after wickets fell early. Chappell top-scored for Australia with 62 before he was run out by Viv Richards, one of three run-outs by the athletic young Antiguan. An improbable last-wicket partnership of 49 between Lillee and Thomson in the gloaming gave Australia a glimmer of hope before the latter became the fifth and final run-out victim.

Scores: West Indies 291 off 60 overs (C.Lloyd 102); Australia 274 off 58.4 (I.Chappell 62). West Indies won by 17 runs.

1979 England

Kerry Packer sent a seismic shudder through the establishment with his breakaway World Series in 1977-78, hiring the cream of the world's cricketers for an Australian-based tournament including practically the entire Australia and West Indies sides.

A peace treaty was brokered in 1979, too late for Australia's leading players to win a place in their World Cup squad. West Indies had no such problems. Richards had developed into a frighteningly destructive batsman and, following a humiliating series defeat by Australia after the 1975 World Cup, Lloyd had introduced the brutally effective tactic of four express bowlers.

England, led by the cerebral Mike Brearley, had played effective cricket en route to the final but they came unstuck at Lord's where Brearley opted to play four specialist bowlers and use part-timers for the remaining 12.

Collis King (86) and Richards (138 not out, including a six off the final ball of the innings) flourished as the occasional bowlers went for 86. Although Brearley (64) and Geoff Boycott (57) put on 129 for the first wicket they scored far too slowly and the giant Joel Garner ran through the middle and lower order with a succession of toe-crushing yorkers.

Scores: West Indies 286 (V.Richards 138 not out, C.King 86); England 194 (M.Brearley 64; J.Garner 5-38). West Indies won by 92 runs.

1983 England

West Indies were in their pomp, inspired by the imperious Richards, abetted by the ageless Lloyd and accompanied by a seemingly endless supply of towering, tireless fast bowlers.

Their final against India, led by the 24-year-old all-rounder Kapil Dev, seemed a formality to the thousands of supporters flocking to Lord's amid a joyful cacophony of whistles and hooters.

West Indies set off at a gallop to overhaul the puny India total of 183 with Richards apparently attempting to win the game off his own bat. He reached 33 when he tried to loft Madan Lal to the boundary and was expertly caught by Kapil Dev running back.

Lloyd, batting with a runner after straining a groin muscle, fell for eight and the remaining batsmen feebly succumbed to an India side who could scarcely believe their eyes.

Scores: India 183 off 54.4 overs (K.Srikkanth 38); West Indies 140 off 52 overs (V.Richards 33). India won by 43 runs.

1987 India and Pakistan

By 1987, the one-day game had taken a firm grip of the Indian sub-continent and expectations were high for the first tournament staged outside England.

Australia, who had suffered a dreadful run in test and one-day cricket since losing the Chappell brothers, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh four years earlier, had determined to return to fundamentals.

Guided by coach Bobby Simpson and led by Allan Border, one of the toughest players in history, they upset Pakistan in the semifinal despite a polished all-round performance by Imran Khan, while Mike Gatting's England defeated India.

The final at a packed Eden Gardens turned on one ball. England were in a comfortable position chasing 254 to win when Border brought himself on to bowl his occasional left-arm spin. Gatting played an injudicious reverse sweep to the first ball and was caught and Australia went on to seal a narrow victory.

Scores: Australia 253 for five off 50 overs (D.Boon 75); England 246 for eight off 50 overs (W.Athey 58). Australia won by seven runs.

1992 Australia and New Zealand

Imran Khan was back for a final fling after rescinding his latest retirement, only to find his team under-performing woefully in the early stages.

Urged by Imran to fight like cornered tigers, Pakistan responded by winning their semifinal against a New Zealand side who, led from the front by Martin Crowe, had set the early pace in the tournament.

In the Sydney final against a professional England outfit captained by Graham Gooch, Imran displayed his classical batting technique in a match-winning 72 at number three, setting the scene for his fiery young left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram to tear through the England upper order.

Pakistan 249 for six off 50 overs (Imran Khan 72, Javed Miandad 58); England 227 off 49.2 overs (N.Fairbrother 62). Pakistan won by 22 runs.

1996 India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

One-day cricket had evolved into an increasingly subtle product during the previous decade with a natural home in Asia where crowds flocked to limited-overs matches and increasingly ignored traditional tests.

Appropriately, it was an Asian side in the form of Sri Lanka who took the game to another dimension. The Sri Lankans, inspired by dynamic left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya, defied conventional wisdom by attacking the bowling from the first ball, fully exploiting the field restrictions in the first 15 overs.

In the final they met an Australia side who had tumbled to 15 for four in their semifinal against West Indies before recovering to win by five runs.

Australia's total of 241 for seven was barely respectable and Aravinda de Silva ensured a Sri Lanka victory with a serene unbeaten 107.

Australia 241 for seven off 50 overs (Mark Taylor 74); Sri Lanka 245 for three off 46.2 overs (A.Gurusinha 65, A. de Silva 107 not out). Sri Lanka won by seven wickets.

1999 England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Australia faced elimination after slumping to 48 for three in reply to South Africa's 271 in their final super six match. The crisis was overcome by the steely resolution of captain Steve Waugh, dropped by Herschelle Gibbs on 58, who scored an unbeaten 120.

The pair met again in the semifinals in perhaps the greatest one-day international. South Africa had the game won with a wicket in hand, the burly Lance Klusener at the crease and one run required from four balls.

Knowing a tie would put Australia through to the final because of their superior run rate in the tournament, Waugh placed his fielders in a ring. Klusener smacked one ball straight for no run, smashed a similar shot from the next and took off at the same time as his partner Allan Donald. With both batsmen stranded, bowler Damien Fleming flicked the bails off.

The final against Pakistan was, conversely, monotonously one-sided after the Pakistanis were dismissed for a paltry 132 in 39 overs. Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist smacked 50 from 33 balls and the match was over after barely 4-1/2 hours.

Pakistan 132 from 39 overs (S.Warne 4-33); Australia 133 for two off 20.1 overs (A.Gilchrist 54). Australia won by eight wicket

 

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