World Cup Heroes: David Boon lifts Australia to maiden triumph

The moustachioed and stockily built David Boon was known for his correct and compact technique against quick bowling. In fact, Boon's career remains even now etched in memory for his unflinching courage and his refusal to buckle down when facing up to the venomous pace of West Indies' pacers of yore.

However, if we jog our memory back to the 1987 World Cup, played in the subcontinent, the 26-year-old Boon, found his career at crossroads. His lack of footwork against the tweakers and his trouble against swing bowling were exposed by the old enemy, England, and he was even dropped from the side. Only consistent performances during a tournament in Sharjah just before the World Cup assured his place in the Australian squad.

With Kepler Wessels having quit the Australian team and the experiment of sending Wayne Phillips up the order not yielding the desired results, the selectors were also looking for a solid opening pair. So, both Boon and his longtime partner-in-crime at top of the order, Geoff Marsh, were given a run in the side.

In the '87 World Cup, Boon surprised one-and-all by turning out to be a vital cog in Australia's stunning surge towards winning the mega-event. He aggregated 447 runs at an average of 55.47 and was on top of the pile in terms of runs scored in that tournament. The trials and tribulations during the early part of his career seemed to have strengthened the Tasmanian batsman's resolve.

Boon started on a good note in the World Cup by accruing a well-constructed innings of 49 in their first match against hosts, India in Chennai. He also stitched an important century stand for the opening wicket with Marsh. As Kiran More, India's wicket-keeper for that game later said: Boon and Marsh never looked like getting out. Both of them expertly milked the Indian spinners square off the wicket on either side to take Australia to 270 for 6. On the back of Steve Waugh's sterling last over effort, Australia beat their fancied opponents by a mere one run.

Boon's next significant contribution for the Aussies came in the third game, when he exuded command at the crease by essaying 87 off a mere 96 balls in a rain curtailed 30-over match against New Zealand. Boon continued his rich vein of form with a 63 in a losing cause against India in Delhi and compiled a fine 92 against minnows, Zimbabwe. By that time, the relatively young Australian side had stumped critics by qualifying for the World Cup semi-final. Yet, many didn't give Australia an iota of a chance to beat the Imran Khan-led Pakistan side in their own den in the semi-final - so much so that Pakistan's former middle-order batsman Zaheer Abbas had called the Australian team as 'club cricketers'.

In the first semi-final played in Lahore, Boon and Marsh, for the umpteenth time, gave Australia a fine start. Even after Marsh was run out for 31, Boon played a defiant knock to lay a solid foundation for the visitors. He had his share of problems against the spin of Abdul Qadir and Tauseef Ahmed. The mighty craftsman, Qadir, looked nigh unplayable, but Boon proved his worth by negotiating Qadir safely. Australia went on to reach 267, and then silence the boisterous Pakistan crowd by winning an engrossing encounter by 18 runs.

Before the tournament started, most pundits had reckoned the final would be played between India and Pakistan. But it turned out to be a tussle between old foes, England and Australia. It was expected to be another of those high-pitched battles between the two sides. In front of of 90,000 fans at a jam-packed packed Eden Gardens, Australia won the toss and elected to bat. Boon, known for those savage cuts and pulls, took full advantage of some wayward bowling with a flurry of boundaries. With his fine start, Boon had certainly soothed the jangling nerves in the Australian camp. Boon, along with Marsh and Dean Jones, had taken Australia to a position from where they could accelerate. Boon was finally dismissed for a well-measured knock of 75 by Hemmings.

Eventually, in a game full of ebbs and flows, Australia sent shock waves throughout the cricketing landscape by winning their first ever World Cup. Boon was rightly adjudged as the Man of the Match. The epochal win sent the entire team into wild ecstasy as they celebrated long and hard, and it was in no small part to David Boon.