1979 Cricket World Cup final

Background

The match was the second consecutive World Cup final hosted at Lord's, following the inaugural 1975 final.

West Indies reached a second consecutive final after defeating Pakistan by 43 runs in the semi-final. Previously, they had won the 1975 final.

England was making their first appearance at a World Cup final after defeating New Zealand by 9 runs in the semi-finals. This was also the first appearance by a European nation at a World Cup final.

Bob Willis, England's leading bowler, missed the final after being injured in the semi-final.

Match report

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 5/238 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 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 the most devastating collapse in World Cup history, as England lost 8 wickets for 11 runs. They were eventually all out for 194 in 51 overs. Vivian Richards was declared Man of the Match.

Attendance : 32,654

Scorecard

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Greenidge), 2-36 (Haynes), 3-55 (Kallicharran), 4-99 (Lloyd), 5-238 (King), 6-252 (Murray), 7-258 (Roberts), 8-260 (Garner), 9-272 (Holding)

Fall of wickets: 1-129 (Brearley), 2-135 (Boycott), 3-183 (Randall), 4-183 (Gooch), 5-186 (Gower), 6-186 (Larkins), 7-192 (Botham), 8-192 (Old), 9-194 (Taylor), 10-194 (Hendrick)

References

References

1. (23 June 1979). "Prudential World Cup 1979, final". ESPNcricinfo.
2. [http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC79/WI_ENG_WC79_ODI-FINAL_23JUN1979.html England v West Indies] ''1979 Cricket World Cup Final''
3. "England v West Indies scorecard".
4. "Full Scorecard of West Indies vs England Final 1979 - Score Report {{!}} ESPNcricinfo.com".