First-class in every sense!

If a cricket junkie was asked to choose a hotel to stay in during a highprofile competition in the 1970s it would have to be the Kensington Close near Kensington High Street in LondonThatrsquos where all eight teams were housed for the inaugural World Cup before dispersing for their games in different countiesBy the way it was called the Prudential CupmdashInternational Championship of Cricket No where was lsquoWorldrsquo mentionedMost critics lapped up the novelty aspect while English journalist Alex Bannister came up with interesting observations in an article previewing lsquoCricketrsquos Great AdventurersquoBannister wrote in Sportsweek ldquoThere is a South African playing for England Tony Greig odd to reflect that cricketrsquos first international tournament springs indirectly from the quarrel over apartheidrdquoBannister elaborated on the composition of the teamsmdashldquotwo teenagers on leave from school in Karachi and Colombo two 42yearolds from East AfricardquoHe cited New Zealandrsquos two sets of brothersmdashthe Hadlees and Howarths Australiarsquos Ian and Greg Chappell and Pakistanrsquos Mushtaq and Sadiq MohammadThe large gathering of cricketers living in a common base led to friendships Australia captain Ian Chappell learnt about his teammate Doug Walters and East Africarsquos Don Pringle father of England cricketerturnedwriter Derek discovering that both of them enjoyed drinking late into the night together and staying around till closing time Sadly Don passed away later that year in a car accident back home in NairobiExIndia allrounder Karsan Ghavri told me on Tuesday that the 1975 World Cup helped him forge longtime friendships with Aussie pace ace Jeff Thomson Pakistani Wasim Raja and East Africarsquos then captain Harilal Shah both deceasedWhatrsquos an event without its share of controversy At the start of the tournament Sunil Gavaskarrsquos unbeaten 36 in 174 balls against England at Lordrsquos frustrated fans and punditsldquoTo many in the goodsized crowd it may have seemed as though no one had told Venkataraghavan captain and his team that this was a oneday competitionrdquo wrote celebrated writer John WoodcockIn Indiarsquos next game against East Africa at Leeds wicketkeeperbatsman Farokh Engineer and allrounder S Abid Ali got into an argument on the field and the fight spilled over to the dressing room during the break One team member told me that both players threw things at each other and an object hit a water jug the splash of liquids messing up manager GS Ramchandrsquos beloved suit Meanwhile Gavaskar described the faceoff in his book Sunny Days as ldquomore like a bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier the difference being that both threatened each other with batsrdquoThe visit to Buckingham Palace on June 6 too helped the teams indulge in some bondingAustralian captain Ian Chappell said he got to know Bishan Singh Bedi better and went out with him for curries Chappell also remembered an Indian businessman meeting him and Bedi to tell them about a series he had planned which wouldnrsquot interfere with the international calendar Little did they know then that a businessman by the name of Kerry Packer would helm a rebel series which would clash with the traditional schedule in a couple of yearsrsquo timeAdministrators of that era in particular were known to be stingy when it came to extending privileges to players However all teams were permitted to stay on for the full duration of the tournament irrespective of which stage they were knocked out Talking about getting knocked out Sri Lankan great Duleep Mendis learnt what it felt like to be a victim of Australian Jeff Thomsonrsquos thunderbolts He was stretchered off the ground after Thomson struck him on the forehead in their June 11 game at the Oval in London Mendis who had to be admitted to hospital told Sri Lankan journalist Rex Clementine many years later that a policeman dropped by his hospital room and asked if he wanted to press charges against a certain Jeff ThomsonMendis who went on to become Sri Lankarsquos longserving captain declined the ldquoofferrdquo and emphasised to the policeman that itrsquos only a game of cricketThe wellcontested Australia v West Indies final ended at 842 pm ldquoin bright sunshinerdquo according to encyclopaedic West Indian broadcasterwriter Tony Cozier in his 1976 annual And while the joyous West Indians sprinted to the Lordrsquos pavilion someone in the crowd pinched umpire Dickie Birdrsquos white cap A few days later Bird was travelling in a red London bus and discovered a West Indian conductor adorning a white cap very similar to his When Bird asked him where he got it the conductor proudly declared ldquoIt was from Dickie Bird the Test umpirerdquo The famous Yorkshireman wrote in Cricketing Memories a book published in 1987 that he dropped the idea of reclaiming the cap once he discovered that the conductor failed to recognise him Talking about recognising famous figures Aunshuman Gaekwad and Ghavri found themselves trying hard to avoid talking to an old English gentleman who kept asking them questions during a cocktail party at Lordrsquos They only realised that the gentleman was a cricketing great when teammate Gundappa Viswanath joined them and was greeted by Sir Len Hutton warmlyThe 1975 World Cup got the largest congregation in the cricketing world togetherAfter hearing accounts over the years from numerous participating players Irsquom inclined to believe that oneday cricketrsquos first big gig produced more unusual stories and anecdotes than any of the remaining 11 editionsThat said herersquos hoping next monthrsquos extravaganza in India will be a muchcherished and fabled onemiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper