Down Memory Lane: The 1979 Cricket World Cup

The second edition of the cricket World Cup was held in 1979, four years after the inaugural edition in 1975 at England, which was also the venue for the first World Cup. Prudential Assurance was once again the sponsor and so, like the first edition, this was also known as the Prudential Cup. Once again, eight teams participated, the six test playing nations- England, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand, along with Sri Lanka and Canada who were selected after a tournament between the associate members of the International Cricket Conference. The tournament was played over two weeks, from the 9^th of June to the 23^rd of June 1979. England, Pakistan, Australia and Canada formed group A while the rest were in group B. As in the first edition, the matches were to be played on a 60 over basis with each team facing the other three teams in its group with the top two teams of each group at the end of the league stage progressing to the semis. Defending champions West Indies were favourites to lift the cup, and Clive Lloyd’s men stood up to the expectations and lifted the title for the second time.

Gordon Greenidge had a good run in the group stages and played an impotant role in both his team's victories

West Indies started their title defence in style with a 9 wicket win over India in the first match of the tournament. A four wicket haul from Michael Holding restricted India to 190 despite a gritty 75 from Gundappa Vishwanath. An unbeaten 106 from Gorden Greenidge took West Indies to the target with 51 balls to spare. New Zealand, helped by unbeaten half-centuries from Glenn Turner (83*) and Geoff Howarth (63*) overcame Sri Lanka by a similar margin. West Indies’ second match against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain. On the other side, New Zealand cemented a semi-final spot after defeating India by 8 wickets. Bruce Edgar’s unbeaten 84 helped New Zealand past India’s total of 181 after an impressive show from the Kiwi bowlers. India completed a miserable campaign with a 47 run defeat at the hands of the Lankans whose total of 238, built on half-centuries from Sunil Wettimuny (67), Roy Dias (50) and Duleep Mendis (64) proved to be a bit too much for the Indians. The defending champions, the Windies moved to the top of the group and into the semis with a 32-run victory over New Zealand in the last league match of group B. Skipper Clive Lloyd led from the front with an unbeaten 80 after Gorden Greenidge (65) had given them a steady start. The Windies put up 244 in 60 overs and they picked up wickets at regular intervals in the Kiwi innings to seal the match. However, despite the loss, the Kiwis qualified for the semis as the second side from group B.

Mike Hendrick in action against Pakistan

Hosts England started their journey with a comfortable 6 wicket victory over Australia in a low scoring encounter. Graham Gooch’s unbeaten 53 for England was the sole half-century on a wicket where the batsmen found it difficult to score. Else where, Sadiq Mohammad’s 57 not out helped Pakistan chase down the target set by Canada with 8 wickets in hand. Pakistan secured a semi-final berth with a second victory in their match against Australia. Both Majid Khan and skipper Asif Iqbal scored 61 each to take Pakistan to a formidable score of 286. Andrew Hilditch held the innings together with a patient 72 at the top of the order, but that was not good enough and the Aussies fell short by 89 runs. England too secured a semi-final spot with a game to spare after defeating the Canadians by 8 wickets. Bob Willis and Chris Old picked up four wickets a piece as England bowled Canada out for just 45 runs, the lowest total in an ODI innings at that point of time. The final round of matches in group A didn’t have much riding on them. Australia ended the tournament on a winning note with a 7-wicket victory over Canada after a five-wicket haul from Alan Hurst. England and Pakistan fought a close encounter at Headingley in the last group match of the tournament. A few twenties and a 33 from Gooch enabled England put up a total of 165 in their quota of 60 overs. Mike Hendrick rocked the Pakistani top order and had them in all sorts of trouble at 34 for 6. But Asif Iqbal (51) and the tail hung around took Pakistan to within 14 runs of victory before being bowled out. Thus, England qualified for the semis as the group toppers, Pakistan being the other team from group A.

Desmond Haynes plays one into the on side during his knock of 65 in the first semi-final

The first semi-final between England and New Zealand was a pretty close match. Mike Bearley (53) and Graham Gooch (71) chipped in with important contributions to take England to 221 in their 60 overs. John Wright held things together for the Kiwis, but he ran himself out on 69. The hosts kept on picking up wickets on a regular basis and in the end, the Kiwis fell short by 9 runs. West Indies had a fairly comfortable ride in the second semi-final as they reached a second consecutive World Cup final. A 132-run opening stand between Desmond Haynes (65) and Gordon Greenidge (73) set the platform up for a challenging total. All the middle order batsmen chipped in with some useful runs and took the Windies to 293. Pakistan seemed to have a realistic chance as long as Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan were out in the middle. They put together 166 runs for the second wicket before falling for 93 and 81 respectively in quick succession. The innings fell apart completely after their departure and in the end West Indies cruised home comfortably by 43-runs to book a spot in the final against hosts England.

Vivian Richards during his match-winning 137 in the 1979 World Cup final

Hosts England were the only obstacle in between the West Indies and a second World Cup triumph. The final was played at Lords’ on the 23^rd of June. Vivian Richards, who impacted three run-outs in the 1975 World Cup final, decided to take centre stage with the bat on this occasion. He played a masterful knock, an unbeaten 137, to take West Indies to 286. Collis King gave him excellent support, even eclipsing him at time during his 60-ball 86. England’s openers, Geoff Boycott and Mike Bearley, put together 129 runs for the first wicket, but they did so at a very slow pace. Bearley (64) and Boycott (57) fell within six runs of each other. The high asking rate had already increased the pressure on the middle order and if that wasn’t enough, the pace of Joel Garner increased it further. Garner picked up five wickets as England were bowled out for 194, 92 runs short of the target.

Clive Lloyd and the West Indies team with the 1979 World Cup trophy

The West Indies were the undisputed kings of world cricket after winning a second successive World Cup. Clive Lloyd’s men walked in as favourites and they lived up to the tag. The second World Cup too was a big success and it proved that the success of the 1975 edition was not a fluke. The game was attracting a large number of followers and though test cricket was considered to be the ultimate test of a cricketer, ODIs became an important tool for promoting the game and drawing people to it. However, the weather wasn’t too good for a certain period and it also led to the abandonment of one match. But all in all, it was another wonderfully successful event. The International Cricket Conference met soon after the 1979 World Cup, where a decision was taken to make the World Cup a four yearly event. Further, it was also decided that the 1983 edition would also be played in England.

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