LONDON: The Nevill Ground is a quiet little venue surrounded by greens in this sleepy town of Tunbridge Wells. It takes about an hour by train from the hustle and bustle of London to get there. The Kent team plays some of its County Championship games at this ground famous for the rhododendron bushes surrounding it.
On a rainy Friday morning, there wasn’t a soul around the place, other than a couple of ground maintenance staff and a few walkers by. It was very different on another June morning 36 years ago.
The serenity of the place was broken by the thundering bat of Kapil Dev. That India-Zimbabwe 1983 World Cup game remains the only men’s international fixture held here.
Other than being a part of modern cricket folklore, the knock which lifted India to victory from 17/5 has assumed mythical character because there is no video recording of that game.
The BBC was on strike and only those present at the ground that day know how things unfolded during the course of an innings which changed Indian cricket for good.
“There were about 4000 spectators in attendance,” recalls Steve Niker, a local resident, who was among those at the Nevill that day.
“I was with my family and I can say that we witnessed something very unique. It was overcast in the beginning and of the first five wickets India lost, three were caught behind, including Sunil Gavaskar.
"Then Kapil changed the game. I think it can only be compared with the Botham Test (Ian Botham’s century against Australia in 1981 in a Test England won after following on).”
A retired banker, who works as an examination invigilator these days, Niker played at this ground for the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club as a bowling all-rounder.
He has vivid recollection of the match and remembers that after 17/5, Roger Binny was the next man to fall when the total was 77.
“The recovery was scarcely believable and credit goes also to Madan Lal and Syed Kirmani. People say that they were only giving the strike to Kapil, but they also played a lot of balls themselves.”
The 63-year-old also recalls the shots played by the India captain during that 138-ball 175 not out which contained 16 fours and six sixes.
“He was hitting through the off side with a lot of power. There were also these big hits over the long-on region. Some say he was targeting the side square on the leg side which has a short boundary. But that’s wrong. Most of hits were massive. One broke the pavilion window. Another broke the glass of a car in the parking lot.”
The small pavilion at the club has a few photographs hanging from the walls on the first floor. Strange it may seem, none of them are of Kapil or from that game.
There was no one to show the place around, but there seemed to be nothing commemorating that June 18 day either.
“Someone said that an Indian man had made a video recording of the match, but I don’t think that’s true,” says Niker, adding that the ground has seen a steady flow of Indian visitors since.
Taking a walk around the ground with his dog, Jeffrey Richards shared an anecdote. His house is right next to the entrance of the club.
“One of the sixes hit by Kapil landed on the roof of the house. We had not moved in here yet, but people here keep telling about the significance of this house. So I make it a point to tell visitors who come here to see the ground where I live.”
Founded in 1782 according to the website of Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club, the Nevill is one of the many grounds in England with a long history. By a queer stroke of luck, it has come to occupy an important place in the history of the World Cup and Indian cricket by virtue of hosting just one international match. The rhododendron bushes remain a silent witness to that.