1979 Gillette Cup final

September 2026 1979 Gillette Cup Final Lord's Pavilion.jpg 200 1979 Gillette Cup Somerset 269/8 60 overs Northamptonshire 224 56.3 overs Somerset won by 45 runs 8 September 1979 Lord's 25,000 London Viv Richards David Constant and John Langridge 1978 1980 The 1979 Gillette Cup Final was a cricket match between Somerset County Cricket Club and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club played on 8 September 1979 at Lord's in London. It was the seventeenth final of the Gillette Cup, which had been the first English domestic knock-out competition between first-class teams. Northamptonshire had won the competition in 1976; Somerset were playing their second consecutive final, having lost to Sussex in 1978. After winning the toss, Northamptonshire captain Jim Watts opted to bowl first. Somerset scored 269 runs off their full allocation of 60 overs, during which West Indian batsman Viv Richards top-scored for the county, totalling 117 runs. In their response, Northamptonshire lost early wickets, but a partnership of 113 between Geoff Cook and Allan Lamb kept them in the game. Six wickets from Joel Garner helped Somerset bowl their opponents out for 224 with 3.3 overs remaining, earning the county the first trophy in their 104-year history. Background Northamptonshire's only previous Gillette Cup Final appearance had come three summers earlier when they beat Lancashire by four wickets to win the 1976 Gillette Cup,https://static.espncricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/TROPHY/GLTE_NWT_WINNERS.html Gillette Cup: Winners ESPNcricinfo 26 March 2011 which was the club's only silverware since becoming a first-class county in 1905. Somerset had appeared in two previous finals, losing in 1967 to Kent, and in 1978 to Sussex. In addition to losing the Gillette Cup final in 1978, Somerset had narrowly missed out in the John Player League, and according to Vic Marks, there was "a deep determination to atone for the acute disappointments of the 1978 season."Marks (1984), p. 65. Route to the final 1979 Gillette Cup Northamptonshire entered the competition in the second round, in which they were matched up against Surrey County Cricket Club.https://static.espncricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/TROPHY/GLTE_TABLE_1979.html Summary of 1979 Gillette Cup ESPNcricinfo 26 March 2011 They won the match by six wickets, aided by a century from Geoff Cook which earned him the man of the match award.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39471.html Northamptonshire v Surrey in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 In the quarter-finals, they beat Leicestershire by eight wickets, with particularly economical bowling from Sarfraz Nawaz and Richard Williams helping to limit their opponents to 180, a total which Northamptonshire reached with 4.2 overs to spare.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39571.html Northamptonshire v Leicestershire in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 Northamptonshire batted first during their semi-final against Sussex, a match which they won by 37 runs. Allan Lamb and Peter Willey shared a partnership of 157 for the fourth wicket, and Willey's economical bowling was then instrumental in restricting Sussex to 218, for which he was named man of the match.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39629.html Sussex v Northamptonshire in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 Like their opponents in the final, Somerset joined the tournament in the second round, facing Derbyshire. Bowling first, Somerset limited their opponents to 224; Joel Garner was their most economical bowler. In reply, Somerset captain and opening batsman Brian Rose remained not out on 88 when his team reached their winning target with 3.5 overs remaining, having lost two wickets.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39472.html Somerset v Derbyshire in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 Kent travelled to Taunton for the quarter-final, in which Somerset chose to bat first after winning the toss. Only Graham Burgess reached a half-century for Somerset against a bowling attack which included five Test players. In Kent's reply, Garner claimed five wickets and Ian Botham three as Somerset bowled their opponents out for 60 runs.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39572.html Somerset v Kent in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 Against Middlesex in the semi-final, Somerset's bowlers were once again led by Garner, who picked up four wickets as the London-based club were dismissed for 185. Somerset won with 9.4 overs remaining for the loss of three wickets and Peter Denning remained unbeaten on 90.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39628.html Middlesex v Somerset in 1979 CricketArchive 26 March 2011 Match Summary thumb|right|Viv Richards earned the man of the match accolade, top-scoring with 117 runs for Somerset The sun was shining on the morning of the final, and Somerset's captain Brian Rose was glad when Northamptonshire won the toss. The conditions favoured batting first, but had Somerset won the toss they would most likely have chosen to bat second, given their success in chasing throughout the season. Northamptonshire captain Jim Watts opted to field, giving Somerset the benefit of batting first.Marks (1984), pp. 69–70. Somerset's opening batsmen began quickly, taking the score to 34 before Peter Denning was caught by the wicket-keeper George Sharp off the bowling of Sarfraz Nawaz. His wicket in the seventh over brought in Viv Richards.Marks (1984), p. 70. Before going out to bat, Richards focussed his mind on the fact that "it wasn't a day for daring, carefree sixes. It was a day for maturity".Viv Richards Richards Viv Viv Richards Foot David W. H. Allen Ltd 1979 1982 0-352-31208-4 113 Rose played a patient innings for his 41 runs, before being bowled by Watts, leaving Somerset 95/2. At the other end, Richards was playing what David Foot described as "a controlled gem".Foot (1986), p. 198. He remained at the wicket until the final over, scoring 117 runs in a chanceless innings. His boundaries were scored predominantly from straight drives and leg hits, powerfully struck.Norman Preston Norman Preston Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1980 117 1980 Queen Anne Press London 0-362-02002-7 681–682 Ian Botham played aggressively when he came in at number five, scoring 27 runs off 17 deliveries, and Joel Garner played similarly when he batted towards the end of the innings, adding 24 runs to the total. Somerset batted through their full allocation of overs, finishing on 269/8. Of the Northamptonshire bowlers, Watts was the most economical, conceding 34 runs off his 12 overs. Tim Lamb conceded the most, allowing 70 runs to be scored from his 12. The wickets were shared by the bowlers; Watts, Lamb and Griffiths took two each, while Sarfraz Nawaz and Peter Willey claimed one apiece.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39691.html Northamptonshire v Somerset in 1979 CricketArchive 27 March 2011 Towards the end of the innings, Watts broke a bone in his right hand when catching a throw from the outfield, which prevented him from participating further in the match. The Northamptonshire reply was made more difficult when Garner trapped Wayne Larkins leg before wicket and induced Richard Williams to hit his own wicket during his opening bowling spell. Opening batsman Geoff Cook was then joined at the crease by Allan Lamb, and the pair fought back, adding 113 runs in 32 overs before Cook was run out by Roebuck. In his history of Somerset cricket, Roebuck describes this run out as vital, though he does not give himself credit, stating that "Geoff Cook ran himself out".Roebuck (1991), p. 357. Marks identified the point at which Lamb was stumped by Derek Taylor as the point at which "victory was almost assured." Jim Yardley and George Sharp added 20 and 22 runs respectively, but with their captain, Watts, unable to bat through injury, and Somerset's West Indian fast bowler Garner in good form, Northamptonshire were bowled out for 224. Garner added four more wickets to the two he had taken during his first spell, to finish with career-best figures of six wickets for 29 runs.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1522/1522.html Player Profile:Joel Garner CricketArchive 27 March 2011 Garner, Botham and Keith Jennings all bowled very economically, each restricting their opponents to less than 30 runs from their bowling. Somerset won the match by 45 runs, winning the Gillette Cup, the first trophy they had won during their 104-year history. Scorecard + Somerset County Cricket Club batting innings Batsman Method of dismissal Runs Balls Strike-rate Brian Rose * b Watts 41 83 49.40 Peter Denning c Sharp b Sarfraz Nawaz 19 21 90.48 Viv Richards b Griffiths 117 136 86.03 Peter Roebuck b Willey 14 52 26.92 Ian Botham b TM Lamb 27 17 158.82 Vic Marks b Griffiths 9 17 52.94 Graham Burgess c Sharp b Watts 1 4 25.00 Dennis Breakwell b TM Lamb 5 9 55.56 Joel Garner not out 24 26 92.31 Derek Taylor not out 1 1 100.00 Keith Jennings did not bat – – – Extras (5 byes, 3 leg-byes, 3 no-balls) 11 Totals (60 overs) 269/8 + Northamptonshire County Cricket Club bowling Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Economy Sarfraz Nawaz 12 3 51 1 4.25 Jim Griffiths 12 1 58 2 4.83 Jim Watts 12 2 34 2 2.83 Tim Lamb 12 0 70 2 5.83 Peter Willey 12 2 45 1 3.75 + Northamptonshire County Cricket Club batting innings Batsman Method of dismissal Runs Balls Strike-rate Geoff Cook run out 44 97 45.36 Wayne Larkins lbw Garner 0 5 0.00 Richard Williams hit wkt Garner 8 8 100.00 Allan Lamb st Taylor b Richards 78 127 61.42 Peter Willey c Taylor b Garner 5 15 33.33 Jim Yardley c Richards b Burgess 20 34 58.82 George Sharp b Garner 22 30 73.33 Sarfraz Nawaz not out 16 21 76.19 Tim Lamb b Garner 4 8 50.00 Jim Griffiths b Garner 0 2 0.00 Jim Watts * absent hurt – – – Extras (6 byes, 9 leg-byes, 7 no-balls, 5 wides) 27 Totals (56.3 overs) 224 + Somerset County Cricket Club bowling Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Economy Joel Garner 10.3 3 29 6 2.76 Ian Botham 10 3 27 0 2.70 Keith Jennings 12 1 29 0 2.42 Graham Burgess 9 1 37 1 4.11 Vic Marks 4 0 22 0 5.50 Viv Richards 9 0 44 1 4.89 Dennis Breakwell 2 0 9 0 4.50 Aftermath Somerset were awarded £5,500 for winning the competition, while Northamptonshire collected £2,500. The day after their success in the Gillette Cup Final, Somerset travelled to Nottingham, where they beat Nottinghamshire to clinch the 1979 John Player League.Marks (1984), pp70–71. The Somerset captain, Brian Rose was one of two Somerset players to be named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980, primarily for his captaincy of Somerset during the 1979 season.Norman Preston Norman Preston Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1980 117 1980 Queen Anne Press London 0-362-02002-7 77–80 Also one of the five players was Joel Garner, of whom Wisden said "His part in Somerset's double success during 1979 admits no arguments as to his potent and continuing ability to swing matches."Norman Preston Norman Preston Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1980 117 1980 Queen Anne Press London 0-362-02002-7 80–82 Northamptonshire were eliminated in the first round of the 1980 Gillette Cup,subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/40/40344.html Surrey v Northamptonshire in 1980 CricketArchive 16 April 2011 but won the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup, defeating Essex in the final.subscription https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/40/40428.html Essex v Northamptonshire: Benson and Hedges Cup 1980 (Final) CricketArchive 16 April 2011 References 30em Bibliography Sunshine, Sixes and Cider: The History of Somerset Cricket Foot David 1986 David & Charles Newton Abbot, Devon 0-7153-8890-8 Somerset County Cricket Scrapbook Marks Vic Vic Marks 1984 Souvenir Press Ltd London 0-285-62631-0 From Sammy to Jimmy: The Official History of Somerset County Cricket Club Roebuck Peter Peter Roebuck 1991 Partridge Press London 1-85225-085-2 Gillette Cup Final, 1979 Gillette Cup Final Gillette Cup Final Category:Friends Provident Trophy finals Category:Limited overs cricket matches