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(Part 43.) ‘Thommo’ on the rampage.
With eight days to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies’ defeat of Australia in the 1975 Cricket World Cup final, and after spending the last two editions of the series focusing on the Caribbean side’s thrilling one-wicket win over Pakistan in Birmingham, we now turn our attention to Australia.
And we look back now on the day that Australian tearaway fast bowler Jeff Thomson battered Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen, through the eyes of one of his teammates on the field that day, spinner Ashley Mallett.
This article was first published on ESPNCricinfo on 9 February 2015:
Former Sri Lanka opening batsman Sunil Wettimuny has known just one fear in a life in which he flew jet airliners for 30 years, experiencing bad storms, mechanical breakdowns and terrorist bomb threats: the fear of having to face Jeff Thomson, arguably the fastest bowler to draw breath.
Wettimuny’s tryst with Thommo took place in a World Cup match at The Oval on 11 June 1975.
Copyright: Getty Images.
Australia won the toss and batted, belting the Sri Lankans to the tune of 328 for five.
Straightaway Australia’s captain, Ian Chappell, unleashed his fast men—Thommo and Dennis Lillee—upon the unsuspecting Sri Lankans (at the start of their reply).
“We had never seen such pace and with the way Thommo seemed to hide the ball behind his back, you couldn’t pick it at all,” Wettimuny recalled.
In his opening spell Thomson hit Wettimuny twice in the inner thigh, and also delivered a cracking blow to the hip bone and a crunching hit to the ribcage.
Despite the aggression of Thommo and Lillee, the Sri Lankans batted bravely.
But his most searing memory of the event was facing fierce Australia pacer Jeff Thomson.
“We thought our total of 328 was unbeatable, but our back-up bowlers were leaking runs too easily,” said Mallett. “I was going at six an over, Max Walker and Lillee at four an over, and Walters at five. Only Thommo seemed able to restrict the scoring.”
Chappell read the warning signs. The match was getting away from Australia. Ranjit Fernando scored 22, Bandula Warnapura 31, and Duleep Mendis was batting stylishly on 32 when Chappell threw Thommo—who once in a Shield game trapped Rick Darling lbw and the batsman had to be carried off on a stretcher—the ball for another spell.
Poor Mendis.
Mendis endured a chastening experience at the 1975 World Cup but later developed as a batsman and eventual captain of Sri Lanka.
(via Wisden.)
He played a couple of Thommo’s deliveries, after which the fast man let fly. The ball rose from a good length like a striking cobra. Mendis tried valiantly to fend it off but the ball hit him squarely on the forehead. He staggered and fell heavily to the crease.
“There we were, peering down at the diminutive Mendis lying face down on the pitch,” said Mallett. “To our great relief he stirred and turned over onto his back. His eyes were open, like saucers. Tears streamed down his face.”
“How yar goin’ mate?” someone asked.
Mendis opened his eyes wider, the tears continuing to stream down his face, and said: “Oh, my God!… I am going now.”
Wettimuny, nursing badly bruised ribs, watched his brave partner being carried off the ground on a stretcher.
Thommo was booed by the crowd as the Sri Lankan captain, Anura Tennekoon, slowly ambled to the crease.
At the time, Sri Lanka were still bidding for Test status, which was eventually awarded in 1981.
“I took a long time to get to the wicket,” Tennekoon said. “I stopped to see if Duleep was okay. Not a very pleasant situation, having to face Thomson after he had just knocked one of our men out cold.”
Wettimuny took a single off Walker’s next over, which meant he was now facing Thommo again.
“I have this vivid image of what happened on Thommo’s third ball of the over,” Tennekoon remembered. “He hit Sunil flush on the instep and as he hopped about in pain Thomson tried to run him out.”
But Thommo saw things differently: “I had the ball in my hand and as the batsman hopped about, my teammates were urging me to throw down the stumps and run him out.
“I threw down the stumps at the batsman’s end with Sunil miles out of his ground. I appealed and no other bastard among my teammates joined in on the appeal. They all stood about with their arms folded. I was done cold.”
Thommo also remembers saying to Sunil: “Look mate, it’s (the foot) not broken. But if you face up to the next ball it bloody well will be broken!”
Thomson was at his menacing best against Sri Lanka during the 1975 World Cup.
Photo: Getty Images.
After a lengthy delay, Wettimuny bravely stood up to face the next ball. It was an identical sandshoe crusher and screamed into Sunil’s right instep, the exact spot where he had been hit the previous ball.
This time Sunil collapsed in agony and had to be carried off the ground on a stretcher. He was taken directly to join Mendis at nearby St Thomas’ Hospital.
Wettimuny will never forget that day.
“Never before or since did I know fear on a cricket field,” he said. “When I got to hospital I discovered I had sustained a hairline fracture of the rib, my right foot was broken, I had a dreadful bruise on my inner thigh, my hip bone was badly bruised and I was completely numb in my left leg.
Copyright: PA Photos.
“I thought I was paralysed. The numbness stayed with me for 12 hours. Later on I remember Sri Lankan players telling me of the great pace of Imran Khan.
“Sure, Imran was a speed merchant, but compared to Thommo, Imran came at you at a gentle medium pace.”
Unbeknown to Duleep and Sunil, a policeman, who was not on duty at the World Cup game, heard the tail-end of a radio report about two Sri Lankans who were assaulted by an Australian cricketer at The Oval.
Photo: Martin Williamson.
“Next morning a policeman walked into my room,” Duleep smiled. “He held his bobby’s helmet under one arm and he asked, ‘Do you want to press charges against a Mr Jeff Thomson?’”
Mendis marvels at Thommo’s speed.
“If you go to the West Indies and talk to the old fellows in the stands, they know the game backwards and they have seen all the great fast bowlers: Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose,” he said, “and when you ask them who was the fastest of the lot, they will say, ‘JR Thomson’.”
Copyright: Patrick Eager/ Getty Images.
Thommo’s legendary pace left its mark on many, as we learn from Mike Brearley’s words: “Broken marriages, conflicts of loyalty, the problems of everyday life fall away as one faces up to Thomson.”
Scores: Australia 328 for 5 off 60 overs (Alan Turner 101, Rick McCosker 73, Doug Walters 59, Greg Chappell 50; Somachandra de Silva 2-60, Mevan Pieris 2-68);
Sri Lanka 276 for 4 off 60 overs (Sunil Wettimuny 53, Michael Tissera 52, Anura Tennekoon 48, Duleep Mendis 32; Ian Chappell 2-14, Jeff Thomson 1-22, Ashley Mallett 1-72).
Result: Australia won by 52 runs.
On the same day, 11 June, in Group A, England strolled past New Zealand by 80 runs in Nottingham and India thrashed East Africa by ten wickets in Leeds.
Scores at Nottingham: England 266 for 6 off 60 overs (Keith Fletcher 131, Mike Denness 37, Frank Hayes 34; Richard Collinge 2-43, Dayle Hadlee 2-55, Richard Hadlee 1-66);
New Zealand 186 all out off 60 overs (John Morrison 55, Brian McKechnie 27, Ken Wadsworth 25; Tony Greig 4-45, Chris Old 2-29, Derek Underwood 2-30).
Scores at Leeds: East Africa 120 all out off 55.3 overs (Jawahir Shah 37, Ramesh Sethi 23; Madan Lal 3-15, Syed Abid Ali 2-22, Mohinder Amarnath 2-39);
India 123 for 0 off 29.5 overs (Sunil Gavaskar 65 not out, Farokh Engineer 54 not out).
Next on the countdown: ‘Kalli’ carves up Lillee.
(Part 42.) “West Indies surely now cannot win!” Television commentator and former Australian captain and leg-spinner Richie Benaud’s crisp, precise Read more
(Part 41.) Deryck Murray, Andy Roberts save the day. With 10 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Read more
(Part 40.) Competing views “This one-day cricket is crap!” That was the view of Stephen Hearst. Who was (he passed Read more
(Part 39.) Winning starts for Aussies and Kiwis. They may be neighbours and both former British colonies in the Southern Read more
On the day the 1975 Cricket World Cup got underway in England, the West Indies’ demolition of Sri Lanka by Read more
(Part 37.) West Indies too professional. With 14 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory Read more
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.
