Test Match Special - The World Cup Years: 1983

Episode Date: May 18, 2019

Kevin Howells and Andy Zaltzman continue their look back on the four Cricket World Cups to have been held in the UK. Andy reveals that the first ever game of cricket he saw was during this tournament, as Paul Allott, Vic Marks and Graeme Fowler join him and Kevin.

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from BBC Radio 5 Live. Well, welcome. It's another in our short yet perfectly formed series of reliving, bringing back to life the World Cups held in this country. 75, 79 and 99. But today it's 1983. I'm Kevin Howells. Opposite me in Manchester is Paul Allert. His former England teammate and TMS legend, Vic Marks, is there in Exeter as well.

And we've got Graham Fowler on the line somewhere. We don't know where Graham is. He maybe will tell us, but he's coming up in a few moments time. and of course we've got our stats man, Andy Zaltzman in London. For whom Andy, the game is always more than just numbers. But here, in 1983, it really gets personal, doesn't it? Well, yeah, it was the first cricket match I ever went to was the India versus Zimbabwe match at Tumbridge Wells,

which you could argue as one of the most influential games in the history of cricket. India were they'd lost their previous two games. If they lost to Zimbabwe, they were on the verge of going out. sunk to nine for four, then 17 for five, against a non-test-playing nation. And India had a terrible record in ODI cricket up to that point. And then Capaldev made 175 knot out in 138 balls, smashing sixes into Tumbridge-Welts's renowned rhododendrons. India won that game, turned their tournament round, ended up winning the World Cup,

sparking a one-day cricket boom. And I, at that point, was an eight-year-old boy, nervously asking for autographs from the, well, some very angry-looking Indian players at the start of the match. And it was a truly extraordinary game. And there was no TV coverage because there was some industrial action, as I recall. And so there was no footage of it. There's just a few photos of this sort of legendary innings by Capaldev that in many ways turned the history of certainly Indian cricket

and you could argue world cricket. And it is a lovely sight here with those rhododendrons in full bloom. As Rawson comes in to Capaldiv who has 99. This one nudged out on the upside. They've got through for the single. He's got it. And there's going to be applause from all the Zimbabwe players. And never mind all the Indian supporters here.

What a glorious thing is my friend. I just said to myself, come on, mate. I want to play 60 over, not to go for runs. I just planned first 30 over that way we played. And I just got 15, 30 overs. I think I got lost a lot of runs in last 10 overs. This massive significant, really, for India. and for Will Crick, and that's pretty much the story

we'll be telling over the next what half an hour is so, but Paul Allett 1983 World Cup for you. What instantly springs to mind? Imran Khan being run out at Lords when Javed Miandad was running for him. I have never seen anybody look quite so indignant on a cricket field as Imran was in his crease

and Javed out of his crease at Square Lair Gouldy whipped off the bales and that was the end of that. Vic, welcome to the show we've got here a little program, a little look back. What are your memories? Well, one is obviously playing at Taunton in a World Cup match, but then I think I played in the most significant cricket match of the 20th century. When England played India in the semifinals, forget what happened at Tumbridge, Wells, because if England had won that game against India in that semi-final, there would not have been the revolution in India, the love of one-day cricket that transferred eventually

to the love of T20 cricket and the game would not be the same but it's the same argument that Andy's using If you think we're overhyping this This is pretty much the story We've got to tell over this next And I think sorry to interrupt We've got some archive

We're going to drop in every now and then And I think probably now is as good a time as any Just to drop in the winning moment Let's start if you like at the end of this story The winning moment as described by Christopher Martin Jenkins Ammanath again Oh it could be Obedo He's out

Oh Lord LBW he pulled across the line holding and India have caused one of the greatest upsets in the history of all sport they have won the third Prudential World Cup beating the hot favourites the 4 to 1 on

favourites the West Indies that is some statement causing one of the greatest upsets in the history of all sports for CMJ who could get excited we know he could get excited but was he far off the mark Vic? Well they were very hot favourites in a two horse

race and they were 50 for one and Richards was batting and looking imperious and then he got out caught by Capald Dev. I always wonder what happened in that West Indies dress room because they changed their batting order for this match. They put Clive Lloyd up at

four or he put himself up at four and I wonder but maybe I'm being over cynical here whether Clive fancied a final farewell at Lords and they only had to get 184 so did he change the batting order so he had an opportunity

to go and play that last memorable innings and leave Larry Goemes further down the order. I don't know. Doesn't sound like Clive to me that. No, maybe he didn't. I was just confused about how that batting order changed. In the previous match, in the semi-final, Goames was at four chasing 188.

It's a weird one. But the point about India was that at that stage, they were very uninterested in one-day cricket. Test cricket was king in India until this World Cup. And everything was changed in India. I toured India in 8182, I think it was, and the crowds for test matches were enormous,

and nobody came and watched the one day. So two years later, it was obviously that was the key, this was the key, the winning of the World Cup and everything changed. Gradually people lost interest in test match cricket in India, and 50 over cricket or 60 over cricket as it was then became hugely popular. Let's return to the Indian story in a few moments time. Let's look at England, 75, you've heard that program. They were knocked out in the semi-finals, got through to the final velocity in 79.

So four years is a long time in cricket and no. But coming into this World Cup there, 4-83, Paul, what was the feeling and the expectation? We got a team here basically of Graham Fowler, Chris Tavre, David Gower, Alan Lamb, Mike Gatting, Ian Botham, Ian Gould, Vic Marks, Graham Dilly, Paul Alice, the Captain Bob Willis. What was the expectation? What were the feelings of hope? going into that tournament? Well, I think because we were on home ground, we always fancied our chances,

even though we were playing all around the country. I mean, there was an enormous amount of travelling involved. I think the tournament only lasted 16 days. It was a case of giving the public what they wanted before their time, really. I mean, everybody would think if you had a 16-day tournament now, it would be absolutely wonderful. But we played virtually every other day. So we'd play, we'd travel, practice or not the next day,

and then play again the day after. obviously fancied our chances of getting to the semi-final. We were a confident side. There may have been a degree of inexperience in there in bowling and batting. I think Graham Fowler and myself, for example, had played very little international

cricket at that time. But Bob was a gnarled old captain. Beefy was in his pomp. We had a wonderful middle order of Gower and Gatty. So there was a blend of experience and flair and youth. Delighted

Graham Fowder is with us. Where are you, Graeme? You're on the line somewhere. I'm at Durham County Cree Club. Oh, fine place to be. Riverside. I'm looking at Lumley Castle. We're back in 1983. You've just heard what Paul's had to say. Well, what about your own thoughts about England and going into the tournament, how the tournament panned out for you in 83?

Well, it panned out sort of not very well in the end. I mean, we did have a good side, but I think we went into the tournament. There was one disappointment straight off from the start when we had a photograph taken at loads of all the teams and they were all lined up with the captain at the front and everybody else was behind in single file and Patrick Eager took the photograph from the middle balcony of the pavilion. And every team was in a uniform apart from us.

We'd just been told to go and buy a suit, any suit. And so we looked a right mess. So that sort of, I didn't like that. I thought that was very unprofessional, but it just showed basically what the testing County Cricket Boyd thought of one day cricket at that time. And then all the teams went to the palace. And I've only met the Queen once.

And she said to me, why don't you have a uniform? How embarrassing is that? So that wasn't a great start. But once we actually started playing, then it was full of good fun and we just thought we were going to win. First ODI actually was in 1971. Now we've had the World Cup of 7579. And yet still, as Graham has said,

said, the attitude to one-day cricket, to limited over's cricket, it wasn't great, was it? Well, it didn't seem so important. No. I heavily stood at the back of our line, so no one can see how crumpled my suit was. Even though at international level, no one really took it as seriously, and certainly not in England, but we probably played more one-day cricket than any other country. So we were kind of attuned to it because of the volume of one-day cricket we'd started playing. in domestic cricket in England. The other thing that got us quite excited is we had a good

draw because the one team you did not want to play twice in the qualification stages was the West Indies who were comfortably the best team really in the world at the time. And it was a good team and it was a very settled team and we had a good time. We all got on well together. We thought well at the least we can do is get to the final here. Let's not forget this wasn't one-day cricket as we know it now. This was 60 over is a side. So one and a half T20 games per side. So, you know, bowling...

I don't think we did. I don't think we did. I don't think you could have all your fielders on the boundary edge. And you look at some of the scores in this tournament, 60 overs. The side's getting 180, 190, 230. You know, I was looking at my bowling figures the other day. Trust me, I don't do this very often, but I knew it was. coming on this program.

And, you know, 12 overs, four maidens, one for 37. You'd be the best bowler in the world if you did that in a one-day game now and I certainly wasn't that. Alan Borda talking of the time, he says that really it was like playing test cricket but you just did for 60 overs instead. It is quite amazing, really, to think about that now.

Extraordinary, yeah. You know, the number of variations that you'd bowl as a bowler were minimal. They bowled six variable balls and over these days. We bowed six in the tournament. I'd be, you know, I'd be staggered. You're not, you're a slower ball. The odd slower ball that nobody could pick

until it had gone out of the ground, that was fine. Andy Zaltzman, Andy, we mentioned this fact that teams played each other twice, which was something different, wasn't it, in the group stage? What else can you tell us about the tournament as it looked, maybe a little bit different, but just reminds us how it all worked really in 83? Yeah, so it was just eight teams. There were the seven test playing sides. Sri Lanka had just become a test match team in 1982

plus Zimbabwe who had a very strong team beat Australia in their opening match and then as I said pushed India really close in Tumbridge Wells and coming into the tournament in terms of the context of this sort of Indian win and the West Indies dominance over the previous four years since the 79 World Cup India had the worst record of the six established test playing nations

comfortably they'd won only 10 out of 27 one day in between the World Cups. West Indies had won 23 out of 34 they were dominant in this format and obviously won the previous two World Cups and in terms of the trends in one day cricket the

run rate in 1983 was a fraction over four per over and it's by the time of the next World Cup it was closer to five and in the most recent 2015 World Cup it was up to 5.6 per over so it was very much that it was sort of

reaching the end of the early phase of one-day international cricket. And by the time the next World Cup things were starting to change, by 1992, coloured clothing had come in for World Cup cricket. And the 1983 World Cup was the last time that one day international cricket was played over 60 overs. So it was

I think a real turning point in the evolution of international cricket. Graham, for you, personally for you, what would be the highlight of the tournament, for you? I don't. To tell you, I don't really have a highlight, but what I do is, when we played the

semi-final at Old Traffic and Old Traffic back then the pitches was slow, low and horrible they were horrible to bat on they were horrible to ball on but because I knew that pitch I actually knew whilst I was batting that if I stay in

and score runs then we'll do well, we'll win and I got 30 on and I think which was actually the top score and we lost and I to this day still blame myself for not getting the run to help us win.

I mean, I know I got, I don't know, was it four consecutive 50s or something? But then again, these days, you know, that would be a disappointment because you shouldn't just get 50, you should get big scores. So although there were some highlights, the one that stays with me

is that if I'd done the job during the semi-final, we'd have got to the final. You're now making me think that I'm not going to play the archive of the semi-frey. I'll put that on the side for Jim. Now there is some I'll cover I want to play though

And that just takes us away again from the England-India story Just for a moment or two Because there is no doubting Andy Zaltzman That one of the stories has to be Zimbabwe And beating Australia That was something special You'd seen them against India But this idea of Australia losing Zimbabwe

That was monumental, isn't it? Yes, it was a huge moment in cricket Sri Lanka before they were a test playing side I'd have beaten India in 1979 but we said India were not really a one-day team of any standing at that point. Australia did not have a particularly strong side in 1983, but still one of the powers of world cricket. It was a sign, I guess, of the growing depth of the international game,

and it was an interesting game that Zimbabwe only got about 2.30, and they managed to defend it over 60 overs against an established international side. So it was, and Duncan Fletcher, future England coach took care. four wickets in that much. And he got 69 not out. Just to capture the moment at the time. Let's have some archive commentary and also get to hear from Duncan Fletcher

and also a little bit of Alan Border at the time as well. They're bowling very intelligently. They're bowling at the stamps, tucking the batsmen up and saying, well, if you want to come and get me and take a risk, that's up to you. Rawson, it is, up to the wicket now, passed on by Kichini Bowles

and Borders again angles his back, tries to run this third man. There could be a run out at the far end. Capital Fessels is out. He's run out. Fistles is a out. out. He went for the single. Border said no. It was Heron who threw back to the bowler's end. And so now Australia are 1.38 for five. Right up to Amash packs him away and Zimbabwe have won.

Zimbabwe have beaten Australia. If we had failed miserably here, I think the TCC would have been a bit worried about inviting the next winners of the ICC trophy over. It's up to us to put up a good performance to see the sides that do keep winning that competition or given a chance in the senior competition. They certainly caught us by surprise and when I look down now at the names that Zimbabwe had, they had some very, very good cricketers. That's just that we didn't know much about them and that was the bottom line to it all. We probably didn't sort of treat them as seriously as we probably should. You know, we're playing Zimbabwe. We don't know much about these guys. we should be able to take care of business

and on with the next game sort of scenario. I don't feel quite as bad about it now as I did then because subsequently those guys all went under pretty good careers and we understand now that they actually were quite a good cricket team. Just taking a look at that, Australia, way, way off the mark in those days, weren't they, Vic? Way, way off. Yeah, and you look at the line-up, I mean, they weren't all in their pomp but their bowling attack.

It was Lily Thompson, Hogg and Lawson with a bit of spin tossed in, which on paper looks good, but they weren't necessarily quite a bit of people. Graham, the idea of Zimbabwe beating Australia, do you remember that and being shocked by it yourself at that sort of result? I can remember laughing. I can remember that.

I can remember playing against Sri Lanka at Edingly. Suppose in the same way, we didn't really rate them. We could have come unstuck like Australia did against Zimbabwe, because I don't think we really rated Sri Lanka at the time. It was the first World Cup in which all the teams had won. In fact, in 75 and 79, there were only three-game groups, but each group had had a team that had failed to win. So, again, it was the most competitive tournament

in terms of the depth. Sri Lanka beat New Zealand, in fact, before that game that Graham just mentioned at Headingle. It was certainly a sign that cricket was becoming a considerably more global. Rahul Tandon's one of the correspondents from Indybutt, is a massive cricket fan. I'm just wondering, as you join us, what your memories are of 83? Before we go on and talk about the impact, if somebody says 1983, cricket World Cup to you, what do you think? I remember the day vividly because I was supposed to be studying my father said, look, your exams are coming, forget about this match, India are going to lose it.

Anyway, but when he went out, I crept into the television room and I was engrossed in the match. I remember when Bobbind, the sand who bowled Gordon Grenad, that off stump going flying out of the ground. And of course, that catch that a couple dev took. I remember my dad coming back home and I was so engrossed in the match. I forgot to hear him coming in. But when he saw the score, rather than getting annoyed with me, he sat down and we watched it. together an incredible day and I remember a pride filling up inside me because India hadn't been very good at cricket and I knew that as they got closer to that victory that I could

go back to school and tell everybody that India were the world champion something that I never thought I would see well in those days in my lifetime let's just go back to the semi-final for a moment and I'm still going to plow on with this despite Graham and what he said a little bit Billy then the main destroyer in the last match and he goes again to Tavaray who's forward and here's a catch and he's out caught behind Tavoree so England 69 for one Tavaray caught behind for 32 he has been in our bowling to foul and he's bold trying to play an aggressive stroke beaten by the line there the middle stump knockback another success for Roger Bini and he's having a great World Cup 2. Fowler, Bold Binnie, 33, England in the 21st over, 84 for 2.

Willis runs away from us to bowl what is possibly the last ball of the match and hitting it and slicing it in fact into the air. Partil gets four and India have won the game. India have won the match here at Old Trafford to enter the final of the Prudential Cup. Vic, the misery, the hurts. Does it still feel for you or not all these years? Just from my point of view, I just think, what a missed opportunity. You don't get a chance to play in a World Cup final very often. And I suspect after the first hour and a half, we thought everything is going according to plan, which is more or less is what happened throughout the tournament.

But I don't think we necessarily realized the dangers. We needed someone to stay and get that substantial one man to get the substantial score and to play around him, I guess. And the Indians, my recollection is that they didn't rush, they took their time, they knew they had plenty of time, and kind of picked us off. And I do remember the last ball, although I couldn't remember that Willis bolted, but I remember in those days, as per normal, there was a massive pitch invasion at the end of the game. And I'm pretty sure that when Willis bowled that last ball at Old Trafford, most of the fielders, nearly all the fielders, were just basically, getting ready to sprint to the pavilion so we might have had an 8-1 offside field

or something like that because there was clearly going to be a massive pitch invasion which just happened as a matter of course in those days on Twitter, Suresh has been on we asked for some Twitter memories leading into these programmes. I was at Lords this is for the final. It looked as if

Viv Richards would take the game away in a few overs, then the great catch from Kapil Dev. That over of Viv and Richard hit two cover drive to Madalalal and he said to me what to do. I said just bowl a good line because I was happy how he was playing when a batsman like women Richard is trying every ball to hit out of the ground or try to get a quicker hundred or finish the game before tea. I said we are nothing to lose. Richard has played quite flawlessly so far. In comes Madenal and Richard swings it high

It could be caught. Capaldave going back catches it. And that is a remarkable turn of events in this match. And the Indian spectators can't control themselves for joy as they run onto the field. It was a very good catch. It was swirling. It came off high on the bat as he went to hook over midwicket. It swirled out about 40 yards. And Capaldav running back took a vital catch which has made this match.

such a foregone conclusion after all we were just saying how impeccably richards had played he is out for 33 it wasn't that shot which he tried to pull and went for top edge and i saw the ball straight it leave the bat and uh it wasn't that difficult uh catch for me but people said to me again and again that was a very difficult catch and it's 57 for three lloyd batting with a runner only 13 over's gone, suddenly the match is alive again. Rahul Tandon, as you say, you were in England and sneakily trying to keep in touch with that final. But just listening to Capital Dev there

and obviously, you know, clear in our mind the iconic picture of him lifting the trophy and that sort of thing. What was the impact back in India of this? If you like, you can't never say let's talk about India without the cricket, but you know what I mean. What was the impact for the country? This was an incredibly important moment. In the history of Indian, cricket and in the history of the country as well, remember,

this was a period where India was still a very young country. He was a moment when they were suddenly the best in the world at something. The treasurer of the BCCI at that time was one Jugmo and Dalmia, and I think, and I spoke to him before he died about this, he realized at that moment with the reaction that took place in India, remember television had just come in the year before, colour television had just come in the year before because of the Asian game. so there was a massive TV audience for this particular match

and he understood that very quickly and he realised that was a way for money. That was a way where India could become, maybe not the powerhouse on the field, but often it could dominate the sport because of the sheer numbers. This was a huge inspiration to the next generation of Indian cricketers. Satchintendulka, who was 10 at the time,

says this is the greatest moment in the history of Indian cricket. Rahul Dravid said it inspired him to pick up a bat and start, you know, really playing the game and aspire to play for India. So it also led to a whole new generation of cricket players. Andy Zaltzman, it's increasingly becoming clear that it's very difficult to overstate the influence, the impact of this 1983 World Cup.

Yes, and looking at the amount of one-day international cricket played at the time. In 1980 there had been 21 matches, then 28 in 1981, 33 in 1982. So there's a bit of an upward trend. But then 1983 was a World Cup, yeah, there was 66 games. But then every year from then, there were at least 50 matches, and it was on an upward curve in 1996, 62 matches. And then by the mid-90s, looking at over 100 one-day international matches per year. And, yeah, as Rahul said, I think it completely changed the approach of India

to international cricket and also cricket as a commercial entity. What was interesting from a playing point of view in that Indian side, associate Indian cricket with spin bowling. They only had five wickets by spinners in that tournament. By comparison, the all-time greatest spinner of all-time Vic Marks took 13 wickets in the tournament at an average of a fraction under 19. And India's success was built on medium-paced bowling, and every single one of the Indian seam attack significantly outperformed their career statistics.

India had been the weakest bowling attack in ODI cricket of the sixth major, established test-playing nations over the previous. previous four years. And they had Madan Lal, 17 wickets, average 16. Roger Binni, 18 average 18 bowling, sort of medium pace. Mahinda Amanath, five wickets in the semi-and-final combined. Didn't take another one-day international wicket for over 18 months. So it was this extraordinary little peak that India had.

In fact, for their next 15 matches, they only won four after that World Cup. So it was a really extraordinary triumph of this team just coming together over this two-week period. Many thanks to all the guests who've joined us on this one. Looking back at what we say was a memorable World Cup and obviously massive influence on the World Game as well. To Paul and to Graham and Vic, to Raul Tandon and also to Andy Zaltzman as well. Thank you all very much. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.