1979 Cricket World Cup

Last updated

Prudential Cup '79
Prudential Cup 79 logo.svg
Dates9 June – 23 June 1979
Administrator(s) International Cricket Conference
Cricket format One Day International
Tournament format(s) Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)England
ChampionsWestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies (2nd title)
Runners-upFlag of England.svg  England
Participants8
Matches15
Attendance132,000 (8,800 per match)
Most runs WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg Gordon Greenidge (253)
Most wickets Flag of England.svg Mike Hendrick (10)
1975
1983

The 1979 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '79) was the second edition of the Cricket World Cup. Organised by the International Cricket Conference, it was held in England from 9 to 23 June 1979.

Contents

The tournament was once again sponsored by the Prudential Assurance Company and had eight teams participating in the tournament with the only change being Canada who qualified with Sri Lanka in the qualifier for the tournament. The format remained the same with two teams qualifying from each group with the final once again being at Lord's.

England joined first-time semi-finalists Pakistan as the qualifiers from Group A, while the West Indies finished top of Group B ahead of New Zealand. After the West Indies and England both won their semi-finals over Pakistan and New Zealand, respectively, they met in the final at Lord's with the West Indies defending their title from four years earlier with a 92-run victory. West Indian batsman, Gordon Greenidge ended the tournament as the leading run scorer with 253 runs from four matches with English player Mike Hendrick ending up as the leading wicket-taker with ten wickets.

Format

The eight teams at the tournament were split into two groups of four teams, with each team playing the others in their group in a single round-robin format. The top two teams from each group then advance to the semi-finals to play in a single-elimination tournament.

Participants

Highlighted are the countries to participate in the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
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Qualified as full member of ICC
Qualified via 1979 ICC Trophy
Failed to qualify 1979 Cricket World Cup participating nations.svg
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 1979 tournament saw the first qualifiers in a World Cup. The 1979 ICC Trophy was held during late May and early June at various grounds in the English Midlands, with the two finalists qualifying for the World Cup where they joined the six Test nations who qualified automatically. [1] Sri Lanka and Canada qualified after defeating Denmark and Bermuda respectively in the semi-finals. [2]

TeamMethod of qualificationFinals appearancesLast appearancePrevious best performanceGroup
Flag of England.svg  England Hosts2nd 1975 Semi-finals (1975)A
Flag of India.svg  India Full member2nd 1975 Group stage (1975)B
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2nd 1975 Runners-up (1975)A
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 2nd 1975 Group stage (1975)A
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 2nd 1975 Champions (1975 )B
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2nd 1975 Semi-finals (1975)B
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 1979 ICC Trophy winner2nd 1975 Group stage (1975)B
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1979 ICC Trophy runner-up1stDebutA

Venues

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

Squads

Group stage

Summary

The opening round of matches took place on 9 June with four matches being played. England took on Australia at Lord's and after the home team elected to field first, restricted the Australians to 97 for one with fine fielding and bowling. After Andrew Hilditch dragged his second ball after lunch into the stumps, the Australians would be restricted for 159 which included four run-outs. The run-chase saw Mike Brearley and Graham Gooch control the innings and led England to a six wicket victory. [3]

Group A

PosTeamPldWLTNRPts RR
1Flag of England.svg  England 33000123.066
2Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 3210083.602
3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 3120043.164
4Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 3030001.606
Source: ESPNcricinfo
9 June 1979
Scorecard
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg
159/9 (60 overs)
v
Flag of England.svg  England
160/4 (47.1 overs)

9 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
139/9 (60 overs)
v
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
140/2 (40.1 overs)

13–14 June 1979
Scorecard
Pakistan  Flag of Pakistan.svg
286/7 (60 overs)
v
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
197 (57.1 overs)

13–14 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
45 (40.3 overs)
v
Flag of England.svg  England
46/2 (13.5 overs)

16 June 1979
Scorecard
Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
105 (33.2 overs)
v
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
106/3 (26 overs)

16 June 1979
Scorecard
England  Flag of England.svg
165/9 (60 overs)
v
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
151 (56 overs)

Group B

PosTeamPldWLTNRPts RR
1WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 32001103.928
2Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 3210083.553
3Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 3110163.558
4Flag of India.svg  India 3030003.128
Source: ESPNcricinfo
9 June 1979
Scorecard
India  Flag of India.svg
190 (53.1 overs)
v
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies
194/1 (51.3 overs)

9 June 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka  Flag of Sri Lanka.svg
189 (56.5 overs)
v
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
190/1 (47.4 overs)

13–15 June 1979
Scorecard
v

13 June 1979
Scorecard
India  Flag of India.svg
182 (55.5 overs)
v
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
183/2 (57 overs)

16–18 June 1979
Scorecard
Sri Lanka  Flag of Sri Lanka.svg
238/5 (60 overs)
v
Flag of India.svg  India
191 (54.1 overs)

16 June 1979
Scorecard
West Indies  WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg
244/7 (60 overs)
v
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
212/9 (60 overs)

Knockout stage

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
20 June – Old Trafford, Manchester
 
 
Flag of England.svg  England 221/8
 
23 June – Lord's, London
 
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 212/9
 
Flag of England.svg  England 194
 
20 June – The Oval, London
 
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 286/9
 
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 293/6
 
 
Flag of Pakistan.svg  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  WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg
293/6 (60 overs)
v
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
250 (56.2 overs)

20 June 1979
Scorecard
England  Flag of England.svg
221/8 (60 overs)
v
Flag of New Zealand.svg  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 Derek Randall triggered a batting collapse in which England lost their last eight wickets for 11 runs to finish all out for 194 in 51 overs. Vivian Richards was declared Man of the Match.

23 June 1979
Scorecard
West Indies  WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg
286/9 (60 overs)
v
Flag of England.svg  England
194 (51 overs)

Statistics

Gordon Greenidge ended the tournament as the leading run scorer with 253 runs coming from his four games. Second was fellow West Indian player, Viv Richards who finished with 217 runs from four games which included the highest individual score of the tournament of 138 in the final. Graham Gooch from England rounded out the top three. [4] Mike Hendrick from England was the leading wicket taker for the tournament with ten wickets from five matches with a three-way tie for second place with Brian McKechnie (New Zealand), Asif Iqbal (Pakistan) and Chris Old each taking nine wickets for the tournament. [5]

Most runs

PlayerTeamInningsRunsHigh score
Gordon Greenidge WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 4253106 not out
Viv Richards WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 4217138 not out
Graham Gooch Flag of England.svg  England 521071
Glenn Turner Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 417683 not out
John Wright Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 416669

Most wickets

PlayerTeamMatchesWicketsBest bowling
Mike Hendrick Flag of England.svg  England 5104/15
Brian McKechnie Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 493/24
Asif Iqbal Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 494/56
Chris Old Flag of England.svg  England 594/8
Michael Holding WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 484/33

Attendance

The total attendance at the tournament was 132,000, [6] including 25,000 at the final. [7]

References

  1. "ICC Trophy 1979 – background". ESPNcricinfo.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. "Canada fight back to earn Cup place". The Daily Telegraph. 7 June 1979. p. 33.
  3. Melford, Michael (11 June 1979). "England triumph in fine show of all-round skills". The Guardian. p. 30.
  4. 1 2 "Cricket World Cup: Highest Run Scorers". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Cricket World Cup: Most Wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  6. "The Prudential World Cup 1979". Wisden Almanack. 1 January 1980.
  7. "The Richards Cup". ESPNcricinfo. 3 November 2014.