Awesome to watch, those days the only helmet you had was your eyes on the ball, the records that was set by batsmen in those days should never compare with those who wear helmets these days..
The half buttoned shirt is considered bad ass in Guyana, Kalli's home country. That was not an accident. It was attitude. And he was not scared. He was rated ahead of Richards in 1975. He was quick on foot with good eyes, as they say in the WI. I like this for the sheer attitude. You have the ball. I have he bat. Let's go. On this day, Kalli won. Could have been otherwise - its cricket. Celebrate the contest. Much respect for Lillee.
2:30 the best hook shot you will see in a long time. As Indians, we had great respect for Kalicharan and Rohan Kanhai. Kalicharan and Gavaskar were very close friends. And Rohan Gavaskar was named after Kanhai.
blacky playz alvin down fall was the hook shot saw him at bourda 1973 vs aussie went back to visit and my green card a young aussie 19 year old name jeff hammond trick him the hook shoot and got lilee and massey got hurt jeff and max walkeropen the bowling for the aussie morris foster birth they all got drunk and get bowl out for 125 runs lawrence got hurt in the third test that was a big blow the west indies lost the series two to zero a good series kanhai did not have great pace bowlers gibbs was the mainwicket taker
Just look at the awesome footwork of Kallicharran! Thanks - this video demonstrates a true master at work. Shirt unbuttoned, no helmet and he's facing Lillee when Lillee was at the prime of his career. I was in my early teens then but I was privileged to see Kallicharran live. What a genius! What impeccable timing and footwork! That is batting!
Adam S ....I played with his brother Derrick for a couple of years mid 80's. He batted just like Alvin, great leg spin bowler and he was the best fielder I ever played with or against. He really looked upto his big brother .
Top class batting by Alvin Kallicharan. I remember watching many test matches between India and West Indies during the 70s on black and white TV of those days. Kallicharan and Gordon Greenidge were a terrific and highly formidable opening pair for West Indies. It was a great pleasure watching them bat. Those were the great days for Cricket for sure.
A supremely talented batsman, he may have been a short or diminutive man, but he was a giant at the crease. Pure artistry, but brutally executed, and without a helmet, facing a very fast bowling legend! Respect!!!!!!!
No restrictions on bouncers. No helmets. No buttons on shirts. Well, not the top three at least. This is how men used to play cricket. Those watching the circus Down Under right now should watch these once in a while.
Um tell that to Phil Hughes' widow, brothers, sisters, parents and friends. Maybe they would be feel better if Phil had had his shirt unbuttoned and no helmet on when he got killed, because then he would have died like a man".........?
By "circus down under" - I referred to the Indian team's tour of Australia that was going on when my comment was made. It had nothing to do with Phil Hughes or his death. In fact I did not know about him until I googled up jut now.
Kallicharan was one of the greatest in cricket. I never missed a match back then, and as a young teenager was always excited when Alvin Kallicharan and Rohan Kanhai were batting. Yes, no protective gear back then--you had to be a dare devil at heart to face these crazy fast bowlers. And Dennis Lillee was more crazy than normal. There should be more exciting videos of Kallicharan and Rohan Kanhai. Sunil Gavaskar, Vishwanath. and Kapil Dev are some of the dare devil players from India who batted so well against the fast bowlers of this period. Great cricket to remember and watch again!
doctor atif: Of all the names you mentioned, Zaheer Abbas’s name should come first, which unfortunately you forgot to include even. He was gem of a player. The only player whom I liked most among the Pakistani cricketers.
70s n early 80s was a tough time to be a batsman... Ooooh Lilly , Thomson , Holding , andy Roberts , garner , craft , leni poscoe , marshal , imran , kapil , hedly ............ None of todays batsman can face the accuracy or pace of these bowling greats....
no helmet, no elbow guard, no thigh pads, halfway-unbuttoned shirt... facing a fast and furious pace bowler the likes of Dennis Lillee in his prime and hooking the rising the ball for a six. This is will be called having a deathwish in modern cricket.
Lillee was one of the handful of greatest bowlers. I really enjoyed Kallicharan's tremendous knock at the time- very fine little player, often overlooked.
The Oval when it was a big ground ! Quick bowler, bouncy wicket yet Kalli had all the time to hook him easily to the boundary. Best batting i've seen by the little man and great footage from the 75 world cup..
Kalli was definitely the most aesthetically pleasing batsman I saw in the seventies. He had such economy of movement that it all seemed so effortless yet he somehow combined Asian wristiness with Carribean explosiveness, test match rectitude with one day improvisation and did it all seemingly so calm, unhurried and unfussily. He looked like a little kid until he turned into a flashing silhouette of a whirling dervish in the split second between delivery of the ball and contact with the bat - unforgettably electrifying!!
Beautifully written! The first drive through cover-point, the bat lifting as the ball is released - rather than the pre-lifted technique everyone is taught nowadays - so beautiful to watch! He fell away, perhaps due to the Afro-dominated team selection policies of the Caribbean team's golden age, till he was dropped and then sealed his own fate by joining the banned rebel tour. I remember reading somewhere, he mentioned the chatter in the dressing rooms of his teenage, "why don't you Hindus eat some beef man, get some strength in your body"? He said these things fired him up, to excel in batting and fielding; he'd run on the ground till everyone else was tired and had gone home, etc etc.
He did not have the long test career that he should have had but no one who saw him bat for West Indies or for Warwickshire ever doubted his quality. I was fortunate to meet him in 1980 at a bhajan in Wolverhampton my family used to attend. He was very humble and straightforward - when asked about this innings he simply said that everyone asks him about it but he had just played his natural game and he had nothing personal against Dennis Lillee.
Kali is definitely lists among the greatest of West Indians, and I think he is the best left handed batsman I have ever seen - his amazing batting display is a sheer delight to watch, specially watch the last 3 balls and the 2 sixes he it, is the best I could possibly ever watch.
@brizfightfan Dude..Kalli was a sublime batsman, a touch player of the highest standard. He has almost 5000 runs and 12 centuries. He has been out in the 90s 9 times ! He has also played all over the world and scored well in all countries - dear Dennis ,undoubtedly a great bowler, never played in the subcontinent except once in Pakistan where i think he went wicketless. Cricket would have poorer without the Kalli chapter !
Alvin kallicharan proved his class to play one day game against spin & pace bowler,showing his aggressive batting against world best pace bowler Dennis lillee from aus pace battery.😂
Aussie G , how did leprosy come into this? . Kalli simply mauled Lilli on that day . A great piece of cricket and always a pleasure to watch for all cricket fans.
Aussie G , what does a street in India have to do with Kalli hitting such great shots? Cut the racism and appreciate the contest. Cricket after all is still a gentleman’s game.
@@salilphansekar9557 Australia has won 5 world cups with a population of only 27 million. India has only 2 with a population of over 1 billion. Just goes to show how pathetic India truly is.
@@mangojulie123 Please be a little bit more respectful. It’s sacrilege to say, “Vivian Richards.” It’s Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards. Now for your edification, it is actually the great man Sir Vivian Richards himself, who said so and he was right.
thats something Lillee can never forget when he searches through his worse of the fortunate bowling career that he had. no batmans in their right mind has ever done this to Lillee. Alvin Kallicharan was my 2nd favorite West Indian batsman
Oh please, do explain what you mean by Lillee’s fortunate bowling career? He must’ve had more good fortune than any bowler in history with 355 Test & 90 WSC wickets at an average of 23
@@longjohn5322 More good fortune huh? doesn't seem he was experiencing his good fortunate at that moment when he was going against Kallicharan. There are many bowlers who have surpassed that number, regardless of he being a great bowler. what exactly did I say there thtw asn't true, unless you are in denial and can't handle it
@@randyeduo Seems you can’t understand a simple question. I asked you to explain your claim that Lillee had a fortunate career. I don’t expect an answer that will explain this because there isn’t one. And just to educate you, there is only one other bowler in history who surpassed Lillee’s 355 wickets from the same number of tests he played (70) and two others who were equal to it.
I remember watching this live at the time, played on a Saturday. Australia v West Indies at The Oval. It was the inaugural World Cup. Australia made only 192, the West Indies soon chased this down. The umpires were Harold "Dickie" Bird and David Constant. In the days before helmets and sponsorship logo's were worn on the shirts ! Alvin Kallicharan reminded me of David Gower, both left-handers, not very tall men, but both had an elegant sense of timing and ease in their shots. Also equally adept at spin or pace:
The Q continuum.... I remember this too, the 1975 world cup was memorable for many reasons not only the final. sixty overs... no circles no power plays..... classic 1970's one day cricket.
@xajactor Alvin Kallicharan stands with the greatest West Indies batsmen. I remember when Clive Lloyd brought his team in 75 or 76 to India. The lineup was Greenidge, Fredricks, Kallicharan, Richards, Lloyd, Murray, Roberts, Boyce, Julian, Gibbs and Holder. What a fantastic team it was they won the series 3-2.
Kalli played for many years for my local first class cricket team Warwickshire in Birmingham, England and was still a regular vistor to the ground when he retired from playing in 1990. He now lives in Carolina in the States.
I always Love KALI.. Sad he does not get the praise he deserve.. He was beautiful... All parts of the Ground... Make that Dennis Look like a school boy!
Alvin Kallicharan was my favourite West Indian during the 1975/76 tour of Australia (along with Clive Lloyd). He had a beautiful, free flowing style and his wristy pull and hook shots are classic Kalli. He was not particularly tall so a lot of the short pitched deliveries were up around shoulder/head high. He had two options: 1. Duck and weave out of the way of short pitched bowling 2. Take on the short pitched bowling This video clearly shows which of the two options he preferred. Wonderful to see the other little master in action again.
this is a fantastic display of batsmanship and vintage guts.... no helmet, no elbow guard and facing a genuine fast bowler of the calibre of Denis Lillee.... it is fantastic. I have watched him play in the end of his career when he led a West ndian team to India in 1979 or maybe a yaer later... I am not sure.
This is top class Cricket played by real men! Not by little boys wearing all sorts of shields and helmet. No restrictions in bouncers, no helmet, no chest pad, no elbow guard, no thigh pads, halfway unbuttoned shirt....facing a fast and furious pace bowler of the calibre of Dennis Lillee in his prime and hooking the rising ball for a six. Just look at this diminutive expert's awesome footwork, a true master at work !!! Hooking a ball like that without a helmet....that is absolute daredevilry. Super Hitting !!!!h That was the era of West Indian legends. There was no TV, one could only listen to BBC Commentary those days. Who can forget Henry Blofield, Tony Cozier and the great team of Commentators, and the legendary umpire Dicky Bird !!! Half way unbuttoned shirt is the killer 😃😃
Shields 🛡️? The so called express bowlers were trundlers. Jeff Thomson was the only fast bowler timed at 160.45 Kmph in 1975 and then 152 Kmph in 1978 Rest of them were below the low 140 Kmph. And Thommo declined rapidly in his later 20s. We had Brett Lee, Nortje, Wood, Bond, Akthar etc so many guys these days who were extremely quick even after their 30#
No one and I mean no one could bat like Alvin Kallicharan against fast bowling. We hear very little of him these day because he went to play cricket in the Republic of South Africa when it was severely frowned upon in those racial segregation (apartheid) days. But he was undoubtedly a brilliant bat.
Correction, he was the only player who didn't go to South Africa. Then after taking over the captaincy he eventually lost his place later on when the full team reunited.
That is how I heard it. This trip to SA was under the auspices of the West Indian Cricket Board. The black players refused to go. He went as Captain and was blacklisted thereafter. The West Indies Cricket Board became a political organization kowtowing to the small Island which had black players like Viv Richards and Curtley Ambrose. Guyana and Trinidad were left out because they had Ethnic Indian and white players. Trinidad was able to win a lot of the Regional tournaments but Richards and the top men on the WI team were racists. Did not think the coolies deserved to play!
Best left hander at that time. Equally great against pace and spin, kalicharan mastered all conditions. Kalicharan and lara are identical in strokeplay, elegance and explosivness combined with quick hands, feet and hand eye coordination. Only difference was that lara had a high backlift and was more unorthodox, kalicharan was more wristy and orthodox.
This is real exemplary batting. Kallicharan is one of the most talented cricketer the world has ever seen. It is really a sad thing for cricket fans that they were unable to watch Alvin in many matches due to the rebel tour. WI cricketers of those times were naturally gifted and they do not fret like the cricketers of today
He was a supreme strike bowler..Had the tendency to over-attack and get carried away sometimes, as in this occasion. Just like your very own Waqar Younis :)
I am not like you. I am against BCCI but not people like Kapil Dev or vast reasonable Indians fans, the only fast bowler that India produced can be part of any country with good pace attack.Yes with BCCI you do not have one single bowler with flair pace and bounce.If Kapil was in charge you would have four of them now.
Cricket nowadays is like a drama of capitalist limelight, dancing girls, weak characterless men and too many commercials. Round the year, cricket season is enforced on money minded players who just play to earn money as there is hardly any test cricket, real pace, real swing bowling and real cut, pull, hook and drive shots (with test match like finesse). What's going on lads ??
Legendary batsman...one of the best in the world His timing and perfect stroking had made him unique and fast bowlers like Dennis Lillee were punished very badly
I remember watching Alvin Kalicharan at Lords Cricket ground in the 1970's. He was just amazing! Since then I have been his and fan of the West Indies.
Amen. I do envision the days of true West Indies Dominance. Lets hope these youngsters and those fast bowlers lining up in the Domestic Competitions can bring it a-new. The West Indies' humbling @ the hand of the Aussies made them go out and get their own and the world was never the same. I remember them facing their own bowlers in First Class Cricket those were classic battles...
Brave Kallicharan, Playing the Hook-Shot without wearing a helmet against the fastest and a dangerous Bowler of the 70's - Dennis Lillee..... Now a days there are up-teen protective pieces to protect a Batsman even against the Spin-Bowling...
