Watch the highlights of Australia vs England Reliance World Cup Final 1987 - Reliance World Cup 1987 tournament of the second Final played between England and Australia at Eden Gardens, Calcutta in 08th November 1987.
 |
| The Australian squad with the World Cup trophy © Chris Cole/Allsport |
David Boon, Mike Veletta, Steve Waugh and Allan Border stars as Australia pulled off a thrilling 7-run victory over England and Australia clinch the their historic first World Cup title in a nail-bitter final game of a Reliance World Cup.
Australia scored 253-5 in 50 overs with top scorer by David Boon struck 75 off 125-balls including 7-fours.
Mike Veletta hammered a unbeaten 45 off 31-balla including 6-fours with strike rate of 145.16, Dean Jones scored 33 off 57-balls included one-six & a four, Allan Border hit a run-a-ball 33-runs contained three-fours and Geoff Marsh 23.
England best bowler by Eddie Hemmings took 2-wickets and one for Neil Foster - Graham Gooch.
England scored 246-8 in 50 overs with top scorer by Bill Athey cracked a 58 off 103-balls including two boundaries.
Allan Lamb struck 45 off 55-balls including 4-fours, Mike Gatting hit 41 off 45-balls included 3-fours & a six.
Graham Gooch cracked a 35 off 57-balls including 4-fours and Phil DeFreitas blasted a 17 off 10-balls included 2-fours & a six with strike rate of 170.
Australia best bowler by Steve Waugh, Allan Border both took 2-wickets and one for Simon O'Donnell - Craig McDermott.
This match reported by Mike Coward (Third Party Reference from SMH)
Australia has won cricket's World Cup, and Allan Border has at last found his peace in the land of karma.
Raucously supported by 80,000 Indians who did little to conceal their anti-British feelings, Australia won by seven runs in the beautiful Calcutta twilight.
For Border, the embattled skipper of Australia since December 1984, it was a moment to savour for a lifetime.
And how the people at the beautiful Eden Gardens, and those watching on television throughout the world, rejoiced for this brave little master of the contemporary game, who has unfailingly adhered to the traditional virtues and values of the sport while Australian cricket has been under siege these past 10 years.
Border is Australia's most experienced player on the sub-continent this is his seventh visit and not a soul begrudged him this marvellous moment. He was carried shoulder-high from the ground by Craig McDermott and Dean Jones.
In his outstretched right hand was the diamond-studded World Cup, which symbolises supremacy at the limited-overs game.
As sitar music blared through the public address system and fireworks exploded over the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the ground, the Australians, led by Border, were cheered to a man as they ran a lap of honour.
Border, who has known little other than misery since he took over the captaincy in 1984-85, was mobbed by his teammates when England failed by seven runs to overhaul Australia's 5-253.
It was a remarkable achievement by the Australians, who went into the championship after possibly the worst 12 months in the history of Australian cricket and after five consecutive losses in the limited-over game.
But from the time they won their first match against defending champions India at Madras on October 9, they have grown in stature and confidence, and today played with a new pride and professionalism.
Border, who is respected throughout the cricket world, was cheered to a man by 80,000 spectators when he held aloft the diamond-studded World Cup and led the team on a lap of honour of the spectacular Eden Gardens ground.
His only other successes since he took over the leadership were the Texaco Trophy in England in 1985 and the World Series Cup in Australia in 1985-86.
In 1975 in the twilight at Lord's, Australia lost the inaugural final to the West Indies by 17 runs.
Australia, who have not won a Test since 1983-84, will now approach the bicentennial summer with great vigour and enthusiasm.
Characteristically, it was Border who changed the course of today's proceedings, but this time in his capacity as an occasional spin bowler.
England lost momentum from the time Border claimed captain Mike Gatting (41) with his first delivery.
England required 75 from their last 10 overs and then 34 off the last five overs, but not even a flurry by Phillip DeFreitas, who tore 17 off Craig McDermott's ninth over, unsettled the Australians.
David Boon, who has made such a magnificent return to the international arena, was named Man-of-the-Match.
As decisive as the wicket of Gatting was the superb play by Steve Waugh in the deep to run out Bill Athey for 56 the one Englishman to reach a half-century.
The fact that Waugh slipped- encouraged Athey to risk a second run but Waugh, a natural and gifted athlete who has repeatedly performed miracles under pressure in this tournament, regained his balance and with unerring accuracy threw to McDermott to remove Athey.
But he ensured an historic Australian victory when he bowled Lamb for 45 from 55 deliveries.
Border has said repeatedly that Gooch, Gatting and Lamb represented the greatest threat to the Australians, and so it proved to be.
In fact, Lamb should not have been allowed to prosper beyond 17 when Greg Dyer missed a leg-side stumping off Border.
The Australians had some sighting problems in the twilight and Mike Veletta, who had played an innings of such consequence earlier in the day, hung his head when he dropped a difficult catch offered by John Emburey against McDermott when he was six.
But when Emburey was run out for 10 David Boon throwing accurately to McDermott - England were in crisis at 7-220 after two deliveries of the 48th over.
Despite a bold attempt by DeFreitas against McDermott, England still required 19 runs from the last two overs a task that was beyond them.
Border bowled splendidly for 2-38 from his seven overs, while Waugh (2-37 from nine overs) and Simon O'Donnell (1-35 from 10 overs) provided splendid support for McDermott and Bruce Reid.
O'Donnell, in his most impressive spell for the tournament, danced a jig when Pakistani umpire Mehboob Shah upheld his leg-before-wicket appeal against Graham Gooch.
Gooch had scored 35 from 57 deliveries taking his aggregate of runs for the championship to 471 and steadied England after McDermott had removed Tim Robinson with the third ball of his first over.
Robinson was so convinced he was lbw he walked before Indian umpire Ram Babu Gupta lifted his finger. As well as they played, Bill Athey and Gatting enjoyed their share of good fortune.
Athey so easily could have been run out at 21 when Tim May broke the stumps from mid-off and the Australians left few people in doubt that they believed he had touched a Bruce Reid delivery to Greg Dyer when he was 13.
Gatting, who immediately unsettled May by charging him for four and then reverse sweeping him for three, late cut O'Donnell just wide of a lunging Dyer when he was nine.
Had Bruce Reid and not Waugh been stationed at long-on to May, Gatting might not have taken his score beyond 17.
Gatting, taking more risks than seemed necessary, attempted to put May into the crowd in the VVIP (very, very important person) enclosure in the club stand and was transfixed as Waugh made position for the catch.
The brilliant young all-rounder gauged the catch to a nicety but in the act of completing it overbalanced and crossed the boundary rope. He threw the ball to the ground in anger and frustration as Gupta signalled six.
From that point the Australians experienced considerable pressure, and for the first time in the championship began to make serious fielding errors, Dyer and Jones being serious offenders.
Their spirits were lifted, however, when Border claimed Gatting with the first ball he bowled. Gatting, who has been caned over the years for his indiscriminate use of the reverse sweep, played the shot again only to be caught at the wicket by Dyer.
The England captain took 41 from 45 balls and with Athey added 69 in 13.1 overs for the third wicket.
Another delightfully inventive innings by Veletta enabled Australia to reach 253 14 shy of their score in the semi-final against Pakistan at Lahore.
While Border might have expected more after Boon and Marsh had taken 29 from the first five overs it was the first time the English bowlers had conceded 250 runs at the championship.
Veletta, who scored 48 from 50 balls in Lahore, again played brilliantly today for 45 from 31 deliveries with six boundaries. But for his invaluable partnership of 73 in 10.1 overs for the fifth wicket with Border the Australians would have been hard-pressed to reach 250.
While Boon, Marsh and Dean Jones were principally responsible for Australia's reaching the final they found the going more stressful against England's canny and professional attack.
Marsh, who has not been so convincing since the end of the preliminary matches, and Jones both became frustrated when they failed to score at the expected tempo.
In the end, Marsh hit across the line and was bowled by Neil Foster for 24 from 47 deliveries, while Jones was again afflicted by the same nervous uncertainty that was so evident against New Zealand at Chandigarh.
He fidgeted for 57 balls for 33, 10 of the runs coming in two blows. One, against Emburey, landed in the crowd over square leg. While still trying to adjust to the slowness of the pitch Jones clipped the bulbous and able off spinner Eddie Hemmings straight to Athey at short mid-wicket.
After a productive flurry from McDermott, who was told to re-establish some momentum and authority at No 4, Hemmings struck an even more telling blow.. When he reached 75 - his fifth half century of an outstanding series Boon top-edged a chop-sweep against Hemmings and wicketkeeper Paul Downton - more in command than was the case in Bombay on Thursday - took a splendidly judged catch.
It was a critical dismissal for England as Boon, only recently restored to the XI after his sad Ashes summer, was again the principal architect of the innings. Again he and Marsh were able to skilfully lay a substantial base.
:
