THE World Cup has never experienced anything like it. It was one-day cricket on high octane.
A Sunday crowd of 12,000 turned up in the sunshine at Supersport Park yesterday expecting little more than a routine West Indies victory over the enthusiastic, but outclassed, weekend cricketers of Canada.
When they left they could boast that they were there to witness history.
A rare bonanza of boundaries brought the fastest hundred and the two fastest fifties ever recorded in the eight World Cup tournaments and 15 sixes and 41 fours off the 63.2 overs the West Indies took to eventually complete their mission by seven wickets.
Those in the stands and lazing on the grassed embankments, waving their Canadian and West Indian flags, had long since known of the magic of Brian Lara who dazzled them with 77 off 40 balls with five sixes and eight fours as the West Indies set out to boost their run rate.
They were aware of the potential power of Wavell Hinds whose 64, with three sixes and nine fours, required a mere 31 balls.
They had already seen the silky touch of Ramnaresh Sarwan who rounded off the expected result with 29.3 overs in hand, stroking nine fours in 42 off 32 balls.
But few had heard of John Davison, a bit-and-pieces all-rounder born in Canada where he spent the first five weeks of his life before his parents carried him back to their native Australia where he has lived and played ever since.
They will now never forget him - and nor will the West Indies bowlers who were shell-shocked by a blistering assault they had never before encountered.
Making the most of a brave attitude, keen eyesight, strong arms, a meaty bat, a friendly pitch and bowling lacking control or common sense, Davison belted six sixes and eight fours off 76 balls.
Only a freak catch by Vasbert Drakes on the boundary's edge ended his onslaught, the bowlers' misery, the crowd's enjoyment and the Canadian resistance.
When he launched his sixth six, over long-on off the bemused Merv Dillon, he had raised his hundred off fewer balls, 67, than anyone had ever managed in a tournament that has featured the greatest batsmen of the past 30 years.
Kapil Dev, the celebrated Indian all-rounder and one of the renowned hitters of his generation, held the previous standard of 72 balls against Zimbabwe in 1983 in England. Only five others, Shahid Afridi (37 balls), Lara (45), Sanath Jayasuirya (48), Mohammed Azharuddin (62) and Basit Ali (67) have ever arrived at three figures in one-day internationals quicker, or as quick.
Later, Hinds 50 off 24 balls was a new Cup mark, until Lara got to his 23.
It was an obvious shock for the West Indies against a team routed by Sri Lanka for 36 in their previous match, the lowest total in all one-day internationals.
Davison, regarded more as an off-spinner than a batsman, fills lower order positions for South Australia for whom he plays state cricket in Australia. He was given the opening spot for Canada because of his fearless and effective hitting.
It became quickly evident after Carl Hooper sent Canada in on winning the toss.
After reconnoitering for three overs, Davison suddenly went ballistic. Dillon was mugged for 31 from three overs before he gave way to Drakes who promptly went for 29 for two.
At the opposite end, the left-arm Pedro Collins was miserly by comparison but still had 35 taken off seven consecutive overs.
The white ball sailed in all directions, if not always from the middle of the ball. Sixes cleared long-leg, extra-cover, point and long-on. Fours skimmed the fast outfield.
Davison's left-handed opening partner, Trinidad-born Ishwar Maraj, was an ideal foil in a stand of 96 from 12 overs. His contribution was 17 before his edged drive at Collins was taken at slip.
When Hooper turned in desperation to Chris Gayle at 112 for one in the 16th over, Kittian Desmond Chumney joined the six-hitting over long-on.
Davison had his luck.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul just failed to grasp a diving catch at his left at square-leg at 59. He was 71 when a ball from Collins rolled back onto his leg-stump without removing a bail. And Dillon put down a feasible two-handed catch at mid-off in Hooper's first over at 76.
His heroics were ended by Drakes' leaping, tumbling, overhead, right-handed catch at long-on off the medium-pace of Hinds who had accounted for Chumney with the last ball of his previous over.
It signalled the end of Canada's revelry. It was appropriate that Drakes should have accounted for Davison's demise for he had suffered at his hands in his two initial overs.
Now he returned for a second spell and found both a better line and length and less assertive batting.
His first two wicketless over went for 29. His next 7.5 earned him his first five wickets in an ODI for 15 as Canada lost their last seven wickets on Davison's dismissal for 28, four off the last five balls, two to run outs.
It meant they fell 7.2 overs short of their allocated overs - and fully 50 runs short of what appeared possible once Davison's pyrotechnic show was on.
The West Indies had six overs batting before the interval off which they took 45 following the loss of the struggling Gayle to a slashed edge to the keeper off Davis Joseph, his fourth successive failure.
On resumption, Hinds and Lara even surpassed Davison's earlier savagery.
The two bounding pacers, Joseph and Austin Codrington, had 47 and 25 each taken from their opening four overs.
Nick Ifill, a nervous medium-pacer on debut, endured the misfortune to confront Lara and Hinds in top gear. His four overs went for 46.
But, on a day when bowlers had cause to protest to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, no one suffered more than left-arm spinner Barry Seeberan in his solitary over. Lara launched his first five balls for 4, 6, 4, 6, 6 before blocking the last.
Davison was off the field for the first six overs while his left foot was x-rayed after a blow from Collins' yorker early in the innings and had to wait until 12th over before he was allowed to bowl.
He immediately had Hinds stumped by a mile and Nicholas deGroot, the former Guyana batsman who earlier got his first run of the tournament after three ducks, had the wicket of Lara, bowling swinging at a full lengfth delivery, to help make his day.
By then, the only question concerned what run rate the West Indies could achieve. Sarwan, promoted to No.4, ensured it was over 10 - and the crowd drifted away satiated by an amazing day.