Mike Denness looks back at World Cup 1975
The Cricketer International - 14 April 1999
Mike Denness, England's captain for the first ever World Cup
in 1975, recalls the success of the tournament.
I recall the summer of 1975 instantly not because we failed to regain
the Ashes but for the tremendous success of the inaugural World Cup,
which was played in England during weeks of glorious sunshine. I was
in the privileged position of being the England captain for this
prodigious tournament, and although we had just returned from five
months Down Under where we received a painful 4-1 beating from the
Aussies, we did leave New Zealand having won the two-Test series 1-0,
so our minds and thoughts were focused entirely on the World Cup.
With home advantage, the aspiration of at least reaching the Final was
high in my expectations, and I was even more confident once it
transpired that England would not be in the same group as West Indies
or Australia. With the format comprising the six full-member Test
countries, plus East Africa and Sri Lanka, divided into two groups
England's target was to finish top and earn a semi-final against the
runner-up of the other group.
The week leading up to the start of the World Cup was not the most
ideal preparation. I was playing in my final match for Kent against
Essex at Colchester five days before joining the England team for our
opening match against India at Lord's on June 7. On the second day of
the match the umpires called a halt in play as sleet was falling very
heavily. As I walked off the field with my Kent colleague Asif Iqbal,
who would captain Pakistan during the World Cup, his facial
expressions of disbelief were a picture. He was seeing snow for the
very first time.
With the World Cup only five days off I worried what a disaster it
could all be, and my fears grew next day when a newspaper printed a
photograph of the Buxton ground where Derbyshire were playing
Lancashire, showing the entire ground covered in snow. Nevertheless,
the World Cup began in brilliant sunshine.
England's three group matches against India, New Zealand and East
Africa were all won comfortably and I was delighted with our overall
play. Our opening game at Lord's against India, however, provided a
puzzling situation. India never at any stage offered any challenge to
our score of 334 for 4, while Sunil Gavaskar batted throughout the 60
overs for 36 not out – astonishing from a player of his class and
calibre. Giving the appearance of just wanting a net practice, he
never once looked to attack our bowling, and a capacity crowd was
surely disappointed. After the game I learned that there had been a
disagreement in the Indian dressing-room over the team chosen to play
us which may have prompted Gavaskar's actions.
Our confidence was growing, we were top of our group and a semi-final
match against Australia awaited at Headingley, where 10 days
previously Australia had played Pakistan on a good pitch which
produced almost 500 runs. Hopes were high that a similar pitch would
be prepared for our encounter, but as it turned out the same one was
used and this time it was damp and green. What a disappointment for
such a crucial match.
Put in by Australia, we expected the ball to swing and seam around in
the heavy atmosphere, but what we didn't envisage was that Gary
Gilmour would make it seam around so prodigiously as well as
generating natural swing. We were bowled out for 93, but our quality
seam attack of Arnold, Snow, Old and Peter Lever had Australia reeling
at 39 for 6. The tension was high, the atmosphere electric and an
England win was more than a possibility. Alas, we dropped Gilmour at a
very critical time and he and Doug Walters rode their luck and took
Australia through to victory.
The World Cup was all over for England. The players were extremely
despondent and the atmosphere in the dressing-room afterwards was very
low. Setting off down the motorway from Headingley en route to the
garden of England, Alan Knott and I were reflecting on what might have
been when a police car overtook us and, with lights blazing, pulled us
over. Was this going to be the final episode to a truly disappointing
day? As the police officer approached my car, I wound down the window,
whereupon he said: 'I thought it was you two. Eeh lads, what on earth
went wrong at Headingley today?'
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