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India
Inspired? What the recent defeats have done is to show the world that the Australians are beatable and do panic and fumble and drop catches as all do. The losses have taken way the aura of invincibility that the Aussies had, and most crucially, it has taken away the awe factor, where teams playing them have lost the match even before a ball has been bowled. So, who will be the challengers to their crown? There’s South Africa, who now occupy the number one spot in the ICC rankings, there’s England who have come back well to win the tri-series in Australia. There’s New Zealand, who beat the Aussies handsomely in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series, there’s hosts West Indies, who have the advantage of playing in front of their home crowds and knowing exactly how the pitches will behave, and there are the three superpowers of the Indian subcontinent — India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The biggest advantage the subcontinental teams have is the presence of quality slow bowlers in their ranks. It is never easy to hit top-class spin bowlers even in limited-overs cricket and they play a crucial role in checking the flow of runs in the middle overs. Whether Pakistan will employ Danish Kaneria in their playing eleven remains to be seen, but they have in Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik bowlers capable of bowling their quota and not going for too many runs and pick up useful wickets as well. The fact that both are explosive batsmen who can turn a match on its head is well known. The same goes for Sri Lanka, who have the peerless Muttiah Muralitharan in their ranks, and while he will no doubt bowl his quota of overs, it’s the overs bowled by Jayasuriya and Dilshan, which will decide how many the Lankans have to chase or how well they have defended their total. Like Afridi and Malik, both Jayasuriya and Dilshan can bang the ball a fair distance and thus add flexibility to the Lankan line-ups. For India, too, the use of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh will be crucial to their progress in the tournament. Tendulkar has the ability to bowl his mixed bag in one over, thereby not allowing the batsmen to second-guess him, and he generally bowls the ball going away from the batsman as his main delivery. This is mainly to have the batsmen hit against the turn, and he has been successful in snaring the best with his variation. Sehwag may not have the variety that Tendulkar has, but he has the happy knack of breaking partnership and taking wickets. Yuvraj will go into the tournament underbowled, simply because India’s main bowlers have done a great job leading up to the tournament. Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel have all bowled well and Sreesanth, too, is quickly adapting his line to conform to the needs of limited-overs cricket. Rahul Dravid has the flexibility not only in the bowling department with the presence of Tendulkar, Yuvraj and Sehwag, but he can also turn to Ganguly for the occasional over of seam-up, which works because he bowls pretty much “wicket to wicket” and gets batsmen who miss the ball leg before wicket. Rahul also has the options of moving his batsmen up and down the order, what with four batsmen who can open the batting in ODIs. Ganguly and Uthappa, followed by Sehwag, Tendulkar, the skipper himself and Yuvraj and Dhoni to follow, is a line-up that can give the shakes to even the Australians, especially as the pitches in the West Indies will not afford much lateral movement to the new-ball bowlers nor much bounce, excepting on the odd occasion. India need to go in believing they can win every game and win it by a big margin. That will be a champion-like way of being the world champs.
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Lessons from the past: Stick to your runs
Our build-up to the World Cup actually started about 14 months earlier. In my mind, four factors played a part in our preparation. The first, the January 2002 ODI series vs England in India, in which we were held 3-3. This was a galling result because we were up 3-1 after four games. I was so disappointed that I spent two weeks dredging up all the statistical data I could lay my hands on to analyse the way we played one-day cricket. My conclusion? What most good judges and many fans knew already: we didn’t take enough singles when we batted or saved enough in the field. As a result, we created pressure for ourselves when batting and couldn’t apply enough pressure in the field. A factor that worked for us in 2003 was the emergence of youth in the side with the arrival of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif and Dinesh Mongia. They had been out of the side for a while but when they returned, they rejuvenated the team with their enthusiasm and fielding. Then, the addition of a fitness trainer in Adrian Le Roux to the support staff which till that time had consisted of Andrew Leipus, the physio, and myself. We tried to help the players improve their overall fitness, agility and strength but we were busy enough with our other roles. Anyway, Andrew was too slow and I was too old. Adrian’s contribution was significant. Hotel gyms became our meeting place and at meal times, the slogan “just a snack, not a meal” became a catchphrase. Finally and the most important factor was that in our minds, the entire party truly believed we were capable of winning the tournament. As the World Cup drew closer, we won the series against Zimbabwe and then in the West Indies, the NatWest Trophy at Lord’s with help from Kaif and Yuvraj, and went onto share the ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. From then on things got a bit sticky. A close series 3-4 loss to the West Indies at home was followed by that fateful tour of New Zealand whose wickets Harbhajan described quite accurately, as “gardens”. We lost the series and our batting form but, no matter what people said, the belief that we would do well in the World Cup never left us. In New Zealand’s seam-friendly conditions, our bowlers found confidence and form and because some games finished early we had plenty of time to train in the gym. We may have left New Zealand a losing side, but we were a very fit team. Like other teams, we arrived in South Africa full of hope. We worked hard in at our base camp in Durban but lost one of two practice games against Natal, as our batsmen failed again and my mood went from grim to grumpy. Before our first match against Holland, we spent two days with psychologist Sandy Gordon. These were valuable sessions in which we talked about ideas and issues like leadership from within the team, team goals being more important than individual goals, respecting weaker opposition and playing one game at a time. We started slowly: scratchy against Holland and hammered by the Aussies. Our fans lost patience with us and it was crisis time. Against Zimbabwe, much stronger those days, we had to fall back on our team theme: now or never. Opening up, Sachin Tendulkar led the way with 81 in Harare and victory brought relief all around. Namibia next brought a hundred from Sourav, which helped his leadership and captaincy, and Ashish Nehra then sliced up England in Durban. The “Sehwag and Sachin” show took care of the big one against Pakistan. The game was finished off by Dravid, Kaif and Yuvraj. By the time we reached the final we had played 10 games, won 9 and lost one. We had gathered momentum and a positive mood and the team (and the coach) was fun to be around. Four years on, I feel proud of being associated with that team. The final, as I don’t need to write, was a game we would like to play again. The questions from it (should we have batted? played five bowlers?) are consigned to the past of lessons learnt. The lessons learnt were to always believe, to trust yourself and each other, to take the tournament one one game at time, to respect all opposition. And if you make the final one more time, I think I’d like to bat. World Cup final Australia Gilchrist c Sehwag b Harbhajan 57 Hayden c Dravid b Harbhajan 37 Ponting not out 140 Martyn not out 88 Extras
(b-2, lb-12, w-16, nb-7) 37 Total (2 wickets, 50 overs) 359 Fall of wickets:
1-105, 2-125. Bowling: Zaheer 7-0-67-0, Srinath 10-0-87-0, Nehra 10- 0-57-0, Harbhajan 8-0-49-2, Sehwag 3-0-14-0, Tendulkar 3-0-20-0, Mongia 7-0-39-0, Yuvraj 2-0-12-0. India Tendulkar c&b McGrath 4 Sehwag run out 82 Ganguly c Lehmann b Lee 24 Kaif c Gilchrist b McGrath 0 Dravid b Bichel 47 Yuvraj c Lee b Hogg 24 Mongia c Martyn b Symonds 12 Harbhajan c McGrath b Symonds 7 Zaheer c Lehmann b McGrath 4 Srinath b Lee 1 Nehra not out 8 Extras
(b-4, lb-4, w-9, nb-4) 21 Total (all out, 39.2 overs) 234 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-58, 3-59, 4-147, 5-187, 6-208, 7-209, 8-223, 9-226. Bowling:
McGrath 8.2-0-52-3, Lee 7-1-31-2, Hogg 10-0-61-1, Lehmann 2-0-18-0, Bichel 10-0-57-1, Symonds 2-0-7-2.
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What they need: Right basics
Inzamam, the captain and premier batsman, may be short of runs at the moment, but that cannot justify his batting as low as No. 5 or 6. He should go in at No. 3, as that will give him the opportunity and overs to “settle down”. Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf, both of whom can graft and take singles and twos with most of the fielders in the deep, are better bets for the No. 5 or 6 slots. If Inzamam goes in at one-drop, his counterpart will be a worried individual, for the Pakistani captain possesses the ability to find the boundaries at will once he settles down. A quick glance at the scorecards of Pakistan’s recent matches will reveal that the team has done well whenever the top order has fired. It is all very nice to boast about a deep batting line-up, but then, it is unfair to expect the likes of Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal to deliver every time you lose four or five wickets for not many runs. They are better suited to going hammer and tongs in the end overs than halting a collapse in the middle. Shahid Afridi must open the batting. His approach is the same, regardless of where he bats, and there is a far greater possibility of his succeeding as an opener, with the field-restrictions in place, than in the middle or lower order. Imran Farhat, who has been left out, would have been my first-choice opener. My starting XI is: Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif (the last two subject to fitness). The bowling attack is potent; two fast bowlers, with Razzaq bowling first-change, and Kaneria being supported in the spin department by Afridi and Malik. That makes it as many as six strike bowlers. Cynics might claim that Kaneria has been picked only because there was no choice, in that some changes had to be made after the defeat in South Africa, but I would regard it as a positive move. It makes little sense to brand a player as a specialist in a particular format of the game. All those who argue that bowling figures of 0-30 are preferable to 2-50 are in my opinion, way off the mark. Quite simply, wicket-taking bowlers win you matches. Kaneria, who is a wicket-taking bowler, should have always been a part of the ODI squad. What I definitely would not like to see is someone like Akmal being thrust into the opener’s slot. The top-order batsmen should be specialist in those positions and bat like them. Afridi, of course, is an unpredictable proposition, but the others should target a score of around 250-270. An explosive start, with 80-90 runs coming off the first 10 overs, is rarely sustained, and on most occasions, the final score ends up in the same 250-270 range. So then why not bat in the conventional manner and try to keep wickets intact as the innings progresses? Imagine a situation wherein Pakistan are around 90-1 after 20 overs. With their rich batting reserves, they can get any total if they play themselves into such a situation. But it will be a totally different ball game if they are 100-4 after 15 overs. “Will” Pakistan win the World Cup? They will be difficult to beat if they do the basics right and back their pre-match plans with a proactive attitude in the middle. Ultimately, it all boils down to complementing talent with commitment.
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Cricket Country Tony Cozier If their standing has fallen of late, it is an inevitable offshoot of the vagaries of sport. Even so, there are signs they can now restore it in front of their passionate and hopeful public in the game’s most prestigious tournament. But there is another challenge to staging such a major event. “It is an expression of confidence of who we are and what we can do as a people,” says Owen Arthur, the Barbados Prime The matter at hand involves 16 national teams and is spread over 51 days in eight venues. None has a population more than Jamaica’s 2.6 million, some as few as the 35,000 of St Kitts & Nevis and the 75,000 of Antigua-Barbuda. The previous eight finals have been held in some of the great cities of the world — London, Kolkata, Melbourne, Lahore and Johannesburg, with their teeming millions and their tradition of handling grand occasions. The ninth is scheduled for Kensington Oval, Barbados, an island of 280,000 and 166 sq miles, more renowned for its cricketers and its cricket than for anything else. That cricket is “fundamental” to the Caribbean psyche is evident in the part it has played in the social and political progress of a region with a past based on colonialism, slavery and indentured labour. “The West Indian’s very consciousness of his own history is a product of his cricket in a very definite sense,” C LR James wrote in his acclaimed book Beyond A Boundary, noting that their heroes and heroic deeds were made on the playing fields rather than the battlefields of the world. The cricket team, first formed and financed by British expatriates and privileged local whites for tours of Canada and the USA in 1885 and of England in 1900, is the only entity branded as the West Indies that has survived such a test of time. Nothing else has so united diverse countries inhabited by descendants of European settlers, African slaves, Indian labourers and Chinese immigrants, all of whom have provided players for West Indies teams through the years. As British colonialism was transformed into self-rule following World War II, every attempt at political union floundered. A West Indies Federation disintegrated in 1962 after four years and its 10 constituents went their separate ways into full independence, all with their own governments, flags, anthems, currencies and individual sporting teams. At other international sporting extravaganzas, each competes under its own standard. Theopening up of the northern leagues and the county championship made hardened professionals out of young, talented weekend club cricketers from the Caribbean. It was more than simple coincidence that all eleven of the West Indies World Cup teams of 1979 and 1983 had previous experience in leagues or counties in England. The correlation between the recent struggles and the decrease in such numbers is obvious. A crippling lack of proper facilities has been another hindrance to development. There are, for instance, only three indoor practice facilities throughout the West Indies and only one international ground with lights. The governing body, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), is in such dire financial straits it cannot sustain a domestic professional league. The hope now is that the governments' outlay on new stadia and enhanced amenities and the widespread fervour that the World Cup generates will act as the catalyst for a new golden age for West Indies cricket. PMG
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THE awesome 7 Call it ‘sixth sense’, gut-feel, intuition, or whatever you like. One can’t help but feel that some cricketers are going to have a rollicking time in the World Cup. They all have their reasons and motives for doing so, writes Devendra Prabhudesai
Chris Gayle (West Indies)
The unthinkable happened in a league encounter of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy; Chris Gayle, apparently instigated by Australian Michael Clarke, lost his composure and displayed his emotions. It was not something the opener is known to do, not even when he brutalizes bowling attacks with the ease of a master woodcutter scything through a forest. He, whose surname and style of batsmanship has inspired many a copywriter to draw parallels with a cross between a breeze and a storm, will find the going great on home turf. On the other hand, bowlers will find it tough; pitch it up to him, and the spectators seated on either side of the sightscreen will start scurrying for cover. Pitch it short, and the spectators seated square of the wicket will duck to avoid coming in the way of a stunning pull or cut that will reach them even before they realise it. M S Dhoni (India) They call him the modern Bheema. Like the warrior from the Mahabharata, this wicketkeeper-batsman from Jharkhand wields his chosen weapon with aplomb, and derives pleasure by decimating the souls who are unfortunate enough to bowl to him. It is only a brave bowler who would want to bowl to him on a flat Caribbean pitch, surrounded by conspicuously short boundaries. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not underestimate his opponent. His mastery of that rare commodity – cricketing intelligence – makes him one of the game’s most precious jewels. When the situation calls for a restrained approach, he has the ability and tenacity to adjust his game accordingly. Even as he goes about adding to the pages of the MCC Coaching Manuals by inventing unique, yet overwhelmingly effective, strokes, he might just take it upon himself to bat and keep his side to World Cup glory.
Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) He had absolutely nothing to do with his team’s semi-final foray in the 2003 World Cup. An aggregate of 21 from seven innings prompted even his staunchest fans to cry foul. But, as the cliché goes, he was too talented a player to remain out of form for a long time. But his propensity to get himself out after seemingly getting set remained a source of exasperation. It was felt that responsibility might make him a better player, and the pundits were proved right. Sri Lanka’s one-day resurgence in 2006 after a nightmarish 1-6 debacle in India in late 2005 has had a lot to do with Jayawardene’s proficiency as batsman and captain. It would be safe to conclude that this elegant right-hander will go flat out to compensate for his dismal showing in 2003. And take his team along in the process.
Shane Bond (New Zealand) With 17 wickets, he was the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the 2003 World Cup, behind Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Zaheer Khan. But he played atwo matches less than Vaas and Lee, and three less than McGrath and Zaheer. His 6-23 in the Super Six game against traditional foes Australia had all but won the game for his team, only for Brett Lee to respond in kind with a ferocious 5-42. In the Caribbean, New Zealand’s most famous Policeman will look to improve upon that bowling performance, and take his team forward. The flat tracks in the West Indies might not be as big a deterrent as they are expected to be for bowlers of Bond’s type. They certainly won’t come into the equation if he gets those lethal Yorkers going. Batsmen would be advised to keep their backlifts as low as possible, and add extra padding on their toes.
P Collingwood (England) This right-handed batsman and medium pacer has more than held his own in a team dominated by flamboyant characters like Andrew Flintoff and more recently, Kevin Pietersen. These individuals might hog the limelight and headlines, but they have had to make way for Collingwood when up against the heat. He was one of England’s saving graces in the 2006-07 Ashes, a series in which his side was, to put it mildly, blown away. He took the 0-5 drubbing to heart, so much so that his own form deteriorated in the first part of the subsequent tri-series. But when it came to the crunch, he sprung back with a vengeance. Three successive outings fetched him scores of 106, 120 not out, and 70, In the process, his team pocketed the winners’ cheque. Clearly, Collingwood is a character who enjoys the big stage. Now, can there possibly be a bigger stage than the one in the Caribbean?
Mike Hussey (Australia) He was thirty when he became a permanent member of the national side. The rest is history. From mid-2005 to early 2007, Mike Hussey has been a man in a hurry. The left-hander’s bid to make up for lost years has seen many an opponent’s reputation fall by the wayside. The fact that Australia could afford to ignore a player as gifted and consistent as Hussey for so long speaks volumes about their cricketing infrastructure. Statistics can be misleading, but in his case, they aren’t. He was appointed captain for Australia’s last international assignment before the World Cup – a three-match series against New Zealand - in the absence of captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. His return to the ranks in the World Cup will only enable him to concentrate on the urge to make up for lost years. Bowlers, beware!
Jacques Kallis (SA) Every second World Cup since 1983 has been dominated by the all-rounders, or so it seems. The Indians impressed in 1983 with their all-round battery, and they were emulated by New Zealand and England in 1992. Chris Cairns and Neil Johnson hit the headlines in 1999. 2007 might well be dominated by the Number One all-rounder of the modern era. Kallis, who recently became only the fifth cricketer to complete the ‘treble’ of 1000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in Tests, is one of those players who has it in him to single-handedly prevent Australia from completing a ‘treble’ of triumphs. An integral part of the teams that famously ‘choked’ against the West Indies, Australia and Sri Lanka in the 1996, 1999 and 2003 World Cups respectively, Kallis will undoubtedly take the initiative in helping his team to break the sequence. PMG
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Rise of oz We have not looked back since our 1987 win Allan Border We hadn’t had the best of times in the mid-1980s after the retirement of the Chappell-Lillee-Marsh triumvirate, and the loss of several senior players to a “rebel” tour of South Africa. Our 1987 World Cup squad was a young but fiercely enthusiastic unit. It helped that we had toured India the year before, and so knew what to expect. That we were to play two league games at Chennai, where we had starred in only the second tied Test 12 months previously, also helped. It felt great to return to surroundings that brought back pleasant memories. Given that ours wasn’t a star-studded team, we had decided to compensate by concentrating on our fielding, catching, throwing and running between the wickets. Our objective was to be the fittest side in the tournament. Bob Simpson, the coach, inspired and egged us on to do the basics right. He instilled a positive work ethic in the side and ensured that fitness levels were high. The top four batsmen in our batting-order — David Boon, Geoff Marsh, Dean Jones and myself — were earmarked to do the bulk of the batting. We had practised hard and prepared meticulously, but it was important to translate that into performance in the early stages to get the momentum going. Hosts and defending champions. India, who were coasting to a comfortable win at one stage, panicked in the final overs and lost by one run. We went from strength to strength after that game. The pundits and the Press wrote us off before the semifinal against Pakistan. Sure, they had a brilliant team, but we weren’t going to be rolled over. We were happy to bat first and take the score past 250. When Imran Khan threatened to put a premature end to our innings with a late burst, the Iceman stepped into the breach again; this time, with the bat. The 18 runs that Steve Waugh creamed off the final over put us in the right frame of mind. The hours of fielding practice paid off in the middle, and McDermott sealed our spot in the final with incisive bowling. What do I say about the final? We were moved to discover that a crowd of nearly 100,000 spectators had decided to “adopt” us. It was almost like playing a “home” game at the MCG! An abiding memory of that game is Mike Gatting’s fatal reverse sweep, played at a time when he and England looked firmly in control. The moments that followed the final ball were surreal. We will never forget how the realisation of what we had just achieved started sinking in — “Hang on, we have won the World Cup!” The hard work had paid off. I don’t think we have looked back since. World Cup final Australia Boon c Downton b Hemmings 75 Marsh b Foster 24 Jones c Athey b Hemmings 33 McDermott b Gooch 14 Border run out 31 Veletta not out 45 Waugh not out 5 Extras
(b-1, lb-13, w-5, nb-7) 26 Total (5 wickets, 50 overs) 253 Fall of wickets:
1-75, 2-151, 3-166, 4-168, 5-241. Bowling: DeFreitas 6-1-34-0, Small 6-0-33-0, Foster 10-0-38-1, Hemmings 10-1-48-2, Emburey 10-0-44-0, Gooch 8-1-42-1. England Gooch lbw O’Donnell 35 Robinson lbw McDermott 0 Athey run out 58 Gatting c Dyer b Border 41 Lamb b Waugh 45 Downton c O’Donnellb Border 9 Emburey run out 10 DeFreitas c Reid b Waugh 17 Foster not out 7 Small not out 3 Extras
(b-1, lb-14, w-2, nb-4) 21 Total (8 wickets, 50 overs) 246 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 2-66, 3-135, 4-170, 5-188, 6-218, 7-220, 8-235. Bowling:
McDermott 10-1-51-1, Reid 10-0-43-0, Waugh 9-0-37-2, O’Donnell 10-1-35-1, May 4-0-27-0, Border 7-0-38-2.PMG
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So near Yet so far South Africa fell just one run short against Australia in the 1999 World Cup semifinal Jonty Rhodes
He, with the late Hansie Cronje, had worked closely with the Peter Pollock, the convener of selectors, to ensure that the team we picked had played a great deal of cricket together in the build-up to the event. . The Australians, under the leadership of the determined Steve Waugh, were always going to be a threat to any side. However, they had not started the 1999 World Cup in the best of form. In fact, we had an excellent opportunity to send them home early, with our last Super Six match against them at Headingley, Leeds. Australia needed to win it to proceed to the semifinals, whereas we had already qualified for the semis, thanks largely to some superb individual performances by Lance “Zulu” Klusener. Perhaps this was at the back of our minds, as we failed to defend an imposing total. Our opening bowlers bowled superbly, and we quickly had them three down with a lot of runs still required. We thought we had sealed the victory when Steve Waugh clipped a ball off his pads straight to the sublime Herschelle Gibbs at mid-wicket. Herschelle had developed a rather unique celebration every time he took a catch — he would flick the ball over his shoulder almost immediately after he caught it. On this occasion, his hand bumped into his knee as he tried to flick the ball away, and because it was such a quick release, it actually went down as a dropped catch as the ball spilled from his grasp. Steve’s remark: “Herschelle, you have just dropped the World Cup,” returned to haunt us a few days later. Our semifinal against Australia at Edgbaston was one of the most exciting ODIs I have ever participated in. We looked totally out of the game until Klusener stepped in. We needed seven runs off Fleming’s last over with only one wicket in hand. Klusener needed to retain as much of the strike as possible, and he duly obliged by smashing the first two balls to the extra-cover boundary. The scores were tied with four balls still to be bowled, and Cronje and I prepared to run onto the field to give “Zulu” a hero’s welcome. Ball three was a yorker, which Klusener stabbed to mid-on. Donald came halfway down the wicket, but got sent back, and was almost run out by Michael Bevan. The fourth ball was another yorker, which Klusener dug out straight back past the stumps towards mid-off. Because Donald had almost been run out the ball before, he turned his back on his batting partner to see where the ball was going. Amid all the commotion on and off the field, Donald never heard his partner’s “yes” call, and when he next looked up, Klusener was almost in the same crease! Donald turned to try and make it down to the 'keeper's end, but dropped his bat in the process, and was only halfway down the pitch when Fleming lobbed the ball to Gilchrist, who duly took off the bails, leaving us one run short of a World Cup final berth! Needless to say, we were gutted. We probably shouldn’t have taken our foot off the pedal in that final Super Six game. That Australia went on to win the final wasn’t a surprise. They had peaked at the right time.
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Lords of The World I reached London’s Westmoreland Hotel, where most of the teams were staying, the day the team was to arrive. I was seated alongside the reception desk, completing the check-in formalities, when a bus pulled up into the driveway. A glance revealed that it was the West Indies team bus. Even before I realised it, I had stood up! Such was their aura. After Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and the others came the man himself. The year before, Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards had commented that he would like to “take Patil out for dinner.” We hadn’t met before, but my assault on Bob Willis at Old Trafford, where I had hit for six fours in an over, had delighted him as he didn’t share a pleasant equation with the then England captain. I saw my hero spot my kitbag with my name embossed on it. “Where is Mr Patil?”, he asked my friend Pravin Patel, who was with me. When Pravin pointed a finger in my direction, the “floodgates” opened. Viv shook my hand, said something in his Caribbean accent that I failed to decipher, kept giving me high fives, and then, dragged me to the bar. I remember sipping a soft drink, and watching my hero “enact” each of the six boundaries that I had hit off Willis! My team-mates arrived a little later, and then came the third shock of the day. In those days, only the captain and the manager were entitled to a single room, at least to begin with, and Mr PR Mansingh, our manager, read out the list of room-mate pairings. I was dumbstruck to be paired with none other than Sunil Gavaskar. The pairing continued until Pammi, his wife, joined him. I do believe that Sunil’s lack of form in the tournament had a lot to do with my being his room-mate! How could he have been at peace when I was around all the time? I did, however, try to behave well, by tiptoeing when he was asleep. After all, the country wouldn’t sleep if he didn’t! I asked him the silliest of questions. On the eve of our first encounter against the West Indies, I asked him whether I would be able to see the ball. He reminded me that I had played the likes of Dennis Lillee and Imran Khan. No strategy as such was prepared and announced before the first game. Our seniors reminded us that we had beaten the world champions once before, so we could do it again. But frankly, I had never imagined that we could beat them. They were struggling at 124-6 in response to our 262 when Kapil threw me the ball. Roberts, who played a fine hand, hit me for a six, and that was only the beginning. They finished 34 runs short, but I don’t think I bowled for India again! The victory elevated our spirits and we proceeded to win three of the next five games, and thus qualified for the semifinals. The mood in the camp prior to the semifinal against England was a little subdued. We had been relatively relaxed till then, but here we were with a real chance to reach the final. The arrogance of the English Press spurred us on, and Yashpal Sharma and Jimmy (Mohinder) Amarnath put us on the right track after we had bowled them out for 213. I got the opportunity to finish it off with four fours in a Willis over, and boy, we were thrilled. It was then that we realised that we had reached the final not because others had played badly, but because we had played fantastic cricket. The team meeting before the final was identical to all the previous ones. Kapil and Mansingh spoke about giving it everything, and we decided to abide by their instructions. There was another encounter with Viv in the hotel, and he once again indulged in the handshake-high five-bar routine, thanks to my four fours off Willis. I don’t remember not sleeping before the big game. Seriously, there was no pressure, and that helped. What happened on the field on June 25 is now part of history. Spirits were a little down after we were bowled out for 183, but things improved when Kapil and Sunil called upon us to “fight”. After it was all over, I sat in front of the window next to the Lord’s balcony. Below us, on the ground, our supporters were going delirious. And behind me, the dressing room itself was inundated with people. It was an unbelievable feeling. It was as if all of India had travelled to London for the final. The celebrations continued into the night. I know it is very easy to make such statements in hindsight, but the fact is that we played like a family and even travelled like one. PMG
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Premature Plan It Was Sandeep Patil was fielding at short third man and Sunil Gavaskar at deep point when Viv Richards set about the Indian bowling in the 1983 World Cup final. The way he was batting, it appeared as if he wanted to finish the game in less than an hour. When Patil made his way to the boundary to pick up the ball, Gavaskar’s wife, who was watching the match from the stands behind third man, “requested” him to tell her husband to meet her at the St John’s Wood station, just outside the Lord’s Cricket Ground, in an hour. But moments after Patil had relayed the message, Richards “mishit” Madan Lal, only to be splendidly caught by Kapil Dev. The rest, as they say, is history. LAST LAUGH Australian cricketers gathered for a meeting on the eve of their final Super Six game in the 1999 World Cup. They had no option but to beat their opponents, the fancied South Africans, to qualify for the semifinals. A discussion ensued, and it ended with Geoff Marsh asking the boys for “final observations, if any”. At this point, Shane Warne raised his hand and asked his team-mates not to walk if they happened to hit a catch to Herschelle Gibbs. Warne claimed that the fielder had the habit of scooping the ball in the air almost as soon as he made contact with the ball, without necessarily “controlling” it. His team-mates laughed, and implored Warne to make some “serious” observations instead. The following day, Australia were in trouble when Steve Waugh hit one to Gibbs. The fielder tried to scoop it up, but spilt it. Waugh went on to score an unbeaten hundred to take his team into the semis, and Warne, as always, had the last laugh. Backdoor Entry After beating New Zealand at Christchurch in their final round-robin league game of the 1992 World Cup, Imran’s “tigers” returned to their hotel to watch the encounter between Australia and the West Indies, which was being played across the Tasman Sea in Melbourne. Pakistan’s hopes of making it to the semifinals rested on an Australian victory in this game. Australia batted first and scored only 216, but left-arm paceman Mike Whitney rose to the occasion. He scalped four West Indian batsmen and ensured that the West Indies finished 57 runs short. In Christchurch, the Pakistani players celebrated with gusto. Wasim Akram was one of few players who left the team hotel for dinner. When he got into a taxi, a sudden impulse prompted him to ask the driver for a piece of paper. “On March 25 (the day of the final), Pakistan will win the World Cup,” he scribbled on it, and handed it back to the cabbie. Mind you, they had only entered the semifinals at that stage. Talk about confidence and self-belief! Sans Sunny When Gavaskar finds out that there has been released, a movie, in Australia called
“Gavaskar”, he is very happy. He plans to watch it and gets a ticket for Australia at once. With great difficulty he manages to get a ticket and very happily he goes to see the movie. But when he comes out of the cinema he is very angry! He goes straight to the director of the movie and says, “What do you mean by this? You named your movie
‘Gavaskar’, but didn’t show anything about me in it!” The director of the movie laughs and says, “So now you understand the problem? You people too made a movie called ‘Border’, but did you show anything about Allan Border in it?” Dravid In Disguise After the shameful defeat of the Indian cricket team after yet another tournament, the team members were not able to show their faces to people and they chose not to go in public and rather just pack up in hotel rooms. Being in Bangalore, Dravid could not resist for too long to be in hometown and still not be able to go out shopping and have fun. So he disguises himself as a Sardar and goes out. He meets a woman at the exit of the hotel who greets him “Hi Dravid!”
Surprised for having been caught he comes back and makes himself up as a Muslim woman - in Burqa and goes out. Yet the same woman greets him “Hi Dravid!”.
Dravid comes back determined to give it yet another try with the make up of a Hippie wig and shorts etc. All in vain, the same lady catches him again and greets him “Hi Dravid!”.
Bewildered by now, he could not help asking, “How did you recognise me?” The lady replied - “I am Virender Sehwag!”
PMG
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Meet some Babes
And, 1, 2, 3 are real babes of the tournament: Trent Johnson (Ireland), Dwayne Leverock (Bermuda) and John Davison (Canada)
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MATCH BY MATCH
All matches have a reserve day. Matches start at 7 pm IST except the ones being played at Jamaica, which start at 8 pm
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2. Who won the man-of-the-match award in the 1992 World Cup final? 3. Which city hosted the first World Cup game between India and Pakistan? 4. Which is the only team India beat in the 1975 World Cup? 5. Who crossed 1,000 World Cup runs in the final of the 1992 edition? 6. Who led India in the first two World Cups? 7. Who led Pakistan in the 1996 quarterfinal against India? 8. Who kept wickets for Australia in the 1987 World Cup? 9. Which was the venue in Auckland that hosted the semifinal of the 1992 World Cup between Pakistan and New Zealand? 10. Who stood as umpire in the first three World Cup finals? 11. Which were the two teams that refused to tour Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup for security reasons, and thereby forfeited their first-round matches? 12. Against which team did Sourav Ganguly score 183 in a league match of the 1999 World Cup? 13. How many Australian batsmen were run out in the 1975 World Cup final? 14. Who was the non-striker when Abdul Qadir took Pakistan to a sensational one-wicket win against the West Indies at Karachi in the 1987 World Cup? 15. Why is the leap year day of 1996 significant in the history of Kenyan cricket?
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1. This city hosted the 1992 World Cup final (9) 5. Represented India in the 1983, 1987 and 1992 World Cups (7) 8. Ran out Gordon Greenidge in the 1979 World Cup final (5,7) 10. The first bowler to take seven wickets in a World Cup game (7,5) 13. Scored a round ton in the inaugural game of the 1992 World Cup, but finished on the losing side (4) 14. Host of four World Cup finals (5) 15. _______ Binny: India’s highest wicket-taker in 1983 (5) 17. Scored heavily for England in the 1983 World Cup, missed the 1987 edition, commentated during the 1992 tournament (5,5) 21. Homeland of the man of the match in the 1979 Cup final (7) 22. The runner-up skipper in 1979 (8) 24. Three-time loser in the World Cup final (5) 25. The third captain after Lloyd and Kapil to lift the World Cup (6) 27. Opened for Pakistan and took the final catch in the 1992 final (4) 28. The city where India beat England in the semis in 1983 (10) 29. The gates outside cricket’s "headquarters" are named for him (5)
2. What the New Zealand rugby and cricket teams are known as: The .... .... (5,4) 3. Rana .......-ul-Hasan: member of the Pakistai squad (5) 4. From 9-4 to 266-9. This man transformed India's 1983 campaign (5) 5. This Campbell opened for the West Indies in the 1996 edition (7) 6. His assault to Dennis Lillee took the Windies to an easy win in a round-robin game in 1975 (5) 7. The man who led the "cornered tigers" in 1992 (5) 9. The city that hosted the first semifinal of the 1987 edition (6) 11. He bowled Zimbabwe to an unlikely win over India in 1999 (6) 12. The first bowler to claim a hat-trick in the World Cup (6) 16. Nickname of the losing captain in the 1987 final (4) 18. Was hit on the face by Marshall in the 1983 tournament and missed four matches, including the semi-final and final, as a result (10) 19. Pakistani paceman who missed the 1992 edition (5,6) 20. Two-time World cup winner, as player in 1987, and coach in 1999 (5) 23. A compatriot of Sobers and Marshall, he represented the Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup (5) 26. Fell in the first over of the India-Sri Lanka clash at Taunton in 1999 (6)
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BEST OF ALL TIMES
The second-wicket stand of 318 between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid against Sri Lanka at Taunton (1999) is the highest partnership for any wicket in the World Cup Australia are the only team to win three World Cups — 1987, ’99 & ’03 Playing in his first World Cup, Inzamam-ul-Haq hit a match-winning knock of 60 runs off 37 balls in the semifinal against hot favourites New Zealand in 1992. Clive Lloyd led the West Indies to title victory in consecutive World Cups (1975 and 1979). He was also the man of the match in the 1975 final. One of the all-time great innings, 175 not out by Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe in 1983, was lost to posterity. BBC had gone on strike that day, with the result that it was never recorded on video. The 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was the first to use white balls and coloured uniforms. It was also the first to have day/night matches. In 1999, the trophy won by the Indian team at the 1983 World Cup was damaged during a violent rampage on the Indian cricket board’s headquarters by the Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena. Chetan Sharma was the first bowler to take a hat-trick in a World Cup match. He performed the feat against New Zealand at Nagpur in 1987. Javed Miandad is the only cricketer to take part in six World Cups. The Pakistani batsman made his WC debut as an 18-year-old in 1975 and made his last appearance in the mega event in 1996. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the highest run aggregate in the World Cup – 1732 in 33 matches.
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There is good news for the teams participating in the World Cup. Australia will not go into the tournament as numero uno in the ICC rankings. The bad news is that they will be so charged up to regain that ranking that the teams in their path are likely to feel the heat in more ways than one. So does that mean they will be champions again? Aha, that’s the million-dollar question. 
After going to four World Cups as a player, I always knew they always special occasions but travelling to the 2003 World Cup as the coach of the Indian team was an honour and a responsibility to a billion fans at home and a few million more Indians around the world.
Can Inzamam-ul-Haq and his men win the World Cup? Yes, they can.
The batsmen struggled in South Africa, but they should take heart from the fact that the wickets in the West Indies are nowhere as bouncy as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, they are as flat as those in the subcontinent. 
To the cricketing mini-states of the Caribbean, the hosting of the World Cup for the first time over the coming weeks is about far more than the game itself.
Their cricket credentials have long since been established. They have nothing more to prove in this regard. In the hundred years or so in which this complex legacy of British colonialism has taken root, the West Indies have produced a host of genuinely great players, among them arguably the greatest, fashioned their own identity for style and panache and proven to be as collectively strong as any opponent.
It wasn’t surprising that India and Pakistan were considered the front-runners for the 1987 World Cup. After all, they were playing at home, and had hugely experienced teams to boot. No one expected us to make much of an impact, and justifiably so. 
The 1999 World Cup was an exciting prospect for the entire South African squad, as we were hoping to say farewell to Bob Woolmer, our coach of five years, with the perfect departure gift — the trophy. Woolmer had been an inspired choice as coach when he was appointed, and all players benefited immensely from his knowledge and his drive to stay one step ahead of the opposition in all areas of the game! 
The start of the 1983 World Cup was as “shocking” as the end as far as I am concerned. I had missed the previous tour of the West Indies due to a shoulder injury and was keen to get some match practice, as there was a gap of only a few weeks between that series and the World Cup. The BCCI permitted me to go ahead of the team and play a few one-dayers in the Middlesex league. 
1. Which
city hosted the first Group A match of the 1996 World Cup?
Across
Down
Sourav Ganguly’s 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999 is the highest individual score by an Indian in the World Cup. Ashish Nehra’s 6-23 against England at Durban in 2003 is the best bowling figures by an Indian.