Let’s now take a look at the 5 best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979. In that historical tournament, many strong teams like West Indies, England, New Zealand, and Pakistan had some of the best bowlers in cricket history. Despite all the matches played in 60 over format, no team could reach a total of 300 runs in any of the matches. Here are the 5 instances of best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979 that shined brightest during that great tournament and mostly led their team to victories.
5. Mike Hendrick (4/15 vs Pakistan)
In the Pakistan and English slugfest at Headingley, it was the bowlers who ran the show on both sides. The English team was required to defend a relatively small target of 165 runs against an in-form Pakistani batting line up. Their bowlers however rose to the occasion with Mike Hendrick leading the attack with the new ball. He took 4 very important Pakistan wickets including both their opening batsmen Majid Khan and Sadiq Mohammad.
Read also: 1979 Cricket World Cup- Know The 5 Leading Run Scorers
Hendrick gave away just 15 runs in his 12 over spell with the unbelievable average of 1.25 runs per over. He was well supported by Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott who took 2 wickets each. The Pakistanis were thus dismissed on 151 runs and the hosts won the match thus being victorious in all 3 of their league matches. Both the teams were however through to the semi-finals of the 1979 cricket world cup. Listed in the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979.
4. Bob Willis (4/11 vs Canada)
The Canadian team was playing as qualifiers in the 1979 cricket world cup. The met the mighty English side at Old Trafford in their second group match. Having put in to bat first, the Canadians were humbled out for just 45 runs. Bob Wills played a great part in the English bowling attack.
Read also: Reliance World Cup ’87 – Most Wickets
He took 4 wickets and conceded just 11 runs in 10 overs. It was one of the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979. The hosts had to chase a very small target of 46 runs. They did so in just 13 overs with 8 wickets in hand.
3. Chris Old (4/8 vs Canada)
The English bowlers were determined to give the inexperienced Canadian side a batting lesson at Old Trafford. If Bob Wills bowled an exceptional spell, his fellow medium-fast bowler Chris Old was truly unbelievable with the ball. He also took 4 of the Canadian wickets in 10 overs at the expense of just 8 runs.
Read also: 1979 Cricket World Cup’s 5 Great Bowlers Who Took The Most Wickets
Old had an economy rate of less than a run per over as he bowled 5 maidens in his spell. Canada was thus all out for the lowest score of the 1979 cricket world cup due to the Wills-Old great partnership with the ball. Among the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979.
2. Joel Garner (5/38 vs England)
The ‘Big Bird’ of West Indian pace battery was known for using his height to generate great pace and bounce. His best bowling performance in the 1979 cricket world cup came in the all-important final against England. Garner took 5 English wickets for 38 runs to help the West Indian side to beat the hosts and lift the 1979 world cup. Joel Garner’s victims in that all-important final included famous English middle-order batsmen Graham Gooch and David Grover.
Read also: 1975 Cricket World Cup’s Best Bowling Performances
Garner was well supported at the other end by fellow speedsters Collin Croft and Michael Holding who claimed 3 and 2 wickets each. Joel Garner remained a very important bowler for the West Indies throughout his career. He claimed 259 test and 147 ODI wickets is his remarkable career and was a part of the famous Caribbean pace quartet of the 1970s and 1980s. On the list of the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979.
1. Alan Hurst (5/21 vs Canada)
The Australians had been the finalists in the 1975 cricket world cup but lost their first two league matches against Pakistan and England in 1979. They then took on Canada who was also already out of the tournament. The Aussie bowlers restricted the Canadian team to just 105 runs getting all 10 wickets in 33 overs. Alan Hurst led the bowling attack for Australia claiming 5 wickets for just 21 runs in his 10 overs spell.
Read also: 5 Greatest Windies Fast Bowlers Of 1970s And 1980s
Hurst virtually ran through Canadian middle-order dismissing most of their batsmen on low scores. Australia later chased the score comfortably in just 26 overs and won the match with 7 wickets in hand. The victory however proved to be too little too late for the Aussie side. They had already gone out of the tournament after losses against England and Pakistan in their first two group matches. Topped the list of the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979.
Those were the 5 instances of the best bowling at Cricket World Cup 1979. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of that historical cricket tournament. Do let us know about your views in the comments section.
#SportsCrunch: How Much #DoYouKnow about these 10 Crucial #CricketAccessories? https://t.co/R3bndLqiQV
— SportsCrunch (@SportsCrunch) June 28, 2020