The day Aussies began their world domination

I know it may come as a surprise to many of the readers, but even before we started off our campaign in the 1987 World Cup each member of th...

I know it may come as a surprise to many of the readers, but even before we started off our campaign in the 1987 World Cup each member of the team believed that we could win. And the way we bonded right through the one month in the subcontinent was simply out of the world.

I know theories and arguments explaining our triumph have been made in the interim, but my firm belief is that there was something special about that team. Leadership had a lot to do with it; it was difficult to separate our coach Bobby (Simpson) and skipper Allan (Border).

I would also like to think that team spirit played a large part of our success. In fact, ever since that World Cup, the Australians have been very successful; a large part of this success has to do with the incredibly strong bond in Australian teams.

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One of my first memories of the tournament is the fun we had down in Chennai training and enjoying ourselves in the Indian heat. The weather was oppressive and the blokes worked their tails off and this is where we started respecting one another. I think we learnt to respect one another and each other’s work ethic during this time, one of the best bonding experiences of my time.

A number of guys like Steve (Waugh), Tom (Moody) and myself were just starting out on a long journey but that did not matter for we were always confident about ourselves.

The first match against world champions India — also, incidentally, my debut encounter — set the tone for us. It was at Chepauk, one of our favourite venues outside home, and we just about managed to beat them by one run. That win was followed by a wonderful impromptu party back at the team hotel.

The rest of the tournament is a bit of a blur for me. Until the final, of course, one of the greatest thrills of my life. So far, I’d played in front of crowds of about 7,000 people. To play in front of 95,000 at Eden Gardens was the ultimate.

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There was talk about it being an Ashes clash and all that but when we got to the field it was business as usual. As the match progressed, it seemed at one point Gatt (Mike Gatting) was taking England home; I was singled out for rough treatment. That’s when Allan (Border) brought himself on and the match turned on its head, with Gatt playing the now-famous reverse sweep which triggered a collapse.

We were pretty surprised that Gat played that shot. It is now an acceptable shot in the modern game, but back then he was a bit of a pioneer — although I guess he didn’t feel it at the time! When his wicket fell we realised how crucial it was, but we also realized that there was still a lot of cricket to go in the match.

In the end, we won it by right. Trust me that feeling of being on top of the world was huge and what was more sweeter was the welcome back home. It was huge, a major street parade and luncheon was laid out for us — very enjoyable and and memorable. Even today those memories give me goosepimples.

To Ricky and his boys: Do it again mates!

(As told to Chandresh Narayanan)