When the 1979 Prudential World Cup commenced on 9th June, the cricketing world was still adjusting to the impact of two seasons of World Series Cricket (WSC) on the game, and the surprise announcement on 30th May, of a truce between the Australia Cricket Board (ACB) and Kerry Packer’s WSC organisation. The media magnate’s Channel Nine Television Network had not only won the exclusive rights to telecast Australian cricket (Packer’s original target), but had also been granted a ten-year contract to promote and market the game.
As the 1980 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack duly noted, “The feeling in many quarters was that when the Australian Board first found Packer at their throats, the rest of the cricket world supported them to the hilt; even to the extent of highly expensive court cases which cricket could ill afford. Now, when it suited Australia, they had brushed their friends aside to meet their own ends.” For the ‘many quarters’, one should read the ICC and the then England Test and County Cricket Board which had provided much financial and moral support to the ACB.
In hindsight, the West Indian team had been the main beneficiary – at least in the short term – of the Packer revolution. During the two WSC seasons (1977/8 & 1978/9) of professional cricket in Australia, the team had developed a winning mentality mindset, and under the guidance of their trainer, Australian Dennis Waite, supreme fitness had become the standard requisite. As the defending champions with a new persona, the West Indies, with Australia opting not to select their WSC players, were odds on favourites to repeat.
The West Indies team included six players from the 1975 Final (In Search of West Indies Cricket – West Indian Summer Solstice, 3rd July, 2016), Captain Clive Lloyd, vice captain/wicket-keeper Deryck Murray, Alvin Kallicharran, Andy Roberts, Viv Richards, and Gordon Greenidge. The rest of the 14-member squad were Collis King, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Desmond Haynes, Larry Gomes, Faoud Bacchus and Malcolm Marshall. The latter trio, and Kallicharran were the only non-former WSC players. The out-of-form Wayne Daniel, who had lost his place to Marshall, it could have been argued, was probably the only player missing from a full strength West Indies team.
The second World Cup tournament followed the same simple format of the first. Eight teams, two groups of four, three round-robin matches in each group, with the top two qualifying for the semi-finals, where the group winners faced the runners-up from the other group. It was a 60-over tournament and there were two reserve days for each match, in the advent of weather interference. The six Test playing nations: England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, India and Pakistan were joined by ICC Associates, Sri Lanka, who had also participated in the previous tournament, and Canada. In the first competition, the favoured West Indies had been drawn with Australia and Pakistan, two of the four top rated teams (England being the other), and Sri Lanka. This time around, Dame Fortune had smiled on the West Indies, who were placed with New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka.
Scores
9th June
Group A, Lord’s: Australia 159 for 9 (60 overs); England 160 for 4 (47.1 overs), G. Gooch, 53. England (4 points) won by 6 wickets. Headingley: Canada 139 for 9 (60 overs); Pakistan 140 for 2 (40.1 overs), Sadiq Mohammed , 57*. Pakistan (4 points) won by 8 wickets.
Group B, Edgbaston: India, 190 (53.1 overs), G. Vishwanath, 75, M. Holding, 4 for 35. West Indies, 194 for one (51.3 overs), G. Greenidge, 106*. West Indies (4 points) won by 9 wickets.
Trent Bridge: Sri Lanka, 189, (56.5 overs), A. Tennekoon, 59. New Zealand, 190 for one (47.4 overs), G. Turner, 83*. New Zealand (4 points) won by 9 wickets.
13Th – 15th June
Group A, Old Trafford (14th): Canada, 45 (40.3 overs), C. Old 4 for 8, R. Willis, 4 for 11. England, 46 for 2 (13.5 overs). England (4 points) won by 8 wickets. Trent Bridge (13th & 14th): Pakistan 286 for 7 (60 overs), M. Khan, 61, A. Iqbal, 61. Australia, 197 (57.1 overs), A. Hilditch, 72. Pakistan (4 points) won by 89 runs.
Group B, Headingley (13th): India, 182 (55.5 overs), S. Gavaskar, 55. New Zealand, 183 for 2 (57 overs), B. Edgar, 84*. New Zealand (4 points ) won by 8 wickets. The Oval: (13th – 15th), West Indies versus Sri Lanka. Rain. Abandoned without a ball bowled. 2 points each.
16th June:
Group A, Headingley: England, 165 (60 overs), Pakistan 151 (56 overs), A. Iqbal, 51. M. Hendrick, 4 for 15. England (4 points) won by 14 runs. Edgbaston: Canada, 105, (33.2 overs), A. Hurst, 5 for 21. Australia, 106 for 3 (26 overs). Australia (4 points ) won by 7 wickets.
Group B. Trent Bridge: West Indies, 244 for 7 (60 overs), C. Lloyd, 73*, C. Greenidge, 65. New Zealand, 212 for 9 (60 overs). West Indies (4 points) won by 32 runs. Old Trafford, (16th & 18th): Sri Lanka, 238 for 5 (60 overs), S. Wettimuny, 67, D. Mendis, 64, R. Dias, 50. India, 191 (54.1 overs). Sri Lanka (4 points) won by 47 runs.
20th June
Semi-finals, Old Trafford: England, 221 for 8 (60 overs), G. Gooch, 71, M. Brearley, 53. New Zealand, 212 for 9 (60 overs), J. Wright, 69. England won by 9 runs.
At the Kennington Oval, in London, the large band of West Indian supporters were celebrating a West Indies victory in brilliant sunshine in the other semi-final over Pakistan. The match did not go all the way down to the wire like their previous Prudential World Cup encounter in the first round of the 1975 tournament (In Search of West Indies Cricket, ‘Back from the Brink’, SN, 26th March, 2023), but there was an anxious period when Pakistan appeared to be in the driver’s seat.
Inexplicably invited to bat by Pakistan Captain, Asif Iqbal, the West Indies were off to a flying start as the opening pair of Greenidge and Haynes added 132 for the first wicket, before the former provided a chance to the wicket-keeper Wasim Bari, off of Asif Iqbal, who had come into the attack as the sixth bowler. The partnership lasted for 122 minutes. Greenidge set the pace with an innings of 73, inclusive of five boundaries and one six. The in-form West Indies batting lineup then applied further pressure as Richards and Lloyd (batting fourth) wielded their heavy bats to add to Pakistan’s despair. Although Iqbal captured the first four wickets (also, Haynes 65, Richards, 42, & Lloyd, 42), the inability of his main strikers to contain the West Indians must have gnawed a bit. As the innings drew to a close, a rapid 49-run, fifth wicket partnership between King (34) and Kallicharran (11), propelled the West Indies total to 293 for six from their 60 overs. The scoring rate of 4.88 per over, at that time, was considered to be high. Pakistan’s best bowler was part time off-spinner and opening batsman Majid Khan, whose 12 overs cost 26 runs. By contrast, new ball bowler Safraz Nawaz’s 12 overs yielded 71 runs.
Faced with a daunting task, Pakistan were soon in trouble, as Holding, delivering an opening spell of extreme pace and hostility, removed Sadiq Mohammed via a catch to wicketkeeper Murray. Ten for one. Then doubts began to creep in, as Majid, sporting one of his father’s old straw hats, now in his true role, and the majestic stroke player, Zaheer Abbas, rose to the occasion and launched a counter attack. Two years earlier, in the second innings of the Third Test at Bourda, Georgetown, with Pakistan trailing by 254 runs on first innings, and Sadiq, retired hurt (felled by a Roberts’ bouncer) the pair batted Pakistan to safety whilst adding 159 runs. On this occasion, they were in even better control, as the total mounted to 176 for one in the 40th over, and a Pakistani victory seemed to be on the cards.
Lloyd responded to the threat by reintroducing Croft from the Vauxhall end, with instructions for a leg stump line, and Richards’ gentle off-spin from the Pavilion end. The 166-run partnership off 36 overs was broken, when Zaheer touched a Croft delivery into Murray’s gloves. His 143-minute innings of 93 included eight fours and one six. Majid, 81, followed 11 runs later via a Kallicharran catch at slip, also off Croft, and the procession had begun. In the space of 11 balls Croft had removed the aggressive pair, and Javed Miandad, first ball via the LBW route. Despite Richards’ initial over costing 12 runs, Lloyd persisted with him, and was rewarded with the wickets of Iqbal, Mudassar Nazar and Imran Khan. When Richards caught the last off his own bowling, Pakistan had collapsed to 228 for 8, and the writing was on the wall. Pakistan were eventually dismissed for 250 off 56.2 overs, as the West Indies won by 43 runs. The question will always linger as to Pakistan’s decision to omit Wasim Hassan Raja (he was the substitute), who had plundered the West Indies fast bowlers in the 1977 Test series to the tune of 517 runs, inclusive of 14 sixes.
As John Woodcock of The Times, writing in the August 1979 issue of The Cricketer magazine observed, “If ever, in the whole history of the world, there was a morning for batting first, this was it, and when, very soon, their batsmen were in full cry, West Indies seemed in little danger of defeat.”
The Final, Lord’s, 23rd June
On a cloudy morning, in front of a packed house of 25,000 spectators Mike Brearley, the England Captain won the toss and invited the West Indies to have the first knock. His decision reaped early dividends, as the wonderful fielder, Derek Randall swooped in and plugged the wicket, finding the reliable Greenidge short of his ground at the bowler’s end. West Indies, 22 for one. England’s perfect start soon got better 18 minutes later, when Haynes followed, caught off Chris Old. Thirty-six for two. Kallicharran, who had only batted against New Zealand and Pakistan, never got going, and when he was bowled by Mike Hendrick, for four, West Indies had slumped to 55 for three.
No need for panic, West Indies fans thought, as Captain Clive Lloyd walked out to meet Viv Richards, who had replaced Greenidge. Deja vu. In the 1975 final, the West Indies were 50 for three, when Lloyd entered the fray, joining Rohan Kanhai. The pair added 149, as the pendulum swung the West Indies way, on that occasion. Diligently applying themselves to the task at hand, Richards and Lloyd added 44, before the latter fell to a great catch by Old off his own bowling.
West Indies were in trouble, 99 for four, when King emerged: the last recognised batsman in the lineup, with only Murray, and the four fast bowlers, Roberts, Garner, Holding and Croft left. Close followers of the game would remember that Sir Garry Sobers and Lawrence Rowe had opted out of the 1975 World Cup squad, and their replacements had been Kanhai and King, respectively. In the final, the wily veteran Kanhai had played the valuable stabilising supportive role whilst Lloyd had torn apart the Australian attack.
In January, during the second game of the best five International Cup Grand Finals in the second World Series Cricket season at Melbourne, with the West Indies chasing an Australian score of 189, King had smashed 28. A succession of boundaries, including two off consecutive Dennis Lillee deliveries, guided the WSC West Indies to a four-wicket win with six balls remaining, to level the series, which they eventually won 3 -1. During the WSC Tour of the Caribbean, King had hammered a century in the drawn Fourth SuperTest, in which he added 126 for the sixth wicket with Murray. In his only innings in that season’s Shell Shield, two months prior, King had plundered the fabled Trinidadian spin attack for 156 at Kensington Oval, Barbados. Now, it was King’s moment on the centre stage of the cricketing world.
With the lunch break approaching, Viv advised his new partner to take it easy as they had plenty of time. King was having none of it. He had clearly planned to go after England’s Achilles heel, the lack of a fifth bowler. With Bob Willis unfit, they had opted for a seventh batsman, and proposed to fill the fifth bowler’s quota of 12 overs between Boycott, Wayne Larkins, and Graham Gooch. Boycott had been England’s secret weapon thus far in the World Cup, grabbing a pair of wickets against both Australia and Pakistan, and a crucial wicket in the semi-final, all the while bowling at a remarkably economical rate.
King cut his first ball from Ian Botham for four, signalling his intention to counterattack. Gooch’s first delivery was viciously swiped to the backward square leg boundary. At lunch, the West Indies were 125 for 4, King was on 19. After lunch, Richards tried calming King down, and then abandoned that altogether. A Caribbean ‘hurricane’ had descended on Lord’s. King, with neither hat, helmet nor crown, went ballistic against the English attack, sparing no bowler.
The 28-year-old allrounder was now in his element. His fellow Barbadians listening back home on the radio were keenly aware having been privy to his exploits in local club cricket, where he had a reputation for swashbuckling innings. He swung his SP blade, swotting everything in sight. The Cambridge educated England Captain Brearley, would later admit in a column in the August 1979 issue of The Cricketer, “King was inspired and when he and Richards were in full flow I felt helpless. I knew there was nothing more we could do.”
Richards, the Master Blaster, reduced to a bystander, recalled the spectacle, “I worked around him while the fire raged.” Richards was in the 90s before King reached 50. King launched Larkins into the Mound Stand to bring up his 50, whilst another Larkins’ delivery was deposited over long on. Boycott was whipped off his toes for six. The West Indian fans were ecstatic, dancing and jumping. Joel Garner recalled in an interview that the team forgot about the match for the moment and were savouring the Collis King Show just as everyone else was doing. With three figures beckoning, King held out to Randall in front of the mound off Phil Edmonds. The ‘hurricane’ lasted for all of 77 minutes. King’s carnage cost England 86 runs from 66 deliveries, inclusive of three sixes and ten boundaries. His partnership with Richards added 139 to the score. King departed to a standing ovation from the entire ground. They had witnessed a delicate situation suggesting caution and consolidation, met with the crisp violent strokes of a counterattack, the likes of which they would never see again.
Richards, still in the 90s when King departed, duly retook control, scoring all the additional runs off the bat, save five, including depositing the last ball into the Tavern for six. The West Indies posted 286 for nine off 60 overs, with Richards 138 not out. Apart from Richards and King, only Haynes 20, and Lloyd, 13, managed to reach double figures.
The Boycott and Brearley opening partnership produced 129 runs, but consumed 38 overs, leaving England the improbable task of scoring 158 from 22 overs, despite having nine wickets. Under the mounting pressure, England collapsed during Garner’s second spell (5 for 38), finishing on 194 off 51 overs, as the West Indies won by 92 runs to retain the Prudential World Cup.
Aftermath
The West Indies received £10,000 for their victory, whilst England collected £4,000 as runners-up. Richards won the Man of the Match Award for his 138* and delivering 10 overs for 35 runs.
Collis King, ‘Kingdom’ to his teammates, had influenced the course of a World Cup Final with an innings of rare spectacle.
