On this day, 46 years ago, the stage was set for the West Indies to face off against England in the second World Cup final of 1979. The West Indies were on a hot winning streak, making it to their second consecutive final after winning the previous edition. England, on the other hand, were making their first appearance in a World Cup final.
The West Indies had the best players across all positions—from the fiery fast bowlers like Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Andy Roberts, to classy batsmen like Sir Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd
England won the toss and chose to field first. The West Indies got off to a rocky start, losing four quick wickets for just 99 runs. They lost Greenidge, Haynes, Kallicharran, and their captain Clive Lloyd, in that order.
However, at the other end of the crease stood Viv Richards, who remained steady, scoring boundary after boundary. He ended unbeaten on 138 off 157 balls, smashing 11 fours and 3 sixes.
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Collis King, who batted alongside Richards, played a crucial knock of 86 off just 66 balls, helping to push the score to 238/5 by the time he was dismissed. The lower-order batsmen chipped in and pushed the final total to 286 in 60 overs
OTD 1979,when WI won their 2nd Odi WC on the trot
Batting first,WI were at 99/4 but Sir Viv Richards scored a brilliant 138(157)* along with Collis King 86(66) and helped West Indies reach 286 in 60 overs
However Eng got allout from 183/3 to 194 thanks to Garner 5w haul pic.twitter.com/uHO94TXX2F— Sashank (@sas_3343) June 22, 2025
The initial pair, Geoffrey Boycott and Mike Brearley, contributed a brilliant 129-run stand, scoring 64 off 130 and 57 off 105 respectively. When Brearley was dismissed, Randall walked in. Soon after, Boycott was dismissed as well, and Graham Gooch took guard.
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Randall and Gooch scored 15 and 32 respectively, but as soon as they were out, the collapse started. The score was 183/4 after Gooch’s dismissal. Amazingly, the other batsmen managed only 11 runs for the loss of 6 wickets being the most devastating collapse in world cup history.When the innings came to a close at 194 all out,cheers and applause rang throughout Lord’s.
a dominant bowling performance and a batting masterclass from Viv Richards, the West Indies were crowned champions for the second time, solidifying their status as the kings of one-day cricket in that golden era.
