On this day in 1979, West Indies clinched their second Cricket World Cup title
Jun 23, 2022
London [UK], June 23 : On this day in 1979, West Indies created history by clinching their second consecutive Cricket World Cup title, defeating England in the finals by 92 runs at Lord's.
Heading into the match, England had a lot of momentum winning all their group stage matches and their semi-final match against New Zealand by nine runs. On the other hand, West Indies were also undefeated throughout the tournament, with one match being a no result. They had defeated Pakistan by 43 runs in the other semi-final.
Put to bat first, West Indies were not off a good start, losing openers Gordon Greenidge (9) and Desmond Haynes (20), reducing Windies to 36/2.
Then stepped in Viv Richards. He started taking English bowlers to the cleaners. While Alvin Kallicharran and captain Clive Llyod fell cheaply, he built a 139-run stand with Collis King. Richards hit an amazing century. The stand ended with King falling for 86 off just 66 balls to spinner Phil Edmonds.
The rest of the Windies line-up fell in single digits, with Richards standing tall in the end with 138* off 157 balls. West Indies innings ended at 286/9.
Ian Botham (2/44) and Edmonds (2/40) were the pick of the bowlers for England.
Chasing 287, openers and captain Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott put England to an amazing start. The duo stitched a 129-run stand. Pacer Michael Holding broke the stand, dismissing Brearley for 57. Boycott was dismissed soon by Holding too.
After that Derek Randall and Graham Gooch put a 48-run stand, which ended with Randall being dismissed for 15 by pacer Joel Garner, who dismissed Gooch next for 32.
After that, England batters could not make a comeback in the match. Wickets kept tumbling for them. Six wickets fell within a matter of 11 runs. West Indies won the match by 92 runs, after bundling out England for 194.
Pacer Joel Garner took 5/38, the emerging pick of the bowlers for Windies. Pacer Colin Croft (3/42) also took three wickets while Holding took two wickets.
Viv Richards was named as the 'Man of the Match' for his 138*.
