World Cup Heroes - Gary Gilmour's short but spectacular sojourn in 1975

Like most other sports, Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties for those who dedicate their life to be able to don the national cap. There are several players who remain in the realm of obscurity despite featuring in more than a handful of games and there are the clutch players players who have it in them to deliver when the stakes are highest. There is also a third category players who hit instant stardom. While some come from nowhere and become stars, the others fall into the category of gaining late recognition. In 1975, the cricket world saw the emergence of Gary Gilmour, who would fit into all these categories.

Despite being part of the Australian Test team for a while, when it was time for the World Cup, fierce competition left him on the sidelines. His patience was eventually rewarded when he was picked for Australias semi-final match against hosts England at Headingley, Leeds.

On a green and damp wicket, Australia asked England to bat first, looking to make the most of the helpful conditions. The bowlers didnt need a second invitation and Gilmour, playing in his first World Cup match, turned into an overnight star. He finished with impressive figures of 12-6-14-6 and by the time he had finished with his spell England were down and out. Gilmours victims included 6 out of the top 7 English batsman. Four batsmen Dennis Amiss, Keith Fletcher, Frank Hayes and Alan Knott were trapped in front of the wickets, opener Barry Wood was clean bowled while Tony Greig was caught at the wicket.

Gilmour's figures stood as the best ever figures by a bowler in ODIs until West Indies pacer Winston Davis took 7/51 in the 1983 World Cup match against Australia at the same venue. When asked about his semi-final performance, this is what Gilmour had to say - They kept shouldering arms and the ball swung back in and did the rest. I wanted to bowl and bowl. I didn't want my overs to run out."

England limped to 93 all-out leaving Australia with a seemingly easy chase. But then again, small targets are always tricky and this was anything but simple. Australia were reduced to 39/6 as Chris Old and John Snow led Englands fightback and once again Gilmour took to the field though this time with a bat in the hand. Fighting aggression with aggression, he biffed a run-a-ball 28 to take the Aussies through to the final. It was one of those days that happen once or twice in your lifetime, he was to say later.

If the semi-final was a precursor, Gilmour went on to show it wasnt a one-off performance. Up against mighty West Indies in the final at Lords, Gilmour proceeded to finish with an impressive haul of 5/48 from his 12 overs. There was no perfect ending this time though as West Indies sneaked home by 17 runs in a pulsating final.

Gilmour ended the World Cup with 11 wickets and at an incredible average of 5.64. This should have acted as a springboard for future conquests. Gilmour had more success against the touring West Indies in the 1975-76 season grabbing 20 wickets in 5 Tests. But it was evident that his performance was regressing, and it was later revealed that Gilmour was bowling all Australian summer with a bone that was "the size of a five-cent piece".

Gilmour featured in only one more ODI since the 1975 World Cup. His degenerative leg injury was to cast a shadow over his career. The left-arm pacer was omitted for the 1977 Ashes tour of England and that effectively ended his career. Admittedly, Gilmour's ODI career was short and sweet. He managed to etch his name into the record books and into the hearts of the cricket loving public, all in just a handful of matches. Gilmour played 5 ODIs, bowled 46 overs and took 16 wickets, at a misery average of 10.31 and an enviable strike-rate of 20 per wicket.

Was Gilmour as good as his performances in the two matches suggested? Or was it a case of being at the right place at the right time? One thing is for sure, Gilmours story of courage and conviction has a glorious place in Australia's rich World Cup legacy.