# 1979 ICC Trophy

The 1979 ICC Trophy was a limited overs cricket tournament held in England between 22 May and 21 June 1979. It was the inaugural ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 15 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and red balls. All matches were played in the Midlands.
The tournament served as the Cricket World Cup qualification process – the two finalists, Sri Lanka and Canada, qualified to take part in the 1979 World Cup. The World Cup began on 9 June, just three days after Sri Lanka and Canada qualified for it by winning their ICC Trophy semi-finals. The ICC Trophy final was held on 21 June at Worcestershire's ground at New Road, two days before the World Cup final. Sri Lanka won the first ICC Trophy defeating Canada by 60 runs in the final.
East Africa who played in the first World Cup did not qualify this time, which meant there would be no nation from the African region participating in the 1979 World Cup.

## Competition format

The 15 teams were divided into three groups of five. Each team played each other team in its group once in matches played between 22 May and 4 June, scoring four points for a win and two for a no-result (match started but not finished) or abandoned entirely without a ball being bowled. The three group winners and the team with the fourth-highest points total after the group stage went forward to the semi-finals, the top team playing the fourth-ranked side and the team with the second-highest number of points playing the third. Where teams finished with equal points totals, run rate was used to separate them.

## Group matches

Note: A number of matches used their allotted reserve day.

### Group A
#### Points table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Ab | NR | Pts | RR | Qualification |
| 1 | Bermuda | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2.591 | Advanced to Semi-finals as group winner |
| 2 | East Africa | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | −0.279 | |
| 3 | Papua New Guinea | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0.052 | |
| 4 | Singapore | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | −0.589 | |
| 5 | Argentina | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | −0.897 | |

#### Fixtures

* May 22, 1979 Scorecard
| Argentina 154/9 (60.0 overs) | v | Singapore 155/9 (59.2 overs) |
| Tony Ferguson 43 Lawrence Young Ken Sen 5/44 (12 overs) | | Goh Swee Heng 40 Alan Morris 4/25 (12 overs) |
* Singapore won by 1 wicket Pickwick Cricket Club Ground, Birmingham Umpires: PD Ogden (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* May 22–23, 1979 Scorecard
| Papua New Guinea 101/8 (40.2 overs) | v | East Africa |
| Api Leka 51 Ramesh Patel 3/27 (12 Overs) | | |
* No result Fordhouses Cricket Club Ground, Wolverhampton Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 24, 1979 Scorecard
| Argentina 147 (59.2 overs) | v | East Africa 148/5 (53.2 overs) |
| Tony Ferguson 44 Jaswinder Warah 3/13 (3.4 overs) | | Narendra Thakker 44 Peter Stocks 3/18 (12 overs) |
* East Africa won by 5 wickets Bulls Head Ground, Coventry Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* 24 May 1979 Scorecard
| Papua New Guinea 90 (38.5 overs) | v | Bermuda 92/3 (23.2 overs) |
| Charles Harrison 25 Clevie Wade 3/16 (3.5 Overs) | | Lionel Thomas 27 Api Leka 1/13 (3 Overs) |
* Bermuda won by 7 wickets War Memorial Athletic Ground, Amblecote, Stourbridge Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* May 29–30, 1979 Scorecard
| Argentina 86/4 (33.0 overs) | v | Papua New Guinea |
| Michael Ryan 30* K Alewa 1/8 (8 Overs) | | |
* No result Banbury Cricket Club Ground, Banbury Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 29–30, 1979 Scorecard
| Bermuda | v | Singapore |
* Match abandoned without a ball bowled Fordhouses Cricket Club Ground, Wolverhampton Umpires: unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 31 – June 1st, 1979 Scorecard
| Argentina 81 (54.4 overs) | v | Bermuda 85/1 (15.5 overs) |
| Malcolm Gibson 18 Clarence Parfitt 3/16 (12 Overs) | | Winston Reid 43* Douglas Annand 1/35 (7 Overs) |
* Bermuda won by 9 wickets Haden Hill Park, Old Hill Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 31st, 1979 Scorecard
| Singapore 131/9 (60.0 overs) | v | East Africa 132/5 (52.2 overs) |
| RCK da Silva 33 Charanjive Sharma 3/11 (6 Overs) | | Jawahir Shah 38 RCK da Silva 1/12 (6 Overs) |
* East Africa won by 5 wickets London Road, Shrewsbury Umpires: MV Panting (ENG) & WH Miles (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| East Africa 94/9 (60.0 overs) | v | Bermuda 100/1 (29.0 overs) |
| Jawahir Shah 15 Winston Trott 3/8 (12 Overs) | | Winston Reid (Bermudian cricketer) 59* Hitesh Mehta 1/20 (10 Overs) |
* Bermuda won by 9 wickets Bournville Cricket Ground, Bournville Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| Papua New Guinea 174 (55.1 overs) | v | Singapore 87 (54.3 overs) |
| Api Leka 48 Lawrence Young Ken Sen 4/30 (9.1 Overs) | | Rex Martens 26 K Alewa 3/13 (12 Overs) |
* Papua New Guinea won by 87 runs West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club Ground, West Bromwich Umpires: unknown
* Toss unknown

### Group B
#### Points Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Ab | NR | Pts | RR | Qualification |
| 1 | Denmark | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0.759 | Advanced to Semi-finals as group winner |
| 2 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.429 | Advanced to Semi-finals 4th team because of highest points |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.031 | |
| 4 | Fiji | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −0.816 | |
| 5 | Malaysia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −0.941 | |

#### Fixtures

* May 22–23, 1979 Scorecard
| Canada 185 (59.3 overs) | v | Malaysia 141 (52.3 overs) |
| Cecil Marshall 77 Rasiah Ratnalingham 3/18 (12 Overs) | | Mahinder Singh 35* John Vaughan 4/33 (12 Overs) |
* Canada won by 44 runs Warwick Cricket Club, Warwick Umpires: Unknown
* Toss Unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 22, 1979 Scorecard
| Fiji 89 (33.5 overs) | v | Denmark 93/2 (35.1 overs) |
| Roderick Jepsen 14 Ole Mortensen 4/14 (12 Overs) | | Henrik Mortensen 52* P Dakai 2/18 (10 Overs) |
* Denmark won by 8 wickets Orleton Park, Wellington Umpires: Unknown
* Toss Unknown
* May 24, 1979 Scorecard
| Bangladesh 103 (43.0 overs) | v | Fiji 81 (35.2 overs) |
| Omar Khaled 28 Metusela Isimeli 3/14 (9 Overs) | | Jaswant Singh 12 Ashraful Haq 7/23 (9.1 Overs) |
* Bangladesh won by 22 runs Water Orton Cricket Club Ground, Water Orton Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* Ashraful Haque became the first bowler to get 7 wickets in a single match in any ICC Trophy.
* May 24, 1979 Scorecard
| Malaysia 150 (60.0 overs) | v | Denmark 151/3 (40.0 overs) |
| Chan Yow Choy 28 Carsten Morild 3/32 (12 Overs) | | Carsten Morild 66* Bhupinder Singh Gill 2/27 (8 Overs) |
* Denmark won by 7 wickets Chester Road North Ground, Kidderminster Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* May 29, 1979 Scorecard
| Canada 190/9 (60.0 overs) | v | Bangladesh 141 (50.3 overs) |
| Franklyn Dennis 61 Jahangir Shah 4/17 (12 Overs) | | Raqibul Hasan 34 John Vaughan 3/28 (12 Overs) |
* Canada won by 49 runs Lichfield Cricket Club Ground, Lichfield Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* May 29–30, 1979 Scorecard
| Fiji | v | Malaysia |
* Match abandoned without a ball bowled Kenilworth Wardens Cricket Club, Kenilworth Umpires: Unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 31 – June 1, 1979 Scorecard
| Malaysia 114 (45.5 overs) | v | Bangladesh 115/3 (41.2 overs) |
| P Banerji Nair 34 Daulat Zaman 4/23 (9 Overs) | | Jahangir Shah 39* S Marimuthu 1/15 (10 Overs) |
* Bangladesh won by 7 wickets Gorway Ground, Walsall Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 31 – June 1, 1979 Scorecard
| Denmark 118 (57.0 overs) | v | Canada 72 (32.4 overs) |
| Henrik Mortensen 36 Martin Stead 4/16 (9 Overs) | | John Vaughan 16 Carsten Morild 4/16 (12 Overs) |
* Denmark won by 46 runs Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club Ground, Knowle Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| Denmark 165/8 (60.0 overs) | v | Bangladesh 155 (58.5 overs) |
| Keld Kristensen 74 Daulat Zaman 2/42 (12 Overs) | | Ashraful Haq 31 Torben Nielsen 3/16 (12 Overs) |
* Denmark won by 10 runs Kings Heath Cricket Club Ground, Kings Heath Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| Canada 209/6 (60.0 overs) | v | Fiji 153 (53.5 overs) |
| John Vaughan 68* Frederick Valentine 2/34 (12 Overs) | | CAC Browne 34 Jitendra Patel 3/22 (12 Overs) |
* Canada won by 56 runs Solihull Cricket Club Ground, Solihull Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown

### Group C
#### Points table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Ab | NR | Pts | RR | Qualification |
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1.028 | Advanced to Semi-finals as group winner |
| 2 | Wales | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0.653 | |
| 3 | United States | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | −0.042 | |
| 4 | Netherlands | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.119 | |
| 5 | Israel | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.219 | |

#### Fixtures

* May 22, 1979 Scorecard
| United States 126 (49.1 overs) | v | Israel 85 (46.0 overs) |
| Neil Lashkari 44 Reuben Reuben 4/37 (11.1 Overs) | | Barry Kanpol 24* Stephen Jones 3/16 (12 Overs) |
* United States won by 41 runs Blossomfield Cricket Club, Blossomfield Umpires: AJ Inman (Eng), L. Burton (Eng)
* Toss unknown
* 22–23 May 1979 Scorecard
| Wales 170/7 (60.0 overs) | v | Netherlands 59/2 (30.0 overs) |
| Jeffris Hopkins 71 Peter van Wel 2/11 (9 Overs) | | Chris van Schouwenburg Nigel Owen 2/20 (12 Overs) |
* Wales won by 26 runs (revised target) Enville Umpires: DB Jones (ENG) & DA Duckers (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 24, 1979 Scorecard
| Israel 105 (51.5 overs) | v | Netherlands 107/2 (32.1 overs) |
| David Moss 39 Rob van Weelde 3/12 (8 Overs) | | A Bakker 60* Barry Kanpol 2/14 (8 Overs) |
* Netherlands won by 8 wickets Banbury XX Cricket Club, Banbury Umpires: K Turner (ENG) & GA Brown (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* May 24, 1979 Scorecard
| United States 168 (56.3 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 170/4 (40.0 overs) |
| Wayne Stuger 48 Sridharan Jeganathan 2/30 (12 overs) | | Roy Dias 76 WG Bovell 2/30 (6 over) |
* Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets Saints Ground, Northampton Umpires: PG Berry (ENG) & PG Bell (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* May 29–30, 1979 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka | v | Wales |
* Match abandoned without a ball bowled Leicester Road, Hinckley Umpires: Unknown
* Reserve day used
* May 29–30, 1979 Scorecard
| Netherlands | v | United States |
* Match abandoned without a ball bowled Leamington Cricket Club Ground, Leamington Spa Umpires: Unknown
* June 1, 1979 Scorecard
| Wales 234/5 (60.0 overs) | v | Israel 143/9 (60.0 overs) |
| Jeffris Hopkins 92 Nissam Reube 2/38 (12 overs) | | Jerrold Kessel 32 Alan Geoghegan 3/23 (12 overs) |
* Wales won by 91 runs Astwood Bank Cricket Club Ground, Redditch Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* June 1st, 1979 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 212/8 (60.0 overs) | v | Netherlands 167/8 (60.0 overs) |
| Duleep Mendis 51 Rob van Weelde 3/22 (12 overs) | | A Bakker 74 Bandula Warnapura 2/21 (12 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 45 runs Scorers, Shirley Umpires: BJ Turner (ENG) & TJ Cox (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* Reserve day used
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| United States 190 (54.3 overs) | v | Wales 182 (58.5 overs) |
| Anil Lashkari 73 Stuart Carey 3/18 (8 overs) | | Geoff Ellis Kamaran Rasheed 5/17 (8 overs) |
* United States won by 8 runs Olton and West Warwickshire Cricket Club, Solihull Umpires: S Grainger (ENG) & WP Judd (ENG)
* Toss unknown
* June 4, 1979 Scorecard
| Israel | v | Sri Lanka |
* Israel won by a walkover Kenilworth Cricket Club Ground, Warwick Road Umpires: N/A
* Sri Lanka refused on political grounds to play against Israel

## Knockout Stage
### Semi-finals

* June 6, 1979 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 318/8 (60 overs) | v | Denmark 110 (42.5 over) |
| Roy Dias 88 Henrik Mortensen 2/54 (12 Overs) | | Keld Kristensen 34 Sudath Pasqual 3/7 (6.5 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 208 runs Allied Breweries Ground, Burton-on-Trent Umpires: Unknown
* Toss unknown
* June 6, 1979 Scorecard
| Bermuda 181 (58.1 overs) | v | Canada 186/6 (57.5 overs) |
| John Tucker 49 Cornelius Henry 2/17 (5.1 Overs) | | Bryan Mauricette 72 Winston Trott 2/14 (12 overs) |
* Canada won by 4 wickets Mitchells and Butlers' Ground, Birmingham Umpires: PG Berry (ENG) & GA Wenman (ENG)
* Toss unknown

### Final

* June 21, 1979 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 324/8 (60 overs) | v | Canada 264/5 (60 overs) |
| Duleep Mendis 66 Glenroy Sealy 2/49 (12 Overs) | | John Vaughan 80* Somachandra de Silva 1/42 (12 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 60 runs New Road, Worcester Umpires: Sam Hale (ENG) & FJ Law (ENG)
* Toss unknown

## Statistics
### Most runs

The top five run scorers (total runs) are included in this table.
| Player | Team | Runs | Inns | Avg | Highest | 100s | 50s |
| Duleep Mendis | Sri Lanka | 221 | 4 | 55.25 | 68 | 0 | 3 |
| Roy Dias | Sri Lanka | 214 | 4 | 71.33 | 88 | 0 | 2 |
| John Vaughan | Canada | 211 | 6 | 70.33 | 80* | 0 | 2 |
| Henrik Mortensen | Denmark | 196 | 5 | 98.00 | 55* | 0 | 2 |
| Franklyn Dennis | Canada | 172 | 6 | 28.66 | 61 | 0 | 1 |
Source: CricketArchive

### Most wickets

The top five wicket takers are listed in this table, listed by wickets taken and then by bowling average.
| Player | Team | Overs | Wkts | Ave | SR | Econ | Best |
| John Vaughan | Canada | 67.5 | 14 | 16.21 | 29.07 | 3.34 | 4/33 |
| Winston Trott | Bermuda | 47.0 | 10 | 8.00 | 28.20 | 1.70 | 3/8 |
| Lawrence Young Ken Sen | Singapore | 31.1 | 10 | 10.10 | 18.70 | 3.24 | 5/44 |
| Ashraful Haque | Bangladesh | 36.2 | 10 | 10.70 | 21.80 | 2.94 | 7/23 |
| Ole Mortensen | Denmark | 56.4 | 10 | 12.90 | 34.00 | 2.27 | 4/15 |
Source: CricketArchive