World Cup trivia

White coat aggressionThe 1983 World Cup semi-final between India and England had quite a few unforgettable sights. The one that stands ou...

White coat aggression
The 1983 World Cup semi-final between India and England had quite a few unforgettable sights. The one that stands out is that of umpire Don Oslear with a stump in his hand, trying to defend his life by shooing away the crowd, which invaded the field with India just few runs short of victory. The aggressive posture of Oslear led to condemnation from the umpiring fraternity but Oslear was not intimidated and defended his action saying that this was nothing new for him. During a similar incident in the past, he had gone a step further and as a result two border crossers found their way to the hospital!

Family tree in Cup history
There are two families in the world, who can boast of a unparalleled World Cup achievements. The "like-father, like-son" phenomenon has happened twice in Cup history. The father of cricketer turned journalist Derek Pringle played in the inaugural World Cup. Donald Pringle represented East Africa and to date is the oldest debutante in World Cup.He was 43 years and 40 days when he played the first match for East Africa. That proved to be Donald’s cricketing high as he died just fourth months after the World Cup experience. His son, Derek turned up for England in two World Cups. The more advertised father-son team was from New Zealand – the Cairns. Lance Cairns played two World Cup while son Chris will be playing his second World Cup this time.

Comforting thought for minnows
As cricket went global, the 1996 edition of the World Cup saw an increase in number of teams, raising expectations of pathetically lop-sided games as well. The legendary Pakistan captain Imran Khan had a few words to say: “World Cup is no place for minnows.” And, the very next day, Kenya upset the mighty West Indies at Pune by 73 runs. This was not a rare event.The associate members have occasionally stumped the elite club card holders. India has the dubious distinction of being the first team to lose to an associate member. In 1979, qualifiers Sri Lanka upset Indiaby 47 runs at Headingley. In the following World Cup in 1983, Zimbabwe playing their first One-Day International defeated Australia by 13 runs. A comforting thought for the present minnows – Holland, Scotland, Bangladesh, Kenya.

Awesome opening act
The first game of any World Cup has its unparalleled aura. Being the opening act of the much hyped show, the actors are expected to be edgy or over anxious. But there are many who have overcome the anxiety and made their mark. The first match centurions of the World Cup are: 1975 – Denis Amiss (England) against West Indies scored 137; 1979 – Gordon Greenidge (West Indies) against India scored 106 not out; 1983 – Allan Lamb against New Zealand scored 102; 1987 – Javed Miandad (Pakistan) against Sri Lanka scored 103; 1992 – Martin Crowe (New Zealand) against Australia scored 100 not out and David Boon (Australia) against New Zealand 100 ; 1996 – Nathan Astle (New Zealand) against England scored 101.