Having been fortunate to cover many memorable days of Test cricket and ODIs, the 1975 World Cup final at Lord’s between Australia and the West Indies is still at the top of the tree for me.
But what made it so memorable started two days before, on June 21, when I paid Peter Lush a visit.
Throughout the tournament, the battalion of British cricket scribes commandeered the press boxes at every ground, even if England weren’t playing.
We ‘colonials’ were banished to the extremities.
I suggested to Lush – the secretary of the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB), at Lord’s – that as England hadn’t reached the final, the only fair way was for the TCCB to allocate seats was by ballot.
Lush agreed, and he contacted all cricket scribes to be at Lord’s by 8.30am on final day to see where they were to sit.
It was my lucky day, having been balloted in the seond row between Denis Compton on my left, and Freddie Trueman on the right. The best of both worlds. Two legends, and two of the greatest blokes you could ever wish to know.
At 8.45am, out came a hip flask on either side. “Thanks fellas, but far too early for me,” was my reply.
But the legends were constantly attacking their flasks, and their highy amusing banter was just as constant, Denis telling us how he would bat against the Australian attack, and Freddie giving his views as to how he would bowl to the Windies’ batsmen.
We lost Denis just after 1pm, he was gonzo and left to find some quiet spot within Lord’s for a few zeds. But Freddie wasn’t to be denied.
Having filled his flask eight times, I lost count, he was still going strong when stumps were drawn, standing erect when the Windies had won the final by 17 runs, suggesting to me, “Come on Lordy, let’s go and have a decent drink.”
It was nearly 9pm, and I had to file to Sydney, so I told Freddie I’d join him later.
In between all that priceless banter, one helluva game of cricket broke out.
It started with the fall of the first wicket. Roy Fredericks hooked Dennis Lillee over the fence for a monster six, and in the process trod on his wicket.
Windies 1-12, a dramatic start in front of a full house at the home of cricket. It couldn’t have been scripted better for drama.
Alvin Kallicharran fell to Gary Gilmour – Windies 2-27. Then Gordon Greenidge was caught behind off Jeff Thomson to have the Windies in trouble at 3-50.
That brought together skipper Clive Lloyd and the veteran Rohan Kanhai for a fourth wicket stand of 149 that gave the Windies a very defendable target of 8-291 off their 60 overs.
Lloyd’s blockbusting 102 off 85 saw him named man of the match, while Kanhai’s support role of 55 off 105 was just as important to keep the Australian attack at bay.
Gilmour was the best Australian bowler with 5-48 off his 12. Thomson took 2-44, and Lillee 1-55.
Then came a history-making Australian reply, but a loss.
For the first time in Test and ODI cricket, there were five run-outs in Australia’s innings. To this day the record is four run-outs in a Test dig – and it’s only happened twice: for India against Pakistan at Peshawar in 1955, and for Australia against the Windies in 1969.
It took 23 years for the second five run-outs in an ODI innings, when New Zealand played Sri Lanka in 1998, and there have been eight more since – the last for South Africa against New Zealand in 2013.
For Australia’s chances of winning the inaugural World Cup, the run-outs were terminal.
Viv Richards was responsible for the first three, in a panther-like performance with bullet direct hits to dismiss Alan Turner (40) and Greg Chappell (15), then one came right over the bails for Lloyd to run-out Ian Chappell (65).
Vanburn Holder caught the Richards’ accuracy to run-out Max Walker (7), and the game ended with keeper Deryck Murray running out Thomson (21), after he and Lillee had added 41 for the last wicket and looked like pinching the silverware at the death.
As more than half the capacity 26,000 crowd spilled onto the ground to watch the Duke of Edinburgh present Clive Lloyd with the trophy and the man of the match award, I was in the Long Room at Lord’s with Freddie Trueman, having a decent drink.
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