A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
A Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 7: Australia Punish Gatting’s Reverse Sweep to Win the 1987 World Cup Final
England appeared positioned to win its first World Cup until Mike Gatting’s reverse sweep opened the door for Allan Border and Australia at Eden Gardens.
England were 135/2 and moving steadily toward a first World Cup title when Mike Gatting attempted the shot that would follow him for the rest of his career.
Allan Border was bowling his occasional left-arm spin. Gatting moved across his crease and tried to reverse-sweep the Australian captain. The ball struck the top edge, looped behind the wicket and dropped into Greg Dyer’s gloves.
A partnership worth 69 runs had ended. Australia finally had an opening.
England remained in the chase until the last over, but the control established by Gatting and Bill Athey never fully returned. Australia defended 253/5, won by seven runs and lifted the World Cup for the first time at Eden Gardens on November 8, 1987.
The final earns its place as Match 7 in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs because one adventurous shot changed the emotional direction of a global final. David Boon supplied the innings, Mike Veletta transformed the total, and Border intervened precisely when England appeared ready to take command.
TL;DR
- Australia scored 253/5 after winning the toss at Eden Gardens.
- David Boon made 75 from 125 balls and received the Player of the Match award.
- Mike Veletta’s unbeaten 45 from 31 deliveries powered Australia’s late acceleration.
- Bill Athey scored 58, while Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb made 41 and 45.
- Gatting’s failed reverse sweep against Allan Border changed the direction of the chase.
- England finished on 246/8, leaving Australia with a seven-run victory and its first World Cup title.
Australia vs England 1987 World Cup Final: Key Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Australia vs England, 1987 World Cup final |
| Date | November 8, 1987 |
| Venue | Eden Gardens, Calcutta, now Kolkata |
| Toss | Australia won the toss and batted |
| Australia | 253/5 in 50 overs |
| England | 246/8 in 50 overs |
| Result | Australia won by seven runs |
| Player of the Match | David Boon, 75 from 125 balls |
| Leading England batter | Bill Athey, 58 from 103 balls |
| Leading bowlers | Eddie Hemmings 2/48; Steve Waugh 2/37; Allan Border 2/38 |
| Turning point | Mike Gatting’s reverse sweep against Border at 135/2 |
| Tournament impact | Australia won its first men’s Cricket World Cup |
The match and tournament history are documented by the International Cricket Council.
Complete Match Scorecard
Australia Innings: 253/5 in 50 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Boon | c Downton b Hemmings | 75 | 125 | 7 | 0 |
| Geoff Marsh | b Foster | 24 | 49 | 3 | 0 |
| Dean Jones | c Athey b Hemmings | 33 | 57 | 1 | 1 |
| Craig McDermott | b Gooch | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Allan Border | Run out | 31 | 31 | 3 | 0 |
| Mike Veletta | Not out | 45 | 31 | 6 | 0 |
| Steve Waugh | Not out | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Simon O’Donnell | Did not bat | ||||
| Greg Dyer | Did not bat | ||||
| Tim May | Did not bat | ||||
| Bruce Reid | Did not bat | ||||
| Extras | 1 bye, 13 leg byes, 5 wides, 7 no-balls | 26 | |||
| Total | Five wickets, 50 overs | 253 |
England Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil DeFreitas | 6 | 1 | 34 | 0 |
| Gladstone Small | 6 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| Neil Foster | 10 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| Eddie Hemmings | 10 | 1 | 48 | 2 |
| John Emburey | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Graham Gooch | 8 | 1 | 42 | 1 |
England Innings: 246/8 in 50 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Gooch | lbw b O’Donnell | 35 | 57 | 4 | 0 |
| Tim Robinson | lbw b McDermott | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Athey | Run out | 58 | 103 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Gatting | c Dyer b Border | 41 | 45 | 3 | 1 |
| Allan Lamb | b Waugh | 45 | 55 | 4 | 0 |
| Paul Downton | c O’Donnell b Border | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| John Emburey | Run out | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil DeFreitas | c Reid b Waugh | 17 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Neil Foster | Not out | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Gladstone Small | Not out | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Hemmings | Did not bat | ||||
| Extras | 1 bye, 14 leg byes, 2 wides, 4 no-balls | 21 | |||
| Total | Eight wickets, 50 overs | 246 |
Australia Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig McDermott | 10 | 1 | 51 | 1 |
| Bruce Reid | 10 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| Steve Waugh | 9 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| Simon O’Donnell | 10 | 1 | 35 | 1 |
| Tim May | 4 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| Allan Border | 7 | 0 | 38 | 2 |
David Boon Anchors Australia’s Innings
Boon’s 75 lacked the rapid scoring associated with modern finals, but the conditions demanded patience. He batted for 125 deliveries, absorbed England’s most disciplined periods and provided stability after Geoff Marsh departed with the score at 75.
Dean Jones added 33, while the unusual promotion of Craig McDermott produced 14 from eight balls. Australia then lost Jones, McDermott and Boon within 17 runs, slipping from 151/1 to 168/4.
Boon had given Australia a foundation. The innings still required someone to convert that foundation into a competitive final total.
His control and endurance earned him Player of the Match, completing a tournament in which he scored 447 runs.
Mike Veletta Changes the Value of Australia’s Total
Veletta arrived with Australia needing urgency and struck an unbeaten 45 from 31 balls. His six boundaries allowed Australia to collect 65 runs from the final six overs.
Border supported him with 31 from 31 deliveries before being run out at 241/5. Waugh added five from four balls, taking the total to 253.
Veletta’s innings became increasingly valuable as England’s pursuit tightened. Without his late acceleration, Gatting’s dismissal may have caused only a temporary interruption rather than a decisive shift.
Australia’s earlier ability to survive pressure had already appeared in the one-run group victory over India, which prepared Border’s side for another close finish.
Mike Gatting’s Reverse Sweep Opens the Final
Tim Robinson fell to McDermott from the first ball he faced, but England recovered through Gooch and Athey.
Gatting then changed the pace of the pursuit. His 41 came from 45 balls, and the partnership with Athey placed England at 135/2. The required rate remained manageable, both batters were settled, and Australia needed to create a mistake.
Border brought himself into the attack and Gatting supplied the opportunity.
The reverse sweep carried an obvious cost because of what followed. Athey was run out for 58 at 170/4, while Paul Downton managed nine. England had moved from a controlled chase into a sequence of new batters facing a rising required rate.
Allan Lamb Keeps England Alive
Lamb made 45 from 55 deliveries and carried England to 220/6. His innings prevented Australia from closing the final immediately after Athey’s departure.
Waugh then bowled Lamb, leaving England seven wickets down and still needing 34 runs. DeFreitas attacked with 17 from ten balls, including a six, but Waugh removed him at 235/8.
England required 17 from the final over and scored ten. Neil Foster and Gladstone Small remained unbeaten, yet the chase ended at 246/8.
Border finished with 2/38, while Waugh’s 2/37 gave Australia control during the closing overs.
Why Match 7 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
The seven-run margin tells only part of the story.
Australia entered the tournament as an unfancied side after a difficult period in its cricket history. Border’s team then survived the one-run match against India, defeated host Pakistan in the semifinal and held its nerve against England.
The final also marked a major change in World Cup geography and structure. India and Pakistan became the first countries outside England to host the tournament, while the competition adopted the 50-over innings that defines ODI cricket today.
This series previously revisited India’s 1983 final victory over West Indies, Kapil Dev’s rescue against Zimbabwe, the chaotic 1975 final and Gary Gilmour’s remarkable semifinal.
Readers can explore more historical match reports through The Sports Encounter Cricket Hub.
England had enough time, enough wickets and two established batters when Gatting shaped for the reverse sweep. Australia recognized the opening, controlled the next passage and completed the victory that began its rise as ODI cricket’s most successful World Cup nation.