Published: Jun 11, 2014, 05:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 07, 2014, 04:06 PM (IST)
Football’s FIFA World Cup, held every four years since 1930, generates immense passion and excitement around the globe, and often cricket takes a backseat among even die-hard aficionados. However, often there have been some very notable cricketing contests during the periods when the focus of the world has been solely on football. In this four-part series, Arunabha Sengupta looks at the cricketing action that has transpired during the course of the World Cup tournaments over the years.
The Pelé Years
Sweden 1958
It was a year that saw the arrival of a 17-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento, otherwise known as Pelé. The youngest to play in the World Cup finals, the youngest to score in a World Cup final and the youngest to be awarded a World Cup-winner medal. While he was busy enchanting the world with his incredible skills, aided by several supreme teammates, the New Zealand cricket team was busy struggling in England.
The tournament kicked off on June 8, with Just Fontaine scoring thrice in France’s 7-3 win over Paraguay. Helmut Rahn scored twice for West Germany, as he had done in the 1954 final, in his side’s 3-1 win over Argentina. That day saw the Kiwis under John Reid enjoying a furtive rest day at the brink of Test defeat, their batsmen unable to counter the offerings of Fred Trueman, Peter Loader, Trevor Bailey, Jim Laker and Tony Lock at Edgbaston. The next morning they were methodically finished off, all out for 137, vanquished by 205 runs.
They fared little better on June 11, bowled out for 151 against Derbyshire, as Brazil and England played out the first goalless draw in a World Cup. It was June 15 that saw Pelé in action for the first time, in the match against Soviet Union at Gothenburg. The kid did not manage to score a goal, but the crowd went wild watching his truckload of glorious gifts. It was Vava who scored twice, beating the great Lev Yasin at the goal. Back in England, during the next day, John Reid hammered a century and Bert Sutcliffe scored 99 against Sussex.
On June 19, Colin Cowdrey battled difficult conditions at Lord’s to score 67 as England ended the first day at 237 for seven. Any presumptions the Kiwis had of being on top disappeared the following day as Lock and Laker dismissed them for just 47. That same day saw Pelé’s first World Cup goal, as Brazil pipped a stubborn Wales side by that solitary strike in the quarter-final at Gothenburg. At Malmo, West Germany rode on another Rahn goal to defeat Yugoslavia. At Solna, Sweden put two into the Soviet net. However, the match at Norrkoping saw a surfeit of goals with Fontaine scoring two in France’s 4-0 victory over Ireland.
Fontaine scored again in the semi-final on June 24, with a ninth-minute equaliser against Brazil. However, that was not enough. Captain Robert Jonquet was indisposed after the 30th minute and Brazil led 2-1 at the interval. In the first half-hour after the break Pelé struck thrice. The result was a convincing 5-2 victory. The football world was smitten by the young man.
In the other semi-final, Sweden conceded the first goal before scoring thrice to defeat West Germany and move into the title round. For the New Zealanders that day was the eve of the match against Lancashire where they would be routed in the first innings by left arm spinner Malcolm Hilton’s splendid figures of 20.2-12-19-8.
They spent a similar action-less day as rain poured down at Bramall Lane on the scheduled first day of the match against Yorkshire. On that evening Fontaine scored four times, to take his tally of goals to a whopping 13. France overcame West Germany 6-3 in the third-place play-off.
June 29 was once again a day free of cricketing action as Brazil took on Sweden in the final. Nils Liedholm scored as early as the fourth minute to put the hosts ahead, but Vava equalised just five minutes later and struck again to put Brazil ahead at half-time. In the second half, Pelé was unstoppable, notching up two goals. The first one saw him lob one over Bengt Gustavsson before following it up with a superb volley.The end result was 5-2.
Chile 1962
It was Test Match eve at Birmingham as the tournament kicked off on May 30. Hosts Chile overcame Switzerland 3-1 at Santiago, however the thrill was provided at Viña del Mar where Pelé continued his magic to score one of the Brazilian brace in the one-sided victory over Mexico.
The following day, Cowdrey hit a big hundred, captain Ted Dexter scored 72 and the classy Tom Graveney remained unbeaten on 96 as England piled up 386 for four against a hapless Pakistan attack. That evening Soviet Union put two past the Yugoslav defence, Hungary pipped England by an odd goal in three and Germany and Italy played a goalless draw.
Pakistan were four down in their second innings after following on when tragedy struck the football world. In Brazil’s 0-0 draw against Czechoslovakia, Pelé got injured and did not take further part in the tournament.
After the crushing defeat in the first Test, Pakistan gained some valuable confidence on June 6 as Ijaz Butt hit a hundred and Mushtaq Mohammad scored 89 against Surrey. That same day Brazil, playing without Pelé, wasdown by a goal till the 73rd minute before Amarildo, the man who replaced the star, scored twice to win against Spain in their final group match.
Hanif Mohammad’s hundred took Pakistan to an imposing position against Glamorgan before a late order collapse ended their innings at 278. The quarter-finals were played on their day of rest. No one would have been interested in the tour match anyway as England were playing Brazil. Yes, that was correct even though technically Pakistan were playing in Wales. Garrincha put Brazil ahead in the 31st minute. Seven minutes later Gerry Hitchens equalised. The sides went into the break at 1-1. However, in the first quarter of an hour in the second half, Vava and Garrincha scored in quick succession and Brazil triumphed 3-1 as Pelé watched from the sidelines.
Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia registered identical 1-0 victories over West Germany and Hungary to set up an all-Slavic semi-final. However, in the remaining quarter-final hosts Chile upset Soviet Union to ensure a semi-final showdown against Brazil.
This created complications. Viña del Mar had been supposed to host the semi-final involving Brazil whereas Santiago was slotted for the other semi-final. Now, due to the brilliant progress of Chile, the venues were switched. Chile played in the capital city and were watched by 76,000 as they were comprehensively outplayed 4-2, Garrincha and Vava scoring twice each. The other semi-final was played in front of a paltry, 6,000-strong, disgruntled crowd. Czechoslovakia won 3-1 to proceed to the final. The day was disheartening for the Pakistanis as well, as they were bowled out for 99 by old Bill Alley and his mates of Somerset after which the county side piled up 331 for nine. They crashed to innings defeat down the line.
However, the tourists did have cause to celebrate as Mahmood Hussain captured five wickets at Bradford against Yorkshire on June 16 — the same day when Chile scored the only goal with the very last play of the match to beat Yugoslavia and take the third place.
It was a day of rest at Bradford as Brazil took on Czechoslovakia in the final at Estadio Nacional in Santiago. Early in the first half, Adolf Scherer sent a long ball into the Brazilian territory and Josef Masopust broke away to score and put Czechoslovakia ahead. However, goalkeeper Viliam Schrojf, who had been brilliant against Hungary and Yugoslavia, now made a fatal error as Amarildo equalised two minutes later. In the second half, Zito made it 2-1 in favour of Brazil before Vava capitalised on another error by Schrojf to clinch it 3-1.
The tournament was a major triumph for a country shocked by a major earthquake just two years earlier.
England 1966
It was the first time that cricket and football collided in the same land, with England hosting the World Cup tournament and the Garry Sobers leading West Indian cricket team.
To counter problems of spectator loyalties, the administrators hit upon a smart plan. The first three Tests were played in June and early July following which the tourists played a series of low key First-Class matches. The World Cup was held between July 11 and July 30. The fourth Test started only on August 4, after the football action was over.
Sadly, although the matches were over, the mania was not. England won the World Cup, the only time in her history. And in contrast, by the third Test, the brilliant West Indian team were already 2-0 up. For the English fan, the choice of sport was not too difficult, and it was only the sublime genius of Sobers that ensured a semblance of public interest in cricket.
On July 11, the tournament got underway with England playing out a 0-0 draw against Uruguay. That following day saw West Indies defeat Kent by an innings. Sobers had so far scored 161 and taken three wickets and five catches in the Manchester Test, amassed 46 and 163 not out at Lord’s and scored 94 at Nottingham alongside five wickets and five catches. Now, he dismissed Mike Denness, Brian Luckhurst, Colin Cowdrey and Alan Knott among his nine for 49 in the second innings. That same evening, Pelé and Garrincha netted one each to open the proceedings for Brazil with a 2-0 victory over Bulgaria while Franz Beckenbauer scored twice in West Germany’s 5-0 rout of Switzerland.
However, it would not be the familiar smooth ride for the defending champions. On June 16 West Indies played Somerset and as Sobers sat out Conrad Hunte blazed away to 206. The previous evening had seen Brazil defeated 3-1 by Hungary.
The West Indians enjoyed a prolonged rest as the match against Surrey was washed out. On the evening before its scheduled start, Portugal took on Brazil in an infamous match full of rough tackles. In a game marred by innumerable fouls, many of them on Pelé, Eusebio scored twice as Portugal won 3-1. Unbelievably, Brazil was out of the World Cup.
On July 23, at the County Ground Northampton, West Indies were skittled out for 126 before they struck back to bowl Northamptonshire out for 159. Only Sobers got bat to ball for West Indies and Colin Milburn for the hosts. That was the day of the great quarter final match at Liverpool. Within the 22nd minute, the unheralded North Koreans led Portugal by 3-0. However, they finally bowed to the genius of Eusebio who scored four times in a 5-3 win.
In another quarter-final West Germany defeated Uruguay by four goals, a match marred by controversial decisions. In England’s 1-0 win against Argentina, another match with debatable refereeing, Antonio Rattin became the first player to be shown red card at Wembly. In Argentina, the game is still known as el robo del siglo — the robbery of the century.
On July 25, West Indies were shocked by Northamptonshire as the match ended in a four wicket win for the hosts. That same day West Germany beat Soviet Union 2-1 at Liverpool to proceed to the finals. On the following afternoon, Bobby Charlton scored twice at Wembley and Eusebio’s penalty conversion came too late in the day. The hosts triumphed 2-1.
West Indies were in the midst of a draw against a strong Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) President’s XI as Portugal went beat the Soviet Union 2-1 through a late winning goal by Jose Augusto Torres in the third place play-off.
On July 30, Alan Jones struck 161 for Glamorgan as West Indies lost Hunte without a run on the board in reply to 337. That evening, at Wembley, 98,000 people crowded in as England took on West Germany. This was to be the last World Cup final telecast in black and white.
Helmut Haller put Germany ahead after 12 minutes. Four minutes later Geoff Hurst equalised. A tense match was played out before Martin Peters put England ahead in the 78th minute. At the very death of the match, Wolfgang Weber converted a cross from a free-kick to level the scores.
This was the first time a World Cup final went into extra-time. Four years earlier, Geoff Hurst had turned out for Essex against Lancashire, scoring zero not out and zero and holding a catch off Laker. Now, he managed to take his tally of World Cup final goals to quite a few more than his collection of First-Class runs. His first strike in the extra-time was doubtful, awarded a goal with the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing down on the line. But, he scored again, cleanly, at the very end of the match, ensuring a 4-2 score-line.
When the Test series resumed at Headingley on August 4, Sobers scored 174 and captured five for 41 and three for 39 as West Indies won by an innings and 55 runs.
Mexico 1970
The South African tour for the summer was cancelled. Ironically, the Rest of the World team assembled to play the five-Test series was teeming with South African cricketers. It did send a resounding message across the sporting world.
The tournament of 1970 was already underway when Sobers and his shining talents from around the world started their series in England. The day the first ‘Test’ commenced was the same day that witnessed the two semi-finals.
Brazil and Italy had both won big in the quarter-finals. The Latin American team had trounced Peru 4-2, while the European side had thrashed Mexico 4-1.
In contrast, Germany and Uruguay had to struggle. The former fell 0-2 behind before equalising with eight minutes to go and Gerd Muller driving in the clincher 18 minutes into extra-time. Uruguay were locked goalless during the stipulated time before managing to put one into the Soviet Union net three minutes from the end of extra-time.
On June 17, at Lord’s, Sobers picked up six for 21 as England fell away for 127. The Rest of the World ended the day at 115 for two with the South African duo of Eddie Barlow and Graeme Pollock at the crease.
That same day at Guadaljara, Uruguay went one up early in the match and held the advantage almost till half-time. Clodoaldo equalised for Brazil one minute from the break and the two sides remained locked in equal exchanges till the last quarter of an hour. And then Jairzinho and Rivelino struck to clinch it 3-1 for Brazil.
It was a more remarkable game at Mexico City. Roberto Boninsegna put Italy ahead just eight minutes into the game. They held the lead till injury time when defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger equalised for West Germany. “Schnellinger, of all people!”, exclaimed German commentator Ernst Huberty. The defender played in Italy’s professional football league, and it was his only goal in 47 matches for the national team.
Four minutes into extra-time saw that relentless striker Gerd Muller put Germany ahead. But four minutes later, Tarcisio Burgnish made it 2-2. Luigi Riva made it 3-2 for Italy just as the first half of extra-time ended. Gerd Muller struck back six minutes later to make it 3-3. As the television replayed Muller’s goal, Gianni Rivera struck in the 111th minute from an unmarked position, converting a cross from Boninsegna. Italy won 4-3.
Both Brazil and Italy had won the World Cup twice each. The team that would win the final would take the golden Julet Rimet Trophy with them forever.
On June 20, Sobers took his score to 183 after his six wicket haul as Rest of the World gained a 419 run lead. Half the England side were out by the end of the day. The same day, in the afternoon at Mexico City, West Germany defeated Uruguay in the third place play-off.
The following day saw no cricket as the World Cup fever gripped the nation.
In the final, Brazil went ahead with Pelé heading in a cross from Rivelino in the 18th minute. Roberto Boninsegna took advantage of defensive lapses to equalise in the 37th minute. The match remained in balance before Gérson fired in a volley to make it 2-1 for Brazil in the 66th minute. Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto netted two more goals and Brazil triumphed 4-1, the Julet Rimet Trophy going to the football-crazy nation forever as a fascinating farewell for Pelé.
The Rest of the World returned the following day to mop up operations and end with a victory by an innings and 80 runs.
FIFA World Cup: Cricketing history during football’s showpiece event — Part 1 of 4
(Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history and the romance of the game, punctuated often by opinions about modern day cricket, while his post-graduate degree in statistics peeps through in occasional analytical pieces. The author of three novels, he can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/senantix)
