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DATE : 11-02-1984

VENUE : Melbourne Cricket Ground

MATCH : 2nd Final, Australia Vs West Indies for Benson and Hedges World Series

Writer : B.V.Swagath

Australia and West Indies, two top class teams were battling out each other amidst the heat of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. We are talking about the 2nd finals of the Benson and Hedges World Series way back in 1983/84. Australia have to prevent the West Indies from winning this final and take the Benson and Hedges World Series to the third and deciding final. The edge was with the West Indies with a dream bowling attack of the Whispering Death - Michael Holding, the Big Bird - Joel Garner, Baptiste and to finish the pace quartet was Malcolm Marshall.

The West Indies skipper, Clive Lloyd won the toss and decided to take first strike at the MCG. To contain this cracking batting line-up of Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, King Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Larry Gomes and the useful Jeff Dujon, the Aussie skipper Kim Hughes had an almighty job ahead of him. With the ball doing a bit early on, West Indies were off to a shaky start losing both their openers with the score at 54. But with the partnership of two of the best stroke makers Richie Richardson and Viv Richards, things started to fall in the right place for the West Indies. The NSW fast bowler Geoff Lawson who was bowling a miserly spell gave the breakthrough dismissing Richardson and the score halted to 116/3. To make it worse for the West Indies, part time bowler Keppler Wessels chipped in with the priced wickets of skipper Clive Lloyd and then Viv Richards and West Indies slumped to 173/5. But the innings got a perfect finish with two of the best lower middle order batsmen ever in ODIs - Larry Gomes and Jeff Dujon put on a fighting stand of 49 runs and ensured West Indies to set a fighting target of 223. Vivian Richards top scored with 59 with five hits to the fence. For the home side, Geoff Lawson was the most impressive with figures of 10-4-26-1 and the left arm spinner Tom Hogan keeping it extremely tight with 10-2-31-0.
 

Michael Holding and Joel Garner were charging their batteries waiting to have a dash at the Aussie top order. Makeshift opener Dean Jones found the pace combination too hot to handle and was back in the hut giving the ideal start for the defenders, Australia at 23/1. But the other opening batsman Keppler Wessels and his skipper Kim Hughes decimated the bombarding from the pace quartet to take Australia cruising at 132/1. But Malcolm Marshall just opened the floodgates for the Australians trapping Hughes lbw. A skipper’s innings from Kim Hughes ended at a personal score of 53, with Australia requiring only 91 runs. Coming back for their second spell, Holding and Garner ripped through the batting and Australia now found themselves at a shaky 192/6 having just lost their last recognized batsman in Rodney Marsh. Geoff Lawson, however kept the home side in the game with his useful hitting. But West Indies were not giving up either, taking wickets at regular intervals. It was still going in favour of the Aussies, but for a couple of run outs with Carl Rackeman run out of the last ball of the match. The Australian innings folded at 222/9 in 50 overs and the scores of both the teams were leveled. Keppler Wessels was the hero with an innings of 77 and for the West Indies, Holding and Garner the chief wreckers with both having figures of 3/39.

This was an extraordinary result, which never happened in all the 246 One Day Internationals ever played prior to this game. History was created at the MCG on the 11th of February 1984 with the Australia Versus West Indies ODI ending in a TIE and it was the first ever tied ODI in history. Cricketfundas.com takes extreme pride in becoming the only cricket website to have a review of this sensational match at the MCG.
 

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