“We were going into the unknown and were really excited about it,” said West Indian great Alvin Kallicharran remembering the 1975 World Cup in England.
“It was the inaugural World Cup and we didn’t quite know what to expect,” said Kallicharran, back in Chennai for a visit, to The Hindu .
Kallicharran recalled going to the Buckingham Palace with the West Indian team to meet the Queen. “We saw the other teams taking part with their captains. It was the first time that we saw and met so many teams under one roof!”
Familiar with format
Although this was the first ODI World Cup, Kallicharran said the cricketers, including several West Indians, were familiar with one-day cricket having played the format on a regular basis in the English county circuit.
The West Indies had an outstanding batting line-up but that was the era just before the lethal pace bowlers entered the scene. “We had Andy Roberts, and then the medium-pacers came into the picture” noted Kallicharran.
Actually, a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Pakistan in a group game at Birmingham instilled belief in the West Indians.
They were on the brink at 203 for nine, pursuing a challenging target of 267, when Derrick Murray and Roberts got together.
Tense dressing room
Kallicharran reminisced, “The dressing room was very tense. Those days, Roberts couldn’t bat much. A lot hinged on Murray.
“But Majid Khan had bowled his leading bowlers out in an attempt to bowl us out by the 50th over [an innings comprised 60 overs then] which left them without regular bowlers in the end.”
Eventually, the West Indies, with Murray and Roberts remaining unbeaten on 61 and 24, won the humdinger by one wicket with two deliveries remaining.
Then, helmetless and his shirt unbuttoned, Kallicharran, the little left-hander, took on the menacing Dennis Lillee fearlessly in a timeless face-off at the Oval.
Epic confrontation
During his game-changing 78 in this league clash, Kallicharran struck Lillee for 35 runs in a 10-ball blitz of 4,4,4,4,4,1,4,6,0 and 4.
“Lillee bowled quick that day, said a few things, and I attacked him with pulls, cuts and backfoot drives,” said Kallicharran matter-of-factly on one of the all-time epic confrontations in World Cup history.
The two giants met again in the final and the West Indies subdued a spirited Australia by 17 runs in a titanic clash at the Lord’s.
“Lloyd batted brilliantly for his 102 and his partnership with Rohan Kanhai gave us the runs. Then Vivian Richards, lithe and agile, was sensational on the field, effecting three run outs — Alan Turner and the Chappell brothers — swooping in from areas such as mid-wicket and square-leg and scoring direct hits.”
The West Indies had triumphed and a star, Richards, was born.
