By Cosmo Hamilton
The West Indies team was fresh from a hard fought victory over India in the absorbing 1974-75 Five-Test series that went down to the wire as the team from the Caribbean under Clive Lloyd in his debut as captain, took the Fifth and decisive Test at Bombay in which he scored an epic 242 not out in the first innings. It was evident that the West Indies team was beginning to forge a new identity under the fledgling skipper after the departure of the legend Garfield Sobers. On that India tour Test debutants Gordon Greenidge and Vivian Richards and another newcomer named Andy Roberts gave early snapshots of their star quality.
Complemented by the likes of Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Deryck Murray, and all-rounders Keith Boyce and Bernard Julien, along with the experience of the great Rohan Kanhai, they were a hybrid ready to fulfill the promise of the apocalyptic Spring of 1975 in England.
Limited overs cricket was made for the West Indies and would have been attractive to most of the great forerunners that emerged with flair and finesse out of the Caribbean since 1928 like Sir Learie Constantine, George Headley, Allan Rae, Jeffrey Stollmeyer, and Weekes, Worrell and Walcott to name a few. So it is not surprising that West Indies won the inaugural World Cup 40 years ago, given the fact that the regional team over the years had flaunted a brand of typically attractive and consistently effective cricket. The challenge for the rookie captain Lloyd then, was to temper yet goad the natural skills of his young talented players. As it were in keeping with Spring the team blossomed under its new leader, released its unique passion and panache and peaked at the right time.
As is wont to happen though, when involved in a single tournament with the world’s best cricketers – an assemblage rivalled in its qualitative universality only by World Cup soccer and the Olympics, ultimately any team could win, and it is prudent to expect the unexpected. For the West Indies, a funny thing happened on the way to the World Cup final at Lords in 1975. The Windies were in Group B with the always competitive Pakistan team in a match played at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Commenting on the game Lloyd said that his team was confident that they would win, but never in their wildest expectations did they imagine that to do so they would have had to achieve a heart stopping victory on the fourth ball of the last over with the last pair at the wicket.
Batting first the Pakistanis posted a challenging 266 for 7 and defended it fiercely. With a combination of excellent out-cricket and a couple of controversial umpiring decisions, Pakistan led by Asif Iqbal, and including Sarfraz Nawaz and prolific stroke-player Zaheer Abbas set the West Indies back at 203 for 9, still needing 64 runs to win, with wicket-keeper Deryck Murray and pacer Andy Roberts at the wicket. Earlier Lloyd had been given out for 53, caught behind off a 17 year old debutant named Javed Miandad. After the game Pakistan’s wicketkeeper Wasim Bari graciously apologized to the West Indies captain for the wrongful verdict. Fortunately that bad decision did not negatively impact the outcome of the crucial match.
The determined effort by the West Indies last pair had produced more than just a win, it was in effect a defining moment for the team. Roberts and Murray had shown remarkable resolve and mental toughness that galvanized the squad. Meanwhile, as the team progressed, Guyanese left-hander Alvin Kallicharran, an accomplished stroke-player, fashioned a couple of fine innings, 72 at the Oval against Australia, and 78 against New Zealand in the semi-final.
West Indies were full of confidence as they approached the final at Lords, where they outplayed a gritty, experienced Australia team to lift the Prudential trophy on that Saturday afternoon June 21st. It was an exciting contest that lived up to the hype. Given first strike West Indies mustered 291 for 8 in 60 overs with Lloyd leading from the front with 102 off 82 balls, ably assisted by countryman Rohan Kanhai at 39 years old, playing a vital role with 55.
Most impressive though was the poise showed by the young players throughout the match, and the skill they manifested in every department of the game, not the least of which was fielding. The team registered no fewer than five run-outs that played a critical role in dismissing the Aussies for 274 off 58.4 overs, three of them were credited to Richards. Viv displayed an intimidating presence in the field that was to become a feature of his batsmanship.
It was a memorable moment as Lloyd hoisted the Prudential Trophy in triumph in the twilight on the balcony at Lords with his teammates around him, not only for the team but for the people of the Caribbean who were prominently and properly represented by a significant number in the diaspora on this day at the mecca of cricket in London. Some days later at the behest of then President Forbes Burnham, Lloyd and some of his teammates displayed the iconic trophy in a colorful motorcade through the streets of Georgetown.
