10 unsung World Cup Heroes

#5 Colin Croft

Croft was a crucial player for West Indies during the knockout stages of the 1979 World Cup

Colin Croft was one of West Indies’ star performers during the 1979 World Cup. He took only two wickets in the group stages but saved his best for the knockout stages. In the semi-final against Pakistan, West Indies had to defend a total of 293 which was pretty much possible back then. They also got an early wicket in the form of Sadiq Mohammed thanks to Michael Holding.

However, Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas were batting brilliantly and added 166 for the second wicket. At 176/1, Pakistan were looking on course to face England in the final. However, Croft broke the partnership by dismissing Zaheer Abbas for 93 before getting rid of Majid Khan for 81.

The two dismissals triggered a downfall in the Pakistan batting and they were dismissed for 250, falling 43 runs short. Croft ended with figures of 3/29, his third scalp being Javed Miandad.

In the final against England at Lord’s, Croft took another three wickets. Joel Garner took a five-wicket haul but two of Croft’s three scalps were big ones. They were Derek Randall and Ian Botham. His third scalp was that of Mike Hendrick which confirmed West Indies’ second consecutive World Cup win.