Stars of the mega event

GLENN TURNER, the Kiwi batsman, has earned a reputation of being a dull and dour customer, but he's often come up with weighty knocks. Turner's aim was to occupy the crease, grind the bowlers and collect runs at a pace that would put the spectators to sleep. To expect such a batsman to make an impact in limited-over games was like asking for the moon, but Turner at the age of 28, was one of the stars of the 1975 Prudential World Cup. He made an undefeated 171 against East Africa and 114 not out against India.

Turner's highest in seven one-day matches — before the encounter against East Africa at Edgbaston — was 26 against England. He grabbed the opportunity against a non-descript East African attack to pile up runs and make one of the highest individual scores in one-day internationals. Turner lost John Morrison and Geoff Howarth at 51 and 103 before carving a 149-run stand with Brian Hastings for the third wicket. New Zealand won the match by a handsome margin of 181 runs.

He failed against England in the following match, but relished the Indian bowling of Madan Lal, Mohinder Amaranth, Bishan Singh Bedi and S. Venkataraghavan, to notch up an unbeaten 114 at Old Trafford. New Zealand won the match by four wickets.

Turner, in all, scored three centuries in 41 one-day matches and averaged 47.00. But after his sparkling showing in the inaugural World Cup, Turner made only one more century (140) — against Sri Lanka at Eden Park, Auckland. It was his 35th innings in one-day internationals.

Clive Lloyd: The West Indies captain scored only one century in 87 one-day internationals and that magnificent effort won him fame and his team the first World Cup against Ian Chappell's Australia. Amazingly, Lloyd averaged 40 plus in the short version of the game, but apart from his brilliant 102 off 85 balls in the 1975 final against a bowling line-up that had such illustrious names as Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Gary Gilmour and Max Walker, Lloyd managed just a dozen fifties in 69 innings.

Lloyd sauntered to the crease after the West Indies had lost three wickets and held the centre stage with an array of shots, driving with superb timing and really taking the famed Australian attack apart before nicking left-arm seamer Gary Gilmour to wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh. The batsman who played second fiddle to him was veteran Rohan Kanhai who made 55.

There was the unmistakable Lloyd stamp in the innings. The explosive left-hander dominated the final. He would have been a dejected man had Australia outsmarted his team, but Vivian Richards' brilliant fielding made certain that Lloyd held the Prudential Cup aloft on the Lord's balcony on that most memorable day in June 1975.

Majid Khan: The brilliant Pakistan opener made 65 against Australia, 60 against West Indies and 84 against Sri Lanka for an aggregate of 209 runs in the first World Cup. Only Glenn Turner (333) and Dennis Amiss (243) scored more runs than him. In spite of Majid Khan's valuable knocks, Pakistan lost to Australia by 73 runs, to West Indies by a narrow margin of one wicket, but beat Sri Lanka by 192 runs.

Pakistan did not advance into the semifinals, but Majid was one of the successful batsmen of the 1975 event. Experts have faulted his footwork (or the lack of it), but he was one of those rare batsman gifted with a good eyesight and sparkling strokeplay.

There were leading lights in the Pakistan team such as Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad and Wasim Raja, but it was Majid Khan who stole the thunder.

Rodney Marsh: The wicketkeeper whom Godfrey Evans described as `resembling a shambling bear' built a reputation for himself in the first World Cup with a haul of 10 victims — nine catches and one stumping. When Marsh made his first appearance he earned the sobriquet, `Iron Gloves', for all the wrong reasons. The ball popped out of his hands more often than not and hence the critics were quick to label him the `Irongloved' wicketkeeper.

But it was not long before he came to be known as Australia's best wicketkeeper. More recently, though, the knowledgeables of the game in Australia have picked Ian Healy as the wicketkeeper of the century because they found him exceptional standing back to Glenn McGrath and close to the stumps to leg-spinner Shane Warne.

Marsh made an impact because of his association with the great fast bowler Dennis Lillee. He was not flashy, but defied gravity while taking some acrobatic catches on the off-side and when batsmen deflected the ball on the on side. Marsh played five matches in the 1975 World Cup, averaged two dismissals per match and was a major factor in Australia reaching the final.

He edged out the West Indies' Deryck Murray for the top spot, but the latter notched up a fighting undefeated 61 to lead his team to a remarkable one-wicket win against Pakistan in a league match.

Vivian Richards: There were three West Indians who had an outstanding day out at Lord's on June 23, 1979. It might have been very difficult for the adjudicator to pick the `Man of the Match' from three highly impressive individual performances by Vivian Richards, Collis King and Joel Garner. The award went to Richards who tore into the England bowling and demoralised it. He made a breathtaking unbeaten 138 as the West Indies innings cantered to a total of 286 for nine in 60 overs.

Richards set up the West Indies victory march for the second World Cup. Four years earlier. Clive Lloyd had smashed the Australians apart, but Richards, who has revelled against the English bowling, set the Thames on fire with an astounding display of stroke-play, even hitting a most unorthodox shot for a six off the last ball bowled by Mike Hendrick. Collis King matched Richards stroke-for-stroke, but and fell 14 short of a century. If he had got there, he might have run Richards close for the `Man of the Match' award.

In a competition and format where eight teams were involved, Richards was not in form in the matches leading to the final. But in a show that typified aggression and his appetite for runs against England, Richards just thrilled every West Indian supporter at Lord's.

Gordon Greenidge: The Barbadians, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, played an important role when the West Indies dominated world cricket. Their batting was based on the sound principles of good defence and the natural extension of it, which is telling attack. Vivian Richards appeared in the final like a colossus, but it was Greenidge, a one-man powerhouse, who led the West Indies into the final with a century against India at Edbaston and half-centuries in the subsequent matches against New Zealand and Pakistan.

Greenidge made 106 not out against India, 65 against New Zealand and 73 in the semifinal against Pakistan. With Greenidge in form the West Indies coasted to wins untroubled against India (by 9 wickets) New Zealand (by 32 runs) and Pakistan (by 43 runs).

The West Indies' defence of the World Cup largely depended on the form showed by Greenidge, Richards, Lloyd, Haynes. There was a setback when West Indies' second match — against Sri Lanka — was abandoned without a ball being bowled. But on a seaming track at Trent Bridge against New Zealand, the West Indies batting first, made 244 for seven in 60 overs.

It improved upon this, making 293 for six against Pakistan at the Oval, Greenidge unfailingly playing his part and winning the Man of the Match award twice.

Mike Hendrick: He was not really the conventional type of seamer. But he was a no nonsense bowler who knew his trade of swing and cut. He also had the knack of extracting bounce. So it was not a surprise when he took four for 15 against Pakistan at Headingley and three for 55 against New Zealand at Old Trafford in the semifinal of the 1979 World Cup.

Hendrick was not in the news before England's match against Pakistan. In fact, only Graham Gooch was prominent, scoring 53 against Australia, 21 not out against Canada and 33 against Pakistan, all in low-scoring matches. Gooch also made 71 in the semifinals against New Zealand. So Hendrick was the first England bowler to make the headlines.

On a typical seaming pitch at Leeds, Sikandar Bakht and Majid Khan had reduced England to 165 for nine in 60 overs, but England hit back with Hendrick in the forefront of the needle match. Asif Iqbal made a half century, but Hendrick won the match for his team and the Man of the Match award.

Asif Iqbal: Pakistan played four matches in the 1979 World Cup and the crafty allrounder Asif Iqbal contributed in each of them, either as a batsman or a bowler. He took three for 38 against Canada, made 61 against Australia, 51 against England and took four for 56 against West Indies in the semifinal.

Packed with brilliant individual performers, Pakistan benefited immensely. It was a little more consistent in all the departments because of which it upset Australia by 89 runs at Trent Bridge. In a low scoring match, it lost to England and found the target of 294 too high against the West Indies in the semifinals.

No other cricketer came close to matching Asif's allround showing, although Majid Khan made 61 and took three for 53 against Australia. But Asif walked away with the Man of the Match award. As the World Cup progressed Pakistan was seen as a threat to the West Indies, but it met its `Waterloo' at the Oval.