Tomorrow marks the 41st anniversary of the West Indies famous second lien on the ICC World Cup trophy and it is fitting that today’s Moments in Time takes you back to the very final, played at Lord’s against none other than England.
In those days, a One-Day International was played over the course of 60 overs and very much resembled a One-Day Test match, with batsmen still maintaining, by today’s standards, very slow rates of scoring.
The West Indies were a little different, having produced batsmen like Sir Viv Richards, who ended his career with a strike rate of 90 when others were scoring in the high 60s.
Four years earlier, the West Indies captain, Clive Lloyd, the Super Cat, in front of 27,000 at Lord’s, scored 102 to give the West Indies a lien on the inaugural World Cup trophy.
On that day the West Indies needed to pull themselves out of the hole Australia had dug for them, and Lloyd’s innings helped them recover from 50-3 to post 291-8 before bowling out Australia for a game 274.
The West Indies would need this kind of heroism again, as the West Indies found themselves in unfamiliar territory at 55-3 and then 99-4.
Before that, the West Indies had marched through the tournament, scoring a 43-run win over Pakistan, a 32-run win over New Zealand, and a massive nine-wicket win over India en route to the final.
In fact, the West Indies only blip came against Sri Lanka after that match at the Oval was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
But not even the weather, it seemed, could stop the West Indies until June 23 when the combination of Mike Hendrick, 2-44, and Chris Old, 2-55, threatened to give England an easy target in the second-ever World Cup final.
Viv Richards had not had a spectacular World Cup to that point.
He had scored a struggling 42 against Pakistan in the game before, while scores of nine against New Zealand, and an unbeaten 28 against India did not show the Viv Richards everybody knows.
But today was a different day. Viv bided his time. Working through his lack of form, not wanting to lose another wicket with Gordon Greenidge (9), Desmond Haynes(20), Alvin Kallicharan (4), and Lloyd (13), all back in the pavilion.
For company, Sir Viv had Collis King, who truth be told, made his efforts at finding the Master Blaster form all the more easy.
King was savage, smashing 10 fours and three sixes on his way to a 66-ball 86.
All the while, Sir Viv was eyeing a big total. He would bat for almost half the innings, using 157 deliveries to score a masterful 138 not out.
The timing of the innings was brilliant and it helped the West Indies to 286-9. Deryck Murray, with five, was the only other batsman to score a run after King got out, with Viv singlehandedly taking the score from 238-5 to 286-9.
Along the way, Viv began to show why he was dubbed the Master Blaster, picking up good deliveries from outside off stump and dispatching them through midwicket despite fielders marauding those boundaries.
There was a square drive and a cover drive that disappeared to the boundary even on slow-motion replays, while he picked up the last delivery of the innings, moving outside off-stump to swing the effort high over square leg from a middle-stump line, one of three sixes he would hit on the day.
There were also 11 fours that didn’t count as much for their savagery as they did for excellent examples of good timing, placement and overall class.
Sir Viv was in his element. And the West Indies could not lose.
286 in 60 overs seems like an easy-paced run chase by today’s standards, but in those days, the target was monumental.
Scoring at 4.76 was always going to prove too much for England, who lacked the big-hitting of the West Indies middle order.
Openers Geoff Boycott, 57, and J Bearley, 64, scored at rates of 54.28 and 49.23 respectively, altogether too slowly to mount any serious challenge.
Only Graham Gooch, with 32 from 28 seemed to come to grips with what was necessary. England had been mauled and the legend of Sir Viv had just grown in stature some more.
Joel Garner with 5-38 from 11 overs was too stingy, and Colin Croft, with 3-42, was too aggressive and Michael Holding, with 2-16 from eight overs was too classy.
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'Hope should drop T20 cricket' - WI legend Lloyd believes shortest format spoiling player's batting
West Indies legend Clive Lloyd does not believe discarded batsman Shai Hope should be playing T20 cricket as the sport's shortest format ruins his game.
After a barren run of form, which has led to the player averaging 19.48 since December 2017 and just 14.45 since February 2019, Hope was dropped from the team ahead of the upcoming tour of New Zealand. Not surprisingly, since his struggles in a 2-1 defeat against England, a place where he made headlines three years ago, saw his overall Test average slip to 26.27.
The 26-year-old is one of a few players to represent the regional team in all three formats. He has not had these struggles in One Day Internationals where he averages 52.20 from 78 games. In T20s, however, he averages 21.63 in 13 matches with a strike rate of 136.
It is his involvement in the later that the former West Indies skipper believes could be a problem.
“I don’t think this T20 is for Shai Hope, he gets into bad habits,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“I know that you don’t want to take away money from people, but the point is that he should not be playing in T20s, it is destroying his cricket,” he added.
Lloyd also believes the player should have been possibly included in some kind of A-team for the tour, instead of being left out of the squad entirely.
“If we had A-teams and A-team tours, young Shai Hope should have had a stint with the A-team to build his confidence back as England did with Nasser Hussain and (Mark) Ramprakash."
Barbarians players charged by RFU for coronavirus breach
Thirteen Barbarians players have been charged by the Rugby Football Union for a breach of COVID-19 protocols which caused the cancellation of their match against England.
The Twickenham clash scheduled for last Sunday was aborted after RFU investigations established members of the Baa-Baas squad broke their coronavirus regulations.
It meant England's players were left without a warm-up match ahead of this Saturday's Six Nations showdown against Italy.
An RFU statement confirmed the players will face charges that include leaving the hotel without permission or without informing organisers of their whereabouts, and providing false statements during an investigation.
"The RFU recognises the pressure public scrutiny is placing on the players and therefore it will publish players' names, full judgements and sanctions after the hearings have concluded," said a statement from the RFU.
"There is no sanction table applicable to charges brought under Rule 5.12 therefore the Independent Panel can issue a range of sanctions at their discretion including fines and/or match bans and/or any other suitable sanction."
Players involved are set to attend virtual hearings over the next few weeks and face a range of sanctions, including playing suspensions and fines.
A number of the Barbarians players have since publicly apologised for the breach, with former England captain Chris Robshaw saying he was "sincerely remorseful" for his actions.
LeBron after 17 years: How much further can the NBA Finals MVP go?
Thursday marks 17 years to the day since LeBron James made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Sacramento Kings.
The number one overall draft pick, who had 25 points in his first game, went on to win the Rookie of the Year award in 2003-04 and has been at the forefront of the league ever since.
James has been MVP on four occasions and earlier this month collected his fourth championship ring, also winning Finals MVP for a fourth time at the age of 35.
Only three other players have been named Finals MVP after their 35th birthday: fellow greats Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, of course, Michael Jordan.
But how did they fare in the final years of their careers after being the main men on title-winning teams as veterans? And how might that colour what we can expect from LeBron beyond year 17?
We use Stats Perform Data to take a look.
WILT CHAMBERLAIN - 1972 Finals MVP, aged 35
The Finals MVP award was not introduced until the 1969 series when Chamberlain was already in his 30s – by then an NBA champion with the Philadelphia 76ers and a four-time MVP – but he was belatedly recognised as he guided the Lakers past the New York Knicks three years later, winning their first title since moving to Los Angeles.
But Wilt would not then go on to add to his honours as he played just one more season before retiring.
The veteran still played all 82 regular season games in 1972-73, averaging more minutes (43.2) than in the championship-winning campaign, but he endured the lowest scoring year of his career, with 13.2 points per game. He had peaked at 50.4 points 11 years earlier.
Shooting less regularly, there were still flashes of Chamberlain's old magic as he remarkably had the NBA's highest all-time field-goal percentage across a season (minimum 500 attempts) with 72.7 per cent made. Only DeAndre Jordan in three straight seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers – between 2014 and 2017 – has shot above 70 per cent.
The Lakers will certainly hope James does not go down the same path, having been backed to play into his 40s by LA assistant Jason Kidd and former Miami Heat team-mate Dwyane Wade.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR - 1985 Finals MVP, aged 38
Abdul-Jabbar won his first Finals MVP with the Milwaukee Bucks the year before Chamberlain's but, despite collecting two more rings in the interim, had to wait until 1985 to be hailed again as the postseason's outstanding player. Kareem outperformed Lakers team-mate Magic Johnson – 12 years his junior – as they beat the Boston Celtics and he became the oldest NBA Finals MVP.
And yet his career was not over, with the support of Johnson surely an example the 2020 Lakers would like to follow as Anthony Davis aids LeBron.
Abdul-Jabbar's production actually improved in the season he turned 39 – scoring 23.4 points per game, up from 22.0 – but that would be the last year he averaged at least 20.0, ending a record 17-season streak that has since been matched by Karl Malone and James, who can surpass that mark in 2020-21.
The Lakers kept winning as Kareem's numbers understandably dropped, though, taking the title in 1987 and 1988 – led by Johnson and James Worthy.
A 42-year-old Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989 after seeing his field-goal percentage dip below 50 per cent in a season for the first time at 47.5. His astounding 19-year stretch of making more than half of his attempts stands as a record, later tied by Shaquille O'Neal.
MICHAEL JORDAN - 1998 Finals MVP, aged 35
Jordan might be considered the clear rival to James in the 'GOAT' debate, but LeBron is not likely to follow in MJ's footsteps after his 'Last Dance' with the Chicago Bulls in 1998. Beating the Utah Jazz, he won a third straight title and a third straight Finals MVP for the second time yet was done at the top level thereafter.
The 35-year-old retired from the sport again, only to return once more in 2001 with the Washington Wizards.
Jordan would donate his salary to relief efforts after the September 11 terror attack but struggled to deliver on the floor as he battled injuries.
The statistics when MJ did appear in 2001-02 – he made 53 starts in 60 regular season games – did not make for great reading. The five-time MVP ranked worst in the league for three-point percentage (minimum 50 attempts) at 18.9 per cent, making just 10. He was 41st of the 48 players who attempted at least 1000 field goals that year at 41.6 per cent.
Jordan quit the sport for good in 2003.
LEBRON JAMES - 2020 Finals MVP, aged 35
If Abdul-Jabbar provides the best example of how a superstar should treat the final years of his career, LeBron appears well placed to similarly profit.
With the arrival of Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans last year, James' game changed to incorporate a second elite scorer, becoming a passer as he logged a career-high 10.2 assists per game.
LeBron became the oldest player in NBA history to average 25.0 points and 10.0 assists. No rival has ever managed such a performance past the age of 30, let alone 35.
Crucially, the former Cavs man was also more protected. He visited the foul line less often (down from 7.6 free-throw attempts to 5.7) and recorded fewer rebounds (down from 8.5 to 7.8)
And his 34.6 minutes per game – a career-low – represented the fewest in league history while scoring 25.0 points and 10.0 assists.
With a gruelling next season just around the corner, James is likely to play even fewer minutes again but, alongside Davis, still looks primed to make the difference when it matters most.
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