1979 Cricket World Cup

1979 Prudential World Cup

Clive Lloyd lifts the trophy
Dates 9 June – 23 June
Administrator(s) International Cricket Council
Cricket format One Day International
Tournament format(s) Round robin and Knockout
Host(s)  England
Champions  West Indies (2nd title)
Participants 8
Matches played 15
Attendance 132,000 (8,800 per match)
Most runs Gordon Greenidge (253)
Most wickets Mike Hendrick (10)
1975 (Previous) (Next) 1983

The 1979 Cricket World Cup (aka Prudential World Cup, 1979) was the second edition of the tournament and was won by the West Indies. It was held from June 9 to June 23, 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each. The top two teams in each group played the semifinals, whose winners played the final.

The matches played consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day and hence started early.

The Prudential Cup was lifted by Clive Lloyd, captain of the West Indies who started as the favorites to win the cup again. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1979.

Contents

Format

The format of the 1979 world cup was 2 groups of four teams, each team playing each other. The top two team from each group then advance to the Semi Finals where the winners then advance to the finals.

Participants

The following 8 teams qualified for the final tournament. Sri Lanka and Canada were the only two teams without Test status. No African teams qualified.

ACA (2)
ACC (3)
EAP (2)
ECC (1)

Venues

London London
Lord's Cricket Ground The Oval
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 23,500
Birmingham Manchester
Edgbaston Cricket Ground Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Capacity: 21,000 Capacity: 19,000
Nottingham Leeds
Trent Bridge Headingley Stadium
Capacity: 15,350 Capacity: 14,000

Squads

Group Stages

Group A

Team Pts Pld W L NR RR
 England 12 3 3 0 0 3.07
 Pakistan 8 3 2 1 0 3.60
 Australia 4 3 1 2 0 3.16
 Canada 0 3 0 3 0 1.60
June 9, 1979
Scorecard
Australia 
159/9 (60 overs)
v  England
160/4 (47.1 overs)
 England won by 6 wickets
Lord's, London, England
June 9, 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
139/9 (60 overs)
v  Pakistan
140/2 (40.1 overs)
 Pakistan won by 8 wickets
Headingley, Leeds, England
June 14, 1979
Scorecard
Pakistan 
286/7 (60 overs)
v  Australia
197 all out (57.1 overs)
 Pakistan won by 89 runs
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England
June 14, 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
45 all out (40.3 overs)
v  England
46/2 (13.5 overs)
 England won by 8 wickets
Old Trafford, Manchester, England
June 16, 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
105 all out (33.2 overs)
v  Australia
106/3 (26 overs)
 Australia won by 7 wickets
Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
June 16, 1979
Scorecard
England 
165/9 (60 overs)
v  Pakistan
151 all out (56 overs)
 England won by 14 runs
Headingley, Leeds, England

Group B

Team Pts Pld W L NR RR
 West Indies 10 3 2 0 1 3.93
 New Zealand 8 3 2 1 0 3.55
 Sri Lanka 6 3 1 1 1 3.56
 India 0 3 0 3 0 3.13
June 9, 1979
Scorecard
India 
190 all out (53.1 overs)
v  West Indies
194/1 (51.3 overs)
 West Indies won by 9 wickets
Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
June 9, 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
189 all out (56.5 overs)
v  New Zealand
190/1 (47.4 overs)
 New Zealand won by 9 wickets
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England
June 13, 14, 15, 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
v  West Indies
No result
The Oval, London, England
June 13, 1979
Scorecard
India 
182 all out (55.5 overs)
v  New Zealand
183/2 (57 overs)
 New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Headingley, Leeds, England
June 18, 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
238/5 (60 overs)
v  India
191 all out (54.1 overs)
 Sri Lanka won by 47 runs
Old Trafford, Manchester, England
June 16, 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
244/7 (60 overs)
v  New Zealand
212/9 (60 overs)
 West Indies won by 32 runs
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England

Knockout stage

  Semi-finals Final
June 20 - Old Trafford, Manchester
  England 221/8  
  New Zealand 212/9  
 
June 23 - Lord's, London
      England 194
    West Indies 286/9
June 20 - The Oval, London
  West Indies 293/6
  Pakistan 250  

Semi-finals

In a very close semifinal match, England prevailed. New Zealand won the toss and fielded. England began badly, falling to 38/2, before Mike Brearley (53 from 115 balls, 3 fours) and Graham Gooch (71 from 84 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) resurrected the innings. Derek Randall (42 from 50 balls, 1 four, 1 six) played well in the second half of the innings, as England recovered from 98/4 to post 221 (8 wickets, 60 overs). In the response, John Wright (69 from 137 balls) attacked well in the beginning. However, the loss of wickets bogged New Zealand down, and despite several late flourishes in the batting order, New Zealand started to drop behind. When New Zealand could not achieve the remaining 14 runs from the last over of the match, England went into the final.

Gordon Greenidge (73 from 107 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) and Desmond Haynes (65 from 115 balls, 4 fours) set a first wicket partnership of 132 runs in a match dominated by batting. Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd also contributed solidly, as West Indies ran up 293 (6 wickets, 60 overs) against Pakistan. Majid Khan (81 from 124 balls, 7 fours) and Zaheer Abbas (93 from 122 balls) shared a second-wicket partnership of 166 runs in 36 overs in the response. However, none of the other Pakistani batsmen flourished, with Javed Miandad being bowled for a duck first ball, and Pakistan lost 9/74, beginning with the dismissal of Abbas. Pakistan was bowled all out for 250 (all out, 56.2 overs) in the high-scoring semifinal, sending the West Indies to the final.

June 20, 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
293/6 (60 overs)
v  Pakistan
250 all out (56.2 overs)
 West Indies won by 43 runs
The Oval, London, England
June 20, 1979
Scorecard
England 
221/8 (60 overs)
v  New Zealand
212/9 (60 overs)
 England won by 9 runs
Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Final

England won the toss and chose to field first. The West Indies got off to a bad start, falling to 99/4 with the loss of Greenidge, Haynes, Kallicharan, and captain Clive Lloyd. However, Vivian Richards (138 from 157 balls, 11 fours, 3 sixes) and Collis King (86 from 66 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) consolidated the innings. King especially ripped through the English bowling, with a strike rate of 130.3. The West Indies were already at 5/238 when the 139 run partnership ended with the loss of Collis King. Vivian Richards and the tail then took the West Indies to a very imposing total of 286 (9 wickets, 60 overs).

The English batsmen got off to a good start. But the openers, Mike Brearley (64 from 130 balls, 7 fours) and Geoff Boycott (57 from 105 balls, 3 fours) scored very slowly. They put together a very methodical opening partnership of 129 runs in 38 overs, playing as if the match were a five-day Test. By the time both batsmen were out, the run rate had risen too high. Graham Gooch played some hefty strokes in scoring his 32, taking England to 183/2. However, the loss of Gooch triggered the most devastating collapse in World Cup history, as England lost 8/11. They were eventually all out for 194 in 51 overs. Vivian Richards was declared Man of the Match.

June 23, 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
286/9 (60 overs)
v  England
194 all out (51 overs)
 West Indies won by 92 runs
Lord's, London, England

References

External links