1979 ICC Cricket World Cup
 |
|
| Dates | 9 June – 23 June |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | One Day International |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Host(s) |
 England |
| Champions |
 West Indies (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |
England
|
| Participants | 8 |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Most runs |
Gordon Greenidge (253) |
| Most wickets |
Mike Hendrick (10) |
The 1979 Cricket World Cup (officially the Prudential Cup '79) was the second edition of the Cricket World Cup and was won by the West Indies. It was held from 9 to 23 June 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group played the semi-finals, the winners of which met in the final at Lord's.
The matches played consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day and hence started early.
The Prudential Cup was lifted by Clive Lloyd, captain of the West Indies who started as the favourites to win the cup again. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1979.
The format of the 1979 world cup was 2 groups of four teams, each team playing each other. The top two team from each group then advance to the Semi Finals where the winners then advance to the finals.
The following 8 teams qualified for the final tournament. Sri Lanka and Canada were the only two teams without Test status and qualified for the tournament by reaching the final of the 1979 ICC Trophy. East Africa who played in the first World cup did not qualify this time, which meant that there would be no nation from the African region participating in the 1979 World Cup.
In a very close semi-final match, England prevailed. New Zealand won the toss and fielded. England began badly, falling to 38/2, before Mike Brearley (53 from 115 balls, 3 fours) and Graham Gooch (71 from 84 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) resurrected the innings. Derek Randall (42 from 50 balls, 1 four, 1 six) played well in the second half of the innings, as England recovered from 98/4 to post 221 (8 wickets, 60 overs). In the response, John Wright (69 from 137 balls) attacked well in the beginning. However, the loss of wickets bogged New Zealand down, and despite several late flourishes in the batting order, New Zealand started to drop behind. When New Zealand could not achieve the remaining 14 runs from the last over of the match, England went into the final.
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