New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Australia finally etched their name on the biggest prize in world cricket when captain Allan Border lifted the 1987 World Cup after beating England by seven runs in the final in Calcutta.
Riding on a powerful 75 by David Boon, Australia made 253 for the loss of five in 50 overs in front of a packed Eden Gardens Nov 8. In reply, England managed 246 for eight wickets in 50 overs, falling short by seven runs.
Australia, who had won the toss and batted, knew that no side had scored so many runs to win a match in the tournament.
Still, England at one stage (135 for two after 31 overs) looked on course. But in a moment of madness, Mike Gatting (41) attempted a reverse sweep off Border and ended up top-edging the ball for a simple catch to the wicket keeper. Gatting's dismissal effectively tilted the scales Australia's way.
In the last over, England needed 17 runs to win but Craig McDermott kept his nerves and Australia deservedly lifted the World Cup.
SCOREBOARD
Australia vs. England, Final, World Cup, Eden Gardens,
Kolkata, Nov 8, 1987
Australia:
David Boon c Downton b Hemmings 75
Geoff Marsh b Foster 24
Dean Jones c Athey b Hemmings 33
Craig McDermott b Gooch 14
Alan Border run out 31
Mike Veletta not out 45
Steve Waugh not out 5
Extras: (b 1, lb 13, w 5, nb 7) 26
Total: (for five wickets in 50 overs) 253
Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Marsh), 2-151 (Jones), 3-166
(McDermott), 4-168 (Boon), 5-241 (Border)
Bowling:
Phillip DeFreitas 6-1-34-0
Gladstone Small 6-0-33-0
Neil Foster 10-0-38-1
Eddie Hemmings 10-1-48-2
John Emburey 10-0-44-0
Graham Gooch 8-1-42-1
England:
Graham Gooch lbw O'Donnell 35
Tim Robinson lbw b McDermott 0
Bill Athey run out 58
Mike Gatting c Dyer b Border 41
Alan Lamb b Waugh 45
Paul Downton c O'Donnell b Border 9
John Emburey run out 10
Phillip DeFreitas c Reid b Waugh 17
Neil Foster not out 7
Gladstone Small not out 3
Extras: (b 1, lb 14, w 2, nb 4) 21
Total: (for eight wickets in 50 overs) 246
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Robinson), 2-66 (Gooch), 3-135
(Gatting), 4-170 (Athey), 5-188 (Downton), 6-218
(Emburey), 7-220 (Lamb), 8-235 (DeFreitas)
Bowling:
Craig McDermott 10-1-51-1
Bruce Reid 10-0-43-0
Steve Waugh 9-0-37-2
Simon O'Donnell 10-1-35-1
Tim May 4-0-27-0
Alan Border 7-0-38-2
Result: Australia won by 7 runs
Toss: Australia
Umpires: R.B. Gupta (India) and Mahboob Shah
(Pakistan)
Man of the Match: David Boon (Australia)