Duleep Mendis needed medical treatment after being hit on the head by Thomson |
In their second match, East Africa were, as expected,
pummeled by the Indians at Leeds, and at the Oval the same fate was expected in
case of Sri Lanka because this time around, their batsmen had to face the fury
of Lillee and Thomson who were as lethal as the West Indian pace battery.
Australian batsmen feed on Lankan bowlers
After the horrifying experience against West
Indies , the Sri Lankan captain Anura Tennekoon didn’t want to
expose his batsmen against Lillee and Thomson earlier in the morning and
decided to field first on a placid Oval track after winning the toss.
But Tennekoon’s decision didn’t favour Sri
Lanka as the Australian openers - Rick
McCosker and Alan Tuner made the Lankan bowlers to toil hard. Turner hit nine
fours and one six to script a knock of 101 runs. The opening stand of 182 runs
was ended as legspinner Somachandra de Silva accounted for the wicket of Alan
Turner. De Silva accounted for the wicket of McCosker as well and after a while
Lalith Wasantha Silva Kaluperuma dismissed Ian Chappell cheaply to bring the
Sri Lankans back into the game.
But Sri Lanka ’s
joy didn’t last long as Greg Chappell and Doug Walters started to dent the
Lankan bowlers by scoring at a rapid pace. A partnership of 117 runs for the
fourth wicket came up quickly and the Australians posted a huge total of 328
for 5 in 60 overs.
Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson delivered thunderbolts but
the Sri Lankan openers, Ranjit Fernando and Sidath Wettimuny weathered the storm
well. After scripting a cautious opening stand of thirty runs, Fernando was
castled by Thomson’s sheer pace. Bandarna Warnapura and Wettimuny added 54 runs
for the second wicket. Ashley Mallet dismissed Warnapura but that didn’t dent Sri
Lanka ’s momentum at all.
Duleep Mendis joined Wettimuny and both of them batted with
courage and confidence to give Ian Chappell enough headaches. The Sri Lankans
were 150 for 2 in 32 overs and were well on course to chase down Australia ’s
mammoth total.
Dennis Lillee (L) and Jeff Thomson |
The Sri Lankans did weather the fury of Lillee and Thomson
earlier, but when Ian Chappell introduced both of them for a second burst, they
were too hot to handle. Especially Thomson was devastating. As Chappell
recalled, “The two little Sri Lankans (Duleep Mendis and Sunil Wettimuny) were
going boom, boom, boom and I said to Thommo (Jeff Thomson), look, these guys
certainly can play on the front foot, let’s see how good they are on the back
foot”.
The fury of Jeff Thomson
Jeff Thomson transformed into a demon when he came back to
bowl in his second spell. Thomson continued to bang the ball short with extreme
pace and thudded into the batsman’s body again and again. According to
Wettimuny, “It was like a flash. I couldn't see the ball”. Remembering that
spell, Mendis said, “It was the fastest spell of fast bowling I had ever faced
in my life. He was averaging over 100 miles. It was seriously fast and we had
no protection. You couldn't pick the ball cleanly from his action that he had -
plucking the ball from behind - and over that, he was firing them at top speed.
It was a great challenge”.
Mendis and Wettimuny’s resistance against Thomson didn’t
last long as a Thomson snoter hit Mendis on the head and immediately he went
down on the pitch as if he was shot in the head with a gun. The figure of
Mendis lying on the pitch was a sad sight. He was taken to hospital for further
medical management.
Duleep Mendis being taken off the ground after he was hit by a Thomson snorter |
Then Thomson knocked down Wettimuny. Thomson delivered a
fast inswinging yorker which hit Wettimuny’s foot badly and he yelped in pain,
but received no sympathy from Thomson, who uttered, “Look, it's not broken, you
weak bastard. But if you're down there next over, it will be”.
But Wettimuny didn’t give up easily and decided to carry on.
And yes, he was on strike when Thomson returned to bowl again and again,
Thomson banged in another yorker into the same spot again – Wetimuny’s foot was
broken and with that his confidence ebbed away.
Mendis and Wettimuny were admitted in the same hospital for
treatment and were discharged the next day. But Wettimuny was forced to walk on
crutches because of a damaged instep while Mendis missed Sri
Lanka 's last match with a lingering headache.
While bowling the bouncers Jeff Thomson said, “They were
only little fellas so you couldn't call it a bouncer exactly”. Indeed, they
were little fellas but they were not short of confidence and courage. The
Australians might have won that day, but, Sri
Lanka had received all the accolades for
their courageous display.
This article has been published in Sportskeeda on 4./10/2014 ICC World Cup 1975 - Sri Lanka's courageous display against Australia's furious pace
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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