Home > Cricket > Tournaments > World Cup

Preceding the 1979 World Cup, the ICC Trophy was played at various grounds in the English Midlands (in and around Birmingham mainly) in late May and early June 1979. The two finalists qualified for the 1979 World Cup which was held in England between the semi finals and final of the ICC Trophy. Sri Lanka, the strongest of the ICC teams, qualified by thrashing Denmark on one semi-final , and somewhat surprisingly, Canada beat Bermuda in the other to make their one and only World Cup appearance.

The tournament was with a similar format to 1975, with two groups of four, with the top two teams advancing to semi-finals, and the games at 60 overs per innings. Between this and the previous World Cup, the Packer "circus" had torn cricket asunder, and despite a "peace" agreement signed shortly before, England and Australia chose not to field their Packer players, whereas the other teams were at full strength.

Preliminary Rounds- Group A:-

Group A looked the more difficult, with the holders, the West Indies, India, New Zealand, and an improving Sri Lankan team. The West Indies had a fearsome fast bowling line-up, with Roberts, Croft, Garner, and Holding, and in the first match the pace quartet overwhelmed the Indian bats. Only a brave 75 from Vishwanath saved India from embarrassment, but Greenidge with 106*, supported by Haynes gave the Windies a 9 wicket win. The other opening match was also a 9 wicket win, for New Zealand over Sri Lanka, with Glenn Turner dominating the Sri Lankan attack after a good all-round performance in the field restricted the Lankans to a moderate total. There was ample provision for reserve days, but on three consecutive days, no play was possible at the Oval and unexpectedly Sri Lanka shared the points with the powerful West Indies. Play was possible in the north of England, where the Indian side were comprehensively beaten by the New Zealanders, the highlight being an unbeaten 84* by Bruce Edgar.

The final round saw what was in retrospect a turning point in World Cup history, as for the first time a non-Test playing country defeated a full ICC member. Sri Lanka recorded their first World Cup win, and set themselves on the path that led to full Test status, and ultimately the 1996 World Cup win. The match was played over 3 days due to poor weather, and Wettimuny, Dias and Mendis all made fifties, setting India 239 to win. The Indians never came to terms with the Sri Lankan bowling, the wickets shared between Opatha and the two D De Silvas, and Sri Lanka recorded a famous victory by 47 runs. The Indians again had shown an inability to adjust their game to one-day cricket, and left with only one win in their first two world cups. The Sri Lankan win was not enough to earn a semi-final place, however, as the West Indies and New Zealand went through. They met in the final match, where Clive Lloyd led the way with a sparkling 73*, and the New Zealand bats could not keep up the run rate against tight bowling, falling 32 runs short.

Preliminary Rounds - Group B:-

Group B had the old rivals Australia and England, matched with Pakistan and the minnows, Canada. An inexperienced Australian team struggled in the opening match at Lords, with 4 run outs, plus 2 wickets from of all people Geoff Boycott, allowing them to set England only a modest target that, thanks to Gooch, they passed with ease. In the other opening match Canada managed to bat out their 60 overs against Pakistan, their opener Sealy top-scoring with 45, but Pakistan cruised to an 8 wicket win in only 40 overs. Pakistan cruised into the semi-finals by comfortably beating Kim Hughes' Australians, Majid Khan, a young Javed Miandad and Asif Iqbal in the runs, and only Hilditch resisting the Pakistan bowlers. Canada set a World Cup record against England being dismissed for 45, Bob Willis and Chris Old with 4 wickets each. Brearley fell for a duck, but England knocked off the runs in 14 overs, securing their semi-final spot. In Canada's last game against the Australians, both teams already out of the Cup, Sealy caused a sensation by hitting 20 off Hogg's first over. However Hurst ran through the side with the 4th best figures in World Cups, and Australia recorded an easy, but meaningless win. The England-Pakistan encounter had more importance as the winner avoided the favoured West Indies in the semi-final. England struggled after being put in managing only 165 in batting out their 60 overs, Gooch top-scoring and Willis and Taylor putting on useful late innings runs. Pakistan however, were reduced to 34/6 by Hendrick (4/16) before a resolute 50 from Asif Iqbal took them within sight of victory. England again brought out their secret weapon, Boycott, who took the last two wickets leaving Pakistan 124 short of victory.

Semi Finals:-

Thus England took on New Zealand in the first semi-final in a closely contested match that saw New Zealand fall just 10 runs short. Gooch made a fine 71, and Brearley a half -century, but 221 did not seem a challenging total, especially with John Wright in form. However, four lbws and a run out saw off the New Zealand top order, and despite a valiant effort by the tail-enders, England went on to their first World Cup final. In the other semi-final Pakistan were up against it from the start when the redoubtable Greenidge-Haynes partnership put on 132 for the first wicket, followed by quick runs from Richards and Lloyd. Asif Iqbal took four of the 6 wickets to fall, and Pakistan faced 293 to win. Sadiq Mohammed fell early, but a superb partnership between Majid Khan (81) and Zaheer Abbas (93) put Pakistan in sight of a famous victory. Croft took the critical wickets of Majid, Zaheer, and Javed Miandad, and the middle order faltered, and West Indies went to the final again.

The Final:-

The final was marked by two stunning performances, Viv Richards at his most majestic with the bat, and Joel Garner ripping through the England batting just when it looked as they might have a chance. Richards made an unbeaten 138, supported by a hard hitting 86 from Collis King. Richards hit 11 fours and 3 sixes, the last an imperious flick into the Mound Stand off the last ball of the innings. Brearley and Boycott made a cautious start putting on 129, but at a rate that required the later batsman to up the scoring rate. This proved a tough proposition against Garner. England fell from 183/2 to 194 all out. Garner's final spell consisted of five wickets for four runs in 11 balls. The West Indies side were worthy winners, with one of the strongest one-day sides of all time, balanced between aggressive batting, and fast accurate bowling.

Mike Hendrick led the bowlers with 10 wickets.

Home | About | New ! | Sitemap
News | Cricket | Recent Cricket | Ratings | Statistics | Records | Profiles

Best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution Internet Explorer 6.0 and above.