Colin Croft, supposedly the least lethal weapon in Clive Lloyd’s fast bowling armory, ripped the heart out of Pakistan at the Oval last night in the semi-final of the 1979 cricket world cup.
Colin Croft, whose contract with Lancashire was not renewed at the end of last season, exploded into action with three crucial wickets in 12 balls to light the fuse for a West Indies victory.
Bearing the middle names of Everton and Hunte, after two men from folklore of Caribbean cricket, Everton Weekes and Conrad Hunte, Croft will be remembered by the 18,000 who filled the Oval as the man who altered the course of this momentous Prudential World Cup semi-final.
Until he found a flaw in the wonderful repertoire of Zaheer Abbas in the 40th over, Pakistan was making inroads towards the mammoth West Indies’ total of 293-6. Zaheer Abbas, brilliantly caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Deryck Murray, had fearlessly dismantled the most menacing attack ever assembled in one team.
No one, not Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, or Joel Garner, was immune from the venom that poured from his bat. To everyone, except the most fanatical of the Caribbean followers, the fight was a tragedy Colin Croft claimed his wicket when he was seven runs short of his century.
His second wicket partnership with Majid Khan, produced 166 runs from 35 overs. Together, they silenced the Calypsos on the terraces. Briefly, the West Indies outcricket looked as ragged as Pakistan’s had done. But Croft, aged 26, and formerly an air traffic controller in Guyana, gave them good reason to restart their thunderous chorus by taking the wickets of Majid and Miandad in successive balls.
From 176 for 1. Pakistan folded to 250 all out to be defeated by 43 runs. But there was no shame in this defeat. Viv Richards, brought into the attack to supply variation with his off spin, finished with three for 53. The West Indies innings were given a solid, glorious foundation by an opening stand of 133 between Gordon Greenidge (73) and Desmond Haynes (65). Gordon Greenidge was awarded “Man of the Match” by adjudicate John Edrich even though he had dropped Majid at second slip when the Pakistan opener had scored only 10. Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal said, “The West Indies’ fielding was superior to ours, and in the end it made all the difference.”
