1979 Cricket World Cup

Prudential Cup '79
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 England
Champions  West Indies (2nd title)
Runners-up  England
Participants 8
Matches played 15
Most runs West Indies Cricket Board Gordon Greenidge (253)
Most wickets England Mike Hendrick (10)

The 1979 Cricket World Cup (officially the Prudential Cup '79) was the second edition of the Cricket World Cup and was won by the West Indies. It was held from 9 to 23 June 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group played the semi-finals, the winners of which met in the final at Lord's.

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 favourites to win the cup again. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1979.

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

Highlighted are the countries to participate in the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
  Qualified as full member of ICC
  Qualified via 1979 ICC Trophy
  Failed to qualify

The following 8 teams qualified for the final tournament. Sri Lanka and Canada were the only two teams without Test status and qualified for the tournament by reaching the final of the 1979 ICC Trophy.[1] East Africa who played in the first World cup did not qualify this time, which meant that there would be no nation from the African region participating in the 1979 World Cup.

Team Method of qualification Finals appearances Last appearance Previous best performance Group
 England Hosts 2nd 1975 Semi-finals (1975) A
 India Full member 2nd 1975 Group stage (1975) B
 Australia 2nd 1975 Runners-up (1975) A
 Pakistan 2nd 1975 Group stage (1975) A
 West Indies 2nd 1975 Champions (1975) B
 New Zealand 2nd 1975 Semi-finals (1975) B
 Sri Lanka 1979 ICC Trophy winner 2nd 1975 Group stage (1975) B
 Canada 1979 ICC Trophy runner-up 1st Debut A

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 Pld W L NR RR Pts
 England 33003.0712
 Pakistan 32103.608
 Australia 31203.164
 Canada 30301.600
9 June 1979
Scorecard
Australia 
159/9 (60 overs)
v
 England
160/4 (47.1 overs)
9 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
139/9 (60 overs)
v
 Pakistan
140/2 (40.1 overs)
14 June 1979
Scorecard
Pakistan 
286/7 (60 overs)
v
 Australia
197 (57.1 overs)
14 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
45 (40.3 overs)
v
 England
46/2 (13.5 overs)
16 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada 
105 (33.2 overs)
v
 Australia
106/3 (26 overs)
16 June 1979
Scorecard
England 
165/9 (60 overs)
v
 Pakistan
151 (56 overs)

Group B

Team Pld W L NR RR Pts
 West Indies 32013.9310
 New Zealand 32103.558
 Sri Lanka 31113.566
 India 30303.130
9 June 1979
Scorecard
India 
190 (53.1 overs)
v
 West Indies
194/1 (51.3 overs)
9 June 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
189 (56.5 overs)
v
 New Zealand
190/1 (47.4 overs)
13 June 1979
Scorecard
India 
182 (55.5 overs)
v
 New Zealand
183/2 (57 overs)
18 June 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
238/5 (60 overs)
v
 India
191 (54.1 overs)
16 June 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
244/7 (60 overs)
v
 New Zealand
212/9 (60 overs)

Knockout stage

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

Semi-finals

In a very close semi-final 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 out for 250 in 56.2 overs in the high-scoring semi-final, sending the West Indies to the final.

20 June 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
293/6 (60 overs)
v
 Pakistan
250 (56.2 overs)
20 June 1979
Scorecard
England 
221/8 (60 overs)
v
 New Zealand
212/9 (60 overs)

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 238/5 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 required 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.

23 June 1979
Scorecard
West Indies 
286/9 (60 overs)
v
 England
194 (51 overs)

,

Statistics

Leading run scorers
Matches Player Team Runs
4 Greenidge, GordonGordon Greenidge  West Indies 253
4 Richards, VivViv Richards  West Indies 217
5 Gooch, GrahamGraham Gooch  England 210
4 Turner, GlennGlenn Turner  New Zealand 176
4 John Wright  New Zealand 166

Leading wicket takers
Wickets Player Team Matches
5 Hendrick, MikeMike Hendrick  England 10
4 McKechnie, BrianBrian McKechnie  New Zealand 9
4 Asif Iqbal  Pakistan 9
5 Old, ChrisChris Old  New Zealand 9
4 Holding, MichaelMichael Holding  West Indies 8

References

  1. "ICC Trophy 1979 - background". espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
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