HOW THE MIGHTY HAS FALLEN

                   

Image Credit- ICC.

Venue- Lord's Cricket Ground, London [June 23, 1979].

It was the final of the 1979 Cricket World Cup. Defending Champions West Indies were facing hosts England in the Home of Cricket- Lords. West Indies reached their second consecutive final by defeating Pakistan in an interesting semi-final clash. On the other hand, the hosts England defeated the Kiwis to reach their first world cup final. However, just before the final, hosts had a massive setback because their leading bowler Bob Willis was ruled out of the final due to an injury. 

On a spicy wicket, England Captain Mike Brearley won the toss and elected to field first. The West Indies' innings got off to a poor start as they lost Greenidge, Haynes, Kallicharan, and skipper Clive Lloyd in quick time reducing them to 99/4. The game could have gone anywhere.  However, the West Indian innings was then stabilized by Sir Vivian Richards (138 from 157 balls, 11 fours, 3 sixes) and Collis King (86 from 66 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes). King, who had a strike rate of 130.3, particularly destroyed the English bowlers. By the time Collis King was dismissed, the West Indian scorecard read 5/238. The hard hitting continued even after King's departure as the West Indies reached a very impressive score of 286/9 in 60 overs, thanks to Vivian Richards. 

The English batsmen started slowly and steadily. However, the openers Mike Brearley (64 from 130 balls, 7 fours) and Geoff Boycott (57 from 105 balls, 3 fours) were playing very slow which increased the pressure upon the rest of the batsmen. Playing as though the game were a five-day Test, they set together a very systematic opening partnership of 129 runs in 38 overs. By the time they were dismissed the run rate had grown too much. Graham Gooch scored 32 runs, bringing England's total to 183/2, including some powerful strokes. But after the departure of Derek Randall, England had its worst World Cup collapse ever, losing 8 wickets for just 11 runs. At the end of 51 overs, they were eventually dismissed for just 194 runs. Joel Garner picked up 5 wickets for 38 runs. Sir Viv Richards was awarded the man of the match award for his excellent hundred as Windies successfully defended their world cup trophy. 

44 years down the line, the two-times champions have failed to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup. The West Indian Cricket at its all-time low. Alas how the might has fallen. 

To watch West Indian Innings, Click Here. 

To watch England's Innings, Click Here.