Watch the highlights of Australia vs West Indies 14th Match Benson & Hedges World Series Cup 1981/82 - Benson & Hedges World Series Cup one-day international tournament of the 14th ODI match played between West Indies and Australia at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane in 17th January 1982.
Pace bowler Joel Garner's four-wicket haul, New captain Viv Richards' all-round display, Larry Gomes' unbeaten half-century and a captaincy break from the Clive Lloyd's superb 30 helped to West Indies convincing five-wicket victory over Australia and enter into the best-of-5-finals in the 14th match of a Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.
Australia scored 185-9 in 50 overs with top scorer by Greg Chappell 61 (43) and Bruce Laird 26 (51)
West Indies best bowler by Joel Garner 4/45 (9) and Michael Holding 2/38 (8)
This match reported by Brian Mossop (Third Party Reference from SMH)
Australia will have to maintain their unbeaten record against the West Indies under lights at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday to reach the finals of the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.
And the Pakistanis, who have completed their preliminary matches, will watch the game on television in Melbourne to see if they return home or stay on to compete for a slice of the $50,000 finals cake.
A summer of waxing and waning hopes over 14 preliminary rounds has finally boiled down to Australia's having to win the last match after the West Indies cruised home in their match with Australia at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.
Needing 186 runs off 40 overs after the Australians had scored 185-9 in a rain-affected innings, the West Indians always had the target in hand and reached it in the 39th over with five wickets and eight balls to spare.
"A good weekend. ch?" quipped Viv Richards. who led the West Indies to give the fluridden Clive Lloyd a break from the captaincy. Having won both rounds of the double-header that began with a narrow win against Pakistan on Saturday, it was a good weekend from a West Indian point of view. With 14 points from their nine matches, they are well entrenched in the finals. The Australians, on six points, still trail the Pakistanis by two.
A win on Tuesday would put Australia into the finals because of their superior run-rate — a position that a record Gabba crowd of 22,610 would rather have seen them reach.
Richards said it did not matter whether the West Indies' finals opponents were Australia or Pakistan. If there was a lone bright star to Australia's loss, it was that Greg Chappell, at last, emerged from the form slump that plagued him mid-season.
The Australian captain hit a polished 61, including eight fours, off 43 balls. It was the third time in as many matches that he has been among the runs, but today's innings was the most authoritative.
Chappell also had a reasonably convincing reply to those who saw one of his actions as a blatant form of protest.
The Australians, sent in to bat, were 86-2 in the 27th over when rain began to fall. The umpires Tony Crafter and Mel Johnson gave Chappell the option of leaving the field, but he declined. They then made the same offer to Richards, who accepted, As the 'West Indians and the umpires left the field and the covers came out, Chappell squatted near the pitch and signalled Rick McCosker, with whom he was sharing a third-wicket stand, to join him.
It looked as if Chappell was protesting at the decision to go off. But he later denied any such thing. "The only reason we stayed out in the rain was that it was cooler there than in the dressing room and it did not look as if it would rain for long. I was not making any protest."
Later, when rain forced the players off the humidity-laden field a second time, there was the good-humoured gesture of Richards and Desmond Haynes grabbing Chappell and gently propelling him toward the dressing room.
Australia were 113-4 after 33 overs at the time of the second interruption and it was during the second break that the match was reduced from 50 to 40 overs.
That left the Australians with only seven overs in which to hit out and, although they did so to great effect mainly because of Chappell the lack of overs was against a big score.
As it was, 185 runs were more than respectable. But the West Indies, with a 62-run partnership in 55 minutes between Richards (34) and the man-of-the-match Larry Comes (56 not out) and another of 58 in 41 minutes between Gomes and Lloyd (30), always had the target covered.
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