Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) chief executive Vince Hogg is in India and on a different turf. But not many know that two decades ago he was one of those lucky ones to be present on a wintry day at Tunbridge Wells. Hogg still remembers it with much excitement. ‘‘I was one of the lucky ones,’’ he says about that day. With no TV coverage and just a handful of spectators on hand to cheer him on, Kapil Dev changed the course of history in the 1983 World Cup. ‘‘It was one of those unbelievable days,’’ recalls Hogg as he opened out to The Indian Express at the end of eight hours of gruelling deliberations on Thursday. Fortunately for Hogg though, an injury had put him out of the firing range and so he had to watch his teammates being smashed to all parts of that small county ground. ‘‘Just a week before we had beaten Australia and I injured my back during that game.’’ At 17/5, when India were struggling Zimbabwe missed Hogg’s fast medium bowling. But the man himself seemed to be content to have India on the run at that moment. ‘‘We all were excited at that moment. As a non-Test playing nation we were not supposed to be on top.’’ Thereafter Kapil’s knock brought Zimbabwe down to earth. ‘‘What Kapil did that day was amazing. We were not expecting something like that.’’ But despite that loss, that World Cup in more than one way, happened to be one of the high points of Zimbabwean cricket. The present CEO is only too aware of the legacy left by that side. ‘‘We were dangerous then. But times have changed, we are in a new period with the re-building process going on,’’ he said, referring to post World Cup shake-up in his country. If anything, he says, he feels ‘‘more than excited’’ about the road ahead, especially the forthcoming Australian tour. ‘‘We will be playing the best team (Australia) on the fastest pitch (Perth) against the fastest bowler (Brett Lee).’’
