World Cup final unsung heroes

by Julian Guyer

MUMBAI, India, April 2, 2011 (AFP) - Saturday's World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium is being billed as a clash between Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan, two modern-day masters.

But while some of cricket's greatest names have shone in the showpiece match, the World Cup has also provided a stage where lesser-known names have also sparkled.

Here are some of the World Cup's unlikely heroes.

1975: Gary Gilmour (Australia)

No-one did more than the left-arm swing bowling all-rounder to get Australia into the inaugural World Cup final. Although not selected for any of the group matches, he produced a devastating return of six wickets for just 14 runs as England were dismissed for 93. When Australia collapsed to 39 for six in reply, he saw them home with an unbeaten 28.

Three days later in the final at Lord's, Gilmour took five for 48 - including the wickets of Alvin Kallicharran, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and Vivian Richards.

But it was not enough to prevent the West Indies winning and six months later Gilmour played his last game of one-day international cricket.

1979: Collis King (West Indies)

If ever a man justified the headline 'King for a Day' it was the all-rounder.

The West Indies were in trouble at 99 for four when King joined Richards at the crease. King then proceeded to do what few men, before or since, managed and outshone Richards, who went on to score a hundred, while the pair were at the crease.

King produced a magnificent display of clean-hitting that saw him score 86 from just 66 balls as he added 139 in 21 overs with Richards to put the match beyond England's reach.

But King, who played in just nine Tests and 18 one-dayers, put his international career on hold when he joined World Series Cricket and then effectively terminated it by opting to go on a 'rebel' West Indies tour of apartheid South Africa in 1982/83.

1983: Mohinder Amarnath (India)

Amarnath, the son of former India captain Lala Amarnath, made his India debut in 1969 and, having looked shaky against pace at first, became known as one of the bravest players of fast bowling.

Yet it was in his second string role of a medium-pacer that he won the man-of-the-match award in the final - he'd also been given the honour in the semi-final win against England - as India upset the odds to deny the West Indies a hat-trick of World Cup titles at Lord's in 1983.

The then 32-year-old Amarnath produced the astonishing analysis of three wickets for 12 runs in seven overs as India, defending a seemingly low score of 183, won by 43 runs.

His 20-year career, which included several comebacks, finally ended in 1989.

1987: Mike Veletta (Australia)

He belied his reputation as a dogged opener for Western Australia by scoring 45 off just 31 balls as Australia beat England by seven runs in the 1987 World Cup final in Calcutta.

Veletta's score, batting at mumber six, was in excess of those made by the likes of Geoff Marsh, Dean Jones and Allan Border. Yet he had nothing like the international career of that trio and in eight Tests he never once made a fifty and averaged just under 19.