England v West Indies, Cricket World Cup Final Saturday 23rd June 1979. A world we have lost
I was reminded today by a union colleague of the cricket world cup final that took place at Lords 40 years ago on Saturday 23rd June 1979.
It is a world we have lost.
At the time games were played over 60 overs a side not 50. England won the toss and put West Indies in. They scored what today would be regarded as a very modest 286 for 9 in their 60 overs with Viv Richards making 138 not out.
Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott opened the batting for England. They put together a very decent opening stand of 129 runs. The problem was that it took them 38 overs to do it. They were still batting as if a one-day game was a Test match. By the time Brearley and Boycott were out in successive over the runs per over target was in double figures and England collapsed to 194 all out in 51 overs. Joel Garner took 5 for 38.
Such collapses and one-sided results are hardly unknown in one-day cricket 40 years on. The slow scoring rate of Brearley and Boycott does belong to another era. Commenting in the Observer on 24th June Sir Len Hutton noted that Boycott had scored more quickly than Brearley. Then again Sir Len was a Yorkshireman so he might well say that.
Scorecard
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