The two contestants in the 1979 Cricket World Cup final were West Indies, the defending champion and England. This match was played at Lord’s cricket ground in England on 23rd June 1979. The toss was won by England and they opted to field first. The umpires for this match were BJ Meyer and HD Bird.
West Indies innings
The opening batsmen Gordon Greenidge was run out on 9 when the scoreboard read 22 and Vivian Richards walked to the crease. When the score was 36, Desmond Haynes returned to the pavilion on a personal score of 20. Alvin Kallicharran was also quickly out on 4 when the total was 55. Clive Lloyd and Richards added 44 runs and at this juncture Lloyd was dismissed for 13. Then, Richards and Collis King displayed a significant partnership of 139 runs for the fifth wicket. King faced 66 balls and clobbered 86 runs inclusive of 3 sixers and 10 fours. The further West Indies batsmen could not contribute much. Deryck Murray scored 5 while Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Michael Holding were out for ducks. The last batsman Colin Croft remained unbeaten on no score. The top scorer for the West Indies was Vivian Richards who was not out on 138 at the end of 60 overs. He achieved this mammoth score in 157 deliveries and smashed 3 sixers and 11 boundaries. On the last ball of the innings, he hit a sixer off Mike Hendricks into the Mound Stand. West Indies attained an impressive total of 286 for the loss of 9 wickets in 60 overs. Botham, Hendrick, Old and Edmonds each took 2 wickets.
England innings
Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott, the opening batsmen of the England team, exhibited a partnership of 129 runs in 28 overs. The first to be out was Brearley when he had scored 64 runs. Soon, Boycott was dismissed on 57 and the score was 135 for 2. Graham Gooch quickly made 32 runs in 28 balls including 4 boundaries. However, he was bowled by Garner when the score was 183. On the same score, David Gower was bowled by Garner for a duck and England was 183 for 4. Derek Randall did not last long and was bowled by Croft on a personal score of 15. The remaining English batsmen could not impress the crowd. Ian Botham was caught by Richards off the bowling of Croft for 4. Wayne Larkins was bowled by Garner for a blob. Chris Old was also bowled by Garner for no score. The tailenders Taylor and Hendrick were also out for ducks. Phil Edmonds remained unbeaten on 5. England was all out for 194 in 51 overs. Garner took 5 wickets and Croft took 3 wickets while Holding made 2 dismissals.
West Indies beat England and won their second consecutive World Cup. Vivian Richards was honored as the Man of the Match.
