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(Part 16.) Man for a crisis.
Clive Lloyd lifted the trophy and provided the stellar individual performance of the 1975 World Cup final, but it was the quietly efficient man behind the stumps who sealed the triumph for the West Indies—his underarm return finding a diving last man Jeff Thomson just short of his ground.
Photo: Sportstar (India).
And with 35 days to go to the 50th anniversary of that historic victory over Australia at the spiritual headquarters of the game, Deryck Murray comes into focus.
As the wicketkeeper-batsman, Murray’s calm, unflappable demeanour contrasted sharply with some of his more excitable and demonstrative teammates. And, as we will be reminded later on in this countdown, those qualities were critical for the Caribbean side in navigating their greatest challenge over the fortnight of competition.
For now, though, it is worth appreciating the circumstances of the stop-start nature of his international career before he came into uninterrupted possession of the keeper’s gloves for the West Indies—ten years after a dream debut.
The Trinidadian gloveman claimed a then record 24 victims in the five-Test series.
Selected at age 20 for the West Indies tour of England in 1963, injury to first-choice gloveman David Allan gave the Trinidadian a golden opportunity which he grasped, literally, with both hands.
Murray claimed a record 24 dismissals across the five Tests off the formidable bowling line-up of tearaway pacers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, the many varieties of Garry Sobers, and the classical off-spin of Lance Gibbs.
It must have been both awe-inspiring and educational for the young man to be in the company of these legends, who also included the likes of Rohan Kanhai, Conrad Hunte, Seymour Nurse and Basil Butcher. He would have benefitted too from the wisdom of departing captain and inspiration Frank Worrell, for whom this was his final series.
(via ICC.)
As someone who placed great emphasis on education, Worrell would surely have appreciated the young Murray prioritising his education over cricket at that point. A university degree came first and it was not until the home series against England five years later that he was playing Test cricket again.
Then there would be another five-year hiatus until he returned for Australia’s visit in 1973 to take the wicketkeeper’s spot permanently.
He marked the second comeback with a battling 90 in Barbados and also contributed 91 in a 250-run sixth-wicket partnership with new captain Lloyd in the deciding Test of an entertaining five-match series against India in Mumbai in early 1975.
Photo: CWI.
A Test century proved elusive in his 62-match Test career but very little got past or through him standing behind the stumps, where his understated manner meant he was hardly ever noticed in the field—except on those rare occasions where he made an error.
As one of the few seniors in a young, exciting squad, it was expected that he would not so much lead from the front but provide the rearguard where necessary… And so he did.
Next: Vanburn Holder, the dedicated journeyman.
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Fazeer Mohammed is a journalist/broadcaster with almost 40 years’ experience across a range of media.
His interest in cricket, and particularly its history, started at home via his father’s small collection of autobiographies and magazines, offering perspectives and context which have informed his commentary and analysis on contemporary issues in the game.
