Taking a look back at Australia’s 1987 ODI World Cup victory

We remember Australia’s inaugural ODI World Cup victory, which took place 36 years ago in 1987.

Old rivals Australia and England faced off in the 1987 Cricket World Cup Final in Kolkata, with both teams hoping to win the championship for the first time.

Both Australia and England were making their second Final appearance; they had lost to the West Indies in the first decider in 1975 and to the same opponents in 1979. After defeating their longtime opponents by seven runs, Allan Border’s Australia joyfully hoisted the Cricket World Cup aloft as the tournament’s first victor. Gazing back at their victory after winning the winner’s medal in 2015, Border said, “We were a very underdog team back then, but I knew the guys we had would give it everything we had.” It was a special time in our lives, despite the fact that we never imagined we would actually win the competition.

We’d emerged from a fairly horrible couple of years for Australian cricket results-wise, and when asked how high it was on his list of professional successes, he said, “There’s no doubt about it; it’s right up there.” That core group of players from that World Cup really started to turn things around, both in terms of performance and style of play. It was a very special occasion. Once everything changed, we started to achieve ever-higher success.

Also read: Revisiting India’s ODI World Cup triumph in 1983 after 40 years

Australia and England followed similar paths to the Final after finishing second in their respective groups and defeating Pakistan and India, the top-ranked teams in the tables, respectively, in the Semi-Finals. This secured their places in the grand finale in Kolkata. Tens of thousands of fans descended upon Eden Gardens to see the Final with the hopes of seeing an incredible match, and they were not disappointed. Australia dealt the first blow of the day after winning the toss and electing to bat.

David Boon, who top-scored for Australia with 75 off 125, ensured that Border made the right choice. He set a strong foundation for the Australian innings with his seven fours. Several of his teammates, who fell short of the half-century mark in points scored, provided him with significant support.

Even though Australia’s score from 50 overs was 253/5 thanks in large part to Geoff Marsh (24), Dean Jones (33), and Border (31), Mike Veletta’s aggressiveness late in the innings helped the side to reach 250. In the last six overs of Australia’s innings, Veletta blasted six fours in an innings of 45 not out off just 31 balls.

Also read: An overview of the 1975 West Indies ODI World Cup victory 

Tim Robinson’s ejection for a golden duck spoiled the beginning of England’s reply. However, with scores of 35 and 58, respectively, Graham Gooch and Bill Athey were able to steady the ship. Both players scored well above forty-one before Allan Lamb (45) and Mike Gatting (41) famously got out trying to reverse sweep part-time bowler Border.

Following the ineffectiveness of Paul Downton (9) and John Emburey (10), wickets began to fall, and Lamb’s valiant attempt came to an end, with England on 220/7. With their required run rate rising, England required 17 runs from the final over. With just seven runs separating them and Australia’s total still standing, Border became the first captain to lift the national trophy. He was soon joined by Michael Clarke, Steve Waugh, and two-time winner Ricky Ponting.

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