The Day When Sri Lanka Braved Thomson's Fury
50 years ago today, Sri Lanka showed their fighting spirit as they faced one of Cricket's deadliest duos - Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee in the World Cup against Australia.
“I enjoy hitting a batsman more than getting him out. I like to see blood on the pitch”, Jeff Thomson once said this in an interview but if you really want to know what kind of a bowler he was, Duleep Mendis and Sunil Wettimuny will recall it as a 'near-death experience', which happened half a century ago!
On this day in 1975, Sri Lanka Cricket showcased their fighting against Australia at the Prudential World Cup, facing some of the most lethal bowling of all time. After skipper Anura Tennekoon won the toss, Australia were asked to bat first. However, it was a decision that didn't pay off in the end but it was understandable after the team came off a heavy defeat from West Indies in their opening match, as they were bowled out for just 86 after batting first.
Thommo's Thunder and Lillee's Lethal Lines
Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee (both left) troubled that Sri Lankans that day...
Australia who batted first, scored a massive 328/5 in 60 overs as opener Alan Turner top scored with 101 while Rick McCosker, Greg Chappell and Doug Walters scored fifties. As for the bowling, Somachandra De Silva and Mevan Peiris took 2 wickets each. It was the dreaded chase which proved to be the most challenging but Sri Lanka were determined to chase this as Sunil Wettimuny on his ODI debut went on to score Sri Lanka's first ODI Fifty.
The Sidelines
However, his stay at the crease was short lived when Jeff Thompson's short ball hit him in the rib cage (was also hit on the toes with Dennis Lillee doing damage from the other end). Think of prime Brett Lee and Shaun Tait clocking nearly 160 from both ends but you're wearing helmets that don't have face guards!
In fact, it was Duleep Mendis who was sent back to the Pavilion first as he was struck on the head with a bouncer, despite wanting to bat again. There's even a rather hilarious incident where the tail was arguing on who should go out next because no one wanted to end up like Sunil or Duleep!
In the end, Sri Lanka would reach a respectable target of 276/4, not forgetting Skipper Anura Tennakoon (48) and Michael Tissera (52) who weathered the storm but couldn't hold on as they fought hard, but fell short by 52 runs. There is indeed so little a scorecard can tell, with the Thommo-Lillee combination taking just one wicket but caused two of the Sri Lankan batter to end up in hospital, which is another hilarious story.
Jeff Thomson - A Wanted Man by the Police?
You may have heard the story where an off-duty policeman heard about two Sri Lankans being assaulted at the Oval over the radio, and decided to pay a visit to the St.Thomas Hospital to conduct an investigation.
"Who hurt you?" asked the very concerned officer who was determined to find the perpetrator of this 'assault' on the two Sri Lankans, unaware they were Cricketers who just played against Australia. "Jeff Thomson," whispered Sunil. After inquiring on the details for where this incident happen (didn't he still get the hint that the Oval was a Cricket stadium?), he asked "Do you want to Press Charges against Mr. Jeff Thomson?", completely unaware he was an Australian fast bowler!
Anyhoe, the matter was closed as no charges were actually pressed against Thomson and this story was highlighted in Sunil Wettimuny's book "Cricket - The Noble Art" (where he is also credited for being the first Sri Lankan Cricketer to write a book). Nevertheless, this match showed Sri Lanka as a non-Test playing nation at the time, prove that they were not willing to back down without a fight!