Down the Ground - 1987 Cricket World Cup
Down the Ground - The Cricket World Cup 1987
October 1987. The World Cup leaves England for the first time, the overs come down from sixty to fifty, and the whole circus moves to the heat, dust and roar of India and Pakistan. Eight nations, two groups, a fortnight of cricket on subcontinent decks - and a final at Eden Gardens nobody saw coming.
This pack drops the whole tournament onto your table. All eight nations rated for 1987, the complete fixture list across both groups, blank tables and a knockout bracket to fill in as you play, and a set of subcontinent conditions tables - dust storms, gripping turners, and the evening dew that hands the chasing side an edge.
Then it puts names to the numbers. A companion squads book gives every side two 1d6 roll tables - one for the bat, one for the ball - filled with the real 1987 players. Down the Ground gives you the runs and the wickets; these turn "38 for 1" into "Srikkanth flaying it, Imran the breakthrough", the stuff a write-up is made of.
Play it straight and chase history, or let the dice rewrite it - the West Indies' big bats finally hold their nerve, Zimbabwe spring the shock, Australia and England meet again with a different ending. A "what actually happened" appendix is there to measure your tournament against the real one.
Inside:
- Book 4: the ratings and tournament pack - eight nations rated, both group fixture lists, blank tables, the knockout bracket, the Conditions of '87, and what really happened
- Book 5: The Squads - 1d6 batting and bowling roll tables for all eight sides, drawn from the real squads
Requires the core game. This is an expansion - you play it with the Down the Ground rules, table library and scoresheet. New here? Get the full game first, then drop this on top.
Free. Print it, grab two dice, and play a World Cup at the kitchen table.
