1975 CWC: When WI ruled the world! Lloyd’s flourish creates history

(Part 51.) Lloyd’s crowning glory.

West Indies cricket has enjoyed many moments of celebration, but few match lifting the trophy at the first Men’s Cricket World Cup—50 years ago today, 21 June 1975.

For the final time and for the final edition of this 51-day series, here’s Tony Cozier’s match report from the commemorative brochure World Champions ‘75:

Inspired by a magical performance by their captain, Clive Lloyd, the West Indies deservedly won cricket’s first World Cup by beating Australia by 17 runs in a Final which did the occasion proud.

If this competition continues for another 100 years, there will hardly be an individual performance to better that produced by Lloyd in this inaugural one. There may be innings which match his vital, domineering century but none will surpass its quality.

Scores:

West Indies 291 for 8 off 60 overs (Clive Lloyd 102, Rohan Kanhai 55, Keith Boyce 34, Bernard Julien 26 not out; Gary Gilmour 5-48, Jeff Thomson 2-44, Dennis Lillee 1-55);

Australia 274 all out off 58.4 overs (Ian Chappell 62, Alan Turner 40, Doug Walters 35, Ross Edwards 28; Boyce 4-50, Lloyd 1-38).

Result: West Indies won by 17 runs.

Toss: Australia.

The sun shone throughout, the world’s most famous cricket ground was packed with a gaily coloured, multi-racial crowd and, for over nine hours, they watched international cricket at its most competitive and its most entertaining.

For the large West Indian section there was justifiable cause for jubilation, for ringing their bells and for beating out Caribbean rhythms with used beer cans or recently consumed rum bottles.

The match was virtually decided by Lloyd’s innings which, from first ball to last, was a brutal yet almost flawless assault on the Australian bowling of whom only the young left-armer Gilmour escaped unscathed.

By the time it was over, the West Indies had gone from the insecurity of 50 for three to 199 for four and the foundation had been spectacularly laid for the second half of the order to launch the offensive for which it was so well equipped.

A total of 291 for eight always seemed beyond Australia’s capabilities (no team has ever made as much to win a limited-overs match) but there was an early threat which was only checked by the accurate medium-pace of—who else?—Lloyd.

It was, however, not entirely a one-man show. While he was running rampant, hitting two sixes and 12 fours off a mere 85 balls that he faced, Lloyd was given quiet, reassuring support by the evergreen Kanhai.

Kanhai’s carefully-compiled half-century was a highly important contribution—after the traumatic loss of Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran and Gordon Greenidge in the first hour and 20 minutes of the day.

Their partnership of 149 converted what might well have been disaster into a commanding position.

Then, after the fall of Lloyd, Kanhai and Viv Richards in quick succession, Boyce, Julien and Deryck Murray picked up the momentum of the innings again in the closing stages.

In Australia’s innings, it was the magnificent fielding of Richards, who accounted for three run outs, which interrupted the flow of things and clinched the telling wickets of Turner and the Chappell brothers.

Thereafter, there was no way a team of experienced professionals would allow the Cup to slip from their grasp—even though, as everyone knew they would, the opposition carried the fight down to the very last wicket and to the penultimate over.

Although all ended well for the West Indies, the early omens were not promising. Australia won the toss, decided to bat second and, in the third over, secured a valuable, if lucky, wicket.

Fredericks, hooking Lillee magnificently into the crowd at fine leg for six, lost his footing and tumbled back onto his stumps.

When Kallicharran, after stroking two effortless boundaries off Gilmour, followed a ball from the same bowler wide of off-stump and touched it to Rod Marsh and Greenidge did the same against Thomson attempting a drive, the silence among West Indian spectators was understandable.

Lloyd strode to the crease and immediately stamped his authority on play. He flicked Lillee off his toes and the ball raced to the boundary. He then deposited him over the ropes backward of square-leg with a hook. By now, it was clear this was to be an innings out of the ordinary.

The West Indian captain, his maroon cap perched at a jaunty angle, just stood there and despatched the ball from his presence to all parts of the field just as he pleased.

It was one of those occasions, not rare with Lloyd, when bowlers simply don’t know where to bowl and would rather not have to. Poor Max Walker was the most unfortunate—his 12 overs costing 71 runs after his first seven had yielded a mere 22.

During the 24 overs he was at the wicket, Lloyd played an attacking shot almost every ball. At 26, he pulled Lillee low to mid-wicket where Edwards just failed to make a terrific low catch to his right.

Earlier, he had been genuinely beaten by a slower ball from the same bowler. There were the only two errors I can remember.

It is difficult to single out his best shot, there were so many—although it would be hard to better his six off Walker into the top tier of the Grandstand at square-leg.

The ball was what most other batsmen would regard as good length, pitching middle and leg. Lloyd was on the front foot, with a free, clean swing of his three-pound bat, connecting in the meatiest part of the blade.

Lloyd was eventually given out caught down the legside by Marsh off Gilmour, the only bowler who escaped much of the punishment because of his tight control of length and line.

Lloyd appeared to believe he never touched the ball. The standing umpire, Dickie Bird, was in no doubt—he only went across to his square-leg partner to ascertain whether the ball had carried.

Gilmour caused some deceleration in the progress of the innings by bowling Kanhai and Richards, both driving. But Boyce, Julien and Murray quickly revived West Indian spirits with some belligerent blows—the most telling of which was a hook for six by Murray off Lillee, which was in the best tradition of his captain.

The Australians somewhat uncharacteristically spilled five catches during the innings, two by the usually impeccable Edwards. In addition, their groundwork was sometimes ragged. But this is what can happen in the best of regulated teams when the pressure is on.

The Australian reply was purposeful. They had a considerable challenge ahead of them and it was clear that they needed to take risks to meet it. As it turned out, they had to take a few too many.

Rick McCosker soon edged Boyce low to second slip. But then the left-handed Turner and Ian Chappell so deftly picked up their runs that the score was 81 in the 21st over—Lloyd’s first—when the Australian captain made the first of his three vital running errors.

He played the ball towards mid-wicket. There was a yes, a no and then a yes and just enough hesitation to allow Richards’ speed and accuracy to find Turner short of his ground with a direct hit of the striker’s stumps.

At 39, Ian Chappell was badly dropped by Kallicharran at mid-off off Boyce who, earlier, had missed a stinging return off the same bat. So Australia went to tea at 107 for two off 25 overs—the Chappells in occupation and the match nicely poised.

Two more run outs and Lloyd’s control put the handcuffs on Australia after the interval.

Richards again threw down the stumps with only one at which to aim, this time from point, to rid the West Indies of the worry of Greg Chappell. And, after Ian Chappell and Walters had added 47 in fine style, Ian hesitated over a single again—for the last time.

Richards, from wide of mid-on, returned on top of the bails to Lloyd and an excellent innings by the Australian captain had ended.

Australia then were 162 for four, 38 overs had gone and, with Walters just warming to the job and Edwards, Marsh and Gilmour still to come, they were not out of it yet. Not quite, although they were soon to be.

Walters, hitting all across Lloyd’s in-cutter, was bowled off-stump and, when Boyce came back for his second spell, Marsh was yorked.

Gilmour played one or two telling shots before hooking Boyce into deep square-leg’s lap, Edwards skied a catch to cover with a stroke he will want to forget and Walker was the fourth man run out—his stumps thrown down by Holder from square-leg as he ventured too far from his ground.

The crowd now expectantly ringed the outfield waiting for the end. But Thomson and Lillee had a few surprises for them. Swinging as only fast bowlers can and scampering between the wickets like a pair of Olympic sprinters, they ended the match with a fitting and exciting flurry.

The throng was now in such a state of excitement that even the police cordons could not contain them. When Thomson gave Fredericks at cover a catch off Holder, it was the signal for an invasion.

Umpire Bird’s best efforts to have his no-ball shout heard was futile. To add to the confusion, Fredericks threw to the bowler’s end as the batsmen started to run and the ball ran into the outfield, in between thousands of stampeding legs.

By the time the field was cleared, no one was sure how many the Australians had run. The umpire decided, in the circumstances, to give three.

Thomson and Lillee reduced the gap to 17 but it needed a miracle for it to have brought victory. When, in the 59th over, Thomson charged down to Holder and missed, Murray had the presence of mind and accuracy of throw to run him out from his position 12 yards back.

At 8.41pm precisely, a great tournament and a great match had come to an end.

(Epilogue.)

And that final comprehensive report from Tony Cozier brings the curtain down on our 50-day countdown (plus the day of the Final itself) to today, the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in the history of West Indies cricket—and, as the next 20 years would reveal, a period of unprecedented domination by the Caribbean side in the international game.

Special thanks to Lasana Liburd for not just accommodating such a protracted series but also putting in the hard work to have it ready for publication each day for almost two months.

Thanks also to diehard West Indies cricket fan Tony Inniss for loaning me his copy of World Cup Champions ‘75, without which this series could never have captured the essence of the tournament from a uniquely West Indian perspective.