Andy Roberts: Oh yes. I can become the Bowling Coach of any side if asked to. That apart, any fast bowler is welcome to talk to me if he has the inclination.

You had a chat with Irfan Pathan, the Indian pacer, when the Indian team toured the Caribbean last year. He is struggling at the moment…

Andy Roberts: I cannot comment on that as I haven't seen him bowl in the recent past. I will be able to detect what he is doing wrong only after watching him bowl. But I was surprised to hear about his bad patch. He is a fine bowler in my opinion.

All of India would like to know what went wrong in the 1983 final.

Andy Roberts: I cannot forget it. I do not know what happened. Our bowlers did a fantastic job, restricting the Indians to 183. We should have cruised to victory with only 184 to get in sixty overs. But probably it wasn't our day.

You had splendid figures of 3-32 from your allotted overs…

Andy Roberts: Yes. I think I dismissed Sunny (Gavaskar), Kirti (Azad) and (Roger) Binny. But at the end of the day, we lost, and that is what matters the most.

Cricket-lovers remember your unbeaten 24 and the match-winning stand with Deryck Murray against Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup. What do you recall about that game?

Andy Roberts: We lost our ninth wicket when we were 64 short, if I remember correctly. We had to score 267 in all. But we had some 14 overs in hand, and so knew that we had a chance, if we batted sensibly. Murray was convinced that he could pull it off if I supported him adequately. We started playing percentage cricket, milking singles. The Pakistanis probably thought that they had already won, but the battle was far from over. I think we displayed extraordinary courage to pull our side out of a losing position! I did my best to help Murray take us through. It was an unforgettable game.

What are your expectations from this World Cup?

Andy Roberts: It will be a wonderful advertisement for West Indian cricket. The infrastructure created for the competition will outlive it, and that is fantastic as far as the future is concerned. The influx of tourists should boost the islands' economy. We are looking forward to an exciting and successful World Cup.

(An exclusive feature for Sify from PMG)

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