Prudential Cricket World Cup 1979 : Excerpt from ‘The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011’ by Indra Vikram Singh

There was little change in 1979, with the same venue, the same sponsor doling out two-and-a-half times the amount given previously, and the same winner. The one difference was that a tournament for the associate members was conducted earlier, and the winners Sri Lanka and runners-up Canada, earned the right to participate in the World Cup alongside the six Test-playing countries.

The second Prudential World Cup was played in the shadow of the crisis precipitated by the rebel World Series Cricket of Australian tycoon, Kerry Packer. He had contracted a number of top players of the world. The Australians and English did not include these players in the World Cup squads, though the West Indies and Pakistani Boards were not so harsh.

With the sponsorship amount at £250,000 ($405,000), the prize money was hiked to £25,900. The winners received £10,000, and the runners-up £4,000. The losing semi-finalists got £2,000 each. Inclement weather, which also led to the abandonment of a match, limited the crowds to 132,768 people, though the gate money nearly doubled to £359,717.

Group A now comprised Australia, Canada, England and Pakistan. In Group B were India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. In the semi-finals, the West Indies defeated Pakistan, while England beat New Zealand.

The final:

Lord’s, London, 23 June 1979

West Indies won by 92 runs

West Indies: 286 for 9 wickets in 60 overs (Vivian Richards 138 not out, Collis King 86)

England: 194 all out in 51 overs (Mike Brearley 64, Geoff Boycott 57, Graham Gooch 32, Colin Croft 3 for 42, Joel Garner 5 for 38)

Man of the Match: Vivian Richards

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Distributed in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11 23417175, 23412567

Available in leading bookshops, and online on several websites.

Prudential Cricket World Cup 1975 : Excerpt from ‘The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011’ by Indra Vikram Singh

The International Cricket Conference (ICC), now known as International Cricket Council, approved a proposal on 25 July 1973 to hold a Limited-overs World Cup tournament. Hardly could anyone have imagined what a mega event this would become right from its inception.

When the World Cup first began in 1975, scarcely two years before the centenary of Test matches, One-day cricket was a vastly different game. There were no fielding circles, white balls, coloured clothing or helmets. Most of the teams had little experience in this form of the game; just 18 One-day Internationals had been played till then. Only the English players - and the overseas professionals - had received adequate exposure in the truncated game on the county circuit.

The Prudential Assurance Company pitched in with sponsorship worth £100,000 ($162,000) and the tournament got under way amid great euphoria. How much excitement there was, could be gauged from the fact that Sir Garfield Sobers, inarguably the greatest allround cricketer ever, was initially included in the West Indies squad even though it was known that a debilitating knee injury had effectively finished his career. That the mighty Sobers was unable to participate is another matter.

England, long considered the home of cricket with headquarters at Lord’s, was deemed to be a natural venue for the World Cup. Long hours of daylight and several top-class grounds located not far from each other were cited as factor in favour of retaining England as the permanent base for the premier event. It did not take long for the players, public or administrators to realise that they had a product that was an instant hit.

The first tournament was played for an exquisite sterling silver trophy, 18.5 inches high and containing 89.5 ounces of the sparkling metal. Never before had there been such a large and distinguished gathering of the world's finest cricketers.

There were six Test-playing countries then: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies. To this list were added Sri Lanka, for long a strong contender for Test status, and East Africa, considered the best of the rest. The teams were divided into two groups. In Group A were East Africa, England, India and New Zealand. Group B comprised Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. In the semi-finals Australia beat England, and the West Indies trounced New Zealand. 

The West Indies, then beginning their ascent to the pinnacle with an incredible run of successes, won the inaugural Prudential World Cup final. There was tremendous Caribbean support at Lord's on that grand occasion as 26,000 spectators sat enthralled till 8-45 in the evening, watching the drama unfold. It was a box-office bonanza too, with £66,400 in the kitty, considered a world record at the time for a day's collection in a Limited-overs match.

The total prize money on offer was £9,000, with the winners receiving £4,000 along with gilt silver medals for each player. The runners-up got £2,000, and the losing semi-finalists £1,000 each. Total gate money of £188,598 was paid by the 158,000 people who came in through the turnstiles. A profit of £200,000 provided ample indication that the event had enormous potential to generate hitherto unimagined revenue for the game.

The World Cup became a great spectacle, graced by princes and prime ministers, and savoured by a huge number of people all over the globe.

The final:

Lord’s, London, 21 June 1975

West Indies won by 17 runs

West Indies: 291 for 8 wickets in 60 overs (Rohan Kanhai 55, Clive Lloyd 102, Keith Boyce 34, Gary Gilmour 5 for 48)

Australia: 274 all out in 58.4 overs (Alan Turner 40, Ian Chappell 62, Doug Walters 35, Keith Boyce 4 for 50)

Man of the Match: Clive Lloyd

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Distributed in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11 23417175, 23412567

Available in leading bookshops, and online on several websites. 

World Championship of Test Cricket

For long there has been talk about the need for an interesting world championship of Test cricket. Obviously, the rolling mace for the no. 1 Test team in the world has not been exciting enough. A world Test tournament was proposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and thankfully shelved in its recent meeting

As far back as 1912, a triangular Test tournament was played between hosts England. Australia and South Africa, and it was not a success. In the late 1990s a misconceived Asian Test championship was conducted, and once again added no value. It is established that a tournament for Test cricket is not a workable proposition, yet administrators come up with fanciful ideas time and again.

I first put forth my arguments in my debut book ‘Test Cricket: End of the Road?’ as far back as 1990, proposing a four-year World Championship of Test cricket, to be played between one One-day ICC World Cup and the next. For long I have felt that this is the way forward for Test cricket. If points are totalled over a four-year period and a champion team emerges after dividing these points by the number of Test matches and series played by each side, it would make for a very exciting championship.

Ideally, every Test-playing nation should play against every other, home and away, in a two to five-Test series every four years. If this is not always possible, it should be as close to this principle as far as can be. There is, though, no reason why it cannot happen if the ICC and the respective Boards make an effort.

The points system should place a premium on wins, quick scoring and good bowling strike-rates. Hence there should be 10 points for each Test win, and no point for a draw, except in the event of a Test match ending without a result due to interference by the weather, in which case both teams should be awarded 5 points each.

This system should also be so devised as not to encourage teams to bat on and on, particularly in the first innings and take too much advantage of a flat wicket, nor also in the second innings in an over-cautious attempt to avoid defeat. Batting and bowling points should, hence, be awarded only up to the first 135 overs - translating to a-day-and-a-half - in each of the first innings, and 90 overs in each of the second innings.

In the first innings, each team should be awarded one point for scoring 270 runs, two points for scoring 340 runs, three points for scoring 405 runs, and four points for scoring 475 runs in the first 135 overs of their respective turns. This would mean that they would get one point for scoring at a rate of at least 2 runs an over, two points for scoring at a rate of at least 2.5 runs an over, three points for scoring at a rate of at least 3 runs an over, and four points for scoring at a rate of at least 3.5 runs an over.

In the second innings, each team should be awarded one point for scoring 180 runs, two points for scoring 205 runs, three points for scoring 225 runs, and four points for scoring 250 runs in their respective first 90 overs. They would, therefore, get one point for scoring at least 2 runs an over, two points for scoring at least 2.25 runs an over, three points for scoring at least 2.5 runs an over, and four points for scoring at least 2.75 runs an over.

For bowling, in either innings, one point should be awarded to both sides for taking 7 wickets, two points for taking 8 wickets, three points for taking 9 wickets, and four points for taking 10 wickets in the first 135 overs and 90 overs respectively.

In the event of innings wins, four points should be awarded for the second innings in which the team did not bat. In case of wins by wickets, batting points should be awarded for scoring at the rates mentioned above in case 90 overs have not been completed. Similarly, in case of second-innings declaration leading to wins by runs, batting points should be awarded for scoring at the prescribed rates.

Such a system would make for positive cricket, and also provide an incentive to quicken the over-rate, as it would be in the interests of both teams to strive for runs and wickets, and for victories.

For winning a series 20 points should be awarded. At the end of the four-year period, the total match points should be divided by the Tests, and the series points divided by the series played by each team, and added up. Not only would a champion team emerge, but periodic rankings would also be known.   

I would strongly urge the ICC to look seriously at such a system, fine-tune it and implement it immediately after its One-day World Cup 2015. Even rankings of players could be worked out over such a four-year period. It is time Test cricket got a World Championship of this nature.

(Indra Vikram Singh is author of several books on cricket and can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Timeless magic of pre-1939 Rolls-Royce cars

There is something about pre-1939 Rolls-Royce cars that is unmatched by any other. Here is a Rolls-Royce Phantom I 1925 tourer, chassis no. 76 RC, with coachwork by Barker. This exquisite car was on view at the 21-gun Salute Vintage and Classic Car Rally held at the City Centre, Gurgaon, on 1st and 2nd February 2014. This is the first series of Phantom I after the iconic Silver Ghost was discontinued in 1924, a car for the true connoisseur, perfectly engineered and exquisitely crafted.