Men's Cricket World Cup 1979 – Overview

**Dates:**9 June to 23 June 1979

**Location:**England

**Number of teams:**8 – Canada played in their first tournament

**Overs per innings:**60

**Number of matches:**15

**Format:**Teams were divided into two groups of four each. Each team played the other three in their group once with the top two from both groups advancing to the semi-finals. The team first in Group A played the team second in Group B, and vice versa.

**Semi-finals:**The first semi-final between England and New Zealand at Old Trafford was a low-scoring thriller. England, batting first, recovered from 38/2 thanks to a gritty half-century from captain Mike Brearley, and Graham Gooch’s 71, containing a solitary four but three sixes, which underpinned their eventual 221/8. New Zealand’s effort was eerily consistent. Their five bowlers bowled 12 overs each, each took one and none more than two wickets, and none conceded more than 50 runs.

In reply, John Wright made 69 opening the batting to give the Black Caps a strong start, but after he was run out, no other New Zealander made it past 30. Seven others did make it into double figures however, ensuring a close finish. Mike Hendrick’s 3/55 was vital in ensuring New Zealand finished nine runs shy of England’s total.

The other semi-final was a higher-scoring affair, and though the eventual margin – 43 runs – was significant, for a long time the result was in the balance. West Indies batted first and racked up 293/6, with Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes adding a century stand, and Collis King and Clive Lloyd’s cameos injecting late impetus. Asif Iqbal’s 4/56 ensured they didn’t make it past 300.

Pakistan’s reply got off to a poor start with Sadiq Mohammad dismissed for 2, but Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan then put on 166 to put their side in the driving seat. Neither could reach their centuries however, and after they were dismissed, no one was able to build on the platform they had laid. Viv Richards and Colin Croft each took three-fors as West Indies booked their place in the final.

**Final:**West Indies made it two World Cup titles in two, dominating England in a 92-run victory. They didn’t have it all their own way, with two wickets for Chris Old, one for Mike Hendrick, and a run out reducing them to 99/4. But thereafter ensued one of the greatest partnerships in World Cup history, Viv Richards and Collis King adding 139. Richards was rarely one to be outshone, and would go onto a brilliant hundred, and claimed the Player of the Match award, but while they were together he played second fiddle to King, whose 66-ball 86 remained his only ODI half-century.

A lower-order collapse, even as Richards stayed unbeaten, kept West Indies below 300, but the damage had been done. Mike Brearley and Geoffrey Boycott added a century stand for the first wicket, but too slowly to apply any pressure. Graham Gooch’s 28-ball 32 attempted to light a spark, before he became the first of Joel Garner’s five wickets, as England slid astonishingly from 183/2 to 194 all out. Five of the last seven batsmen were dismissed for ducks.

**Top run-scorer:**Gordon Greenidge – 253 runs

**Top wicket-taker:**Mike Hendrick – 10 wickets

**Retirements:**Bishan Bedi