# 1978–79 Gillette Cup (Australia)

The 1978–79 Gillette Cup was the tenth season of official List A domestic cricket in Australia. Six teams representing six states in Australia took part in the competition. The competition began on 28 October 1978 when Queensland took on South Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane.
The 1978–79 Cup Final was played on 14 January 1979 at the TCA Ground in Hobart between Western Australia and Tasmania, who had been the finalists in the previous season as well. In a reversal of the previous season's result, Tasmania caused a major upset to win their first-ever domestic title by beating Western Australia by 47 runs.

## Teams

| Club | Home Ground | Captain |
| New South Wales | Sydney Cricket Ground | Andrew Hilditch |
| Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground | John MacLean |
| South Australia | Adelaide Oval | Bob Blewett |
| Tasmania | TCA Ground | Jack Simmons |
| Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | Graham Yallop |
| Western Australia | WACA Ground | John Inverarity |

## Format

The 1978–79 Gillette Cup was not played in the round-robin format that would become popular in later seasons. Instead, the two finalists from the previous season, Western Australia (winners) and Tasmania (runners-up) progressed automatically to the semi-finals, whilst the four remaining states were randomly allocated an opponent in a knockout match.
| First Round | First Round | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 28 October – Brisbane | 28 October – Brisbane | | |
| South Australia | 101allout | | |
| South Australia | 101allout | 10 December – Brisbane | 10 December – Brisbane | |
| Queensland | 2/105 | 10 December – Brisbane | 10 December – Brisbane |
| Queensland | 2/105 | Queensland | 6/232 |
| | | Tasmania | 9/236 |
| Tasmania | | Tasmania | 9/236 |
| Tasmania | | | | 14 January – Hobart | 14 January – Hobart |
| BYE | | | | 14 January – Hobart | 14 January – Hobart |
| BYE | | | | Tasmania | 6/180 |
| 29 October – Sydney | 29 October – Sydney | | | | Tasmania | 6/180 |
| 29 October – Sydney | 29 October – Sydney | | | Western Australia | 133allout |
| New South Wales | 6/156 | | | Western Australia | 133allout |
| New South Wales | 6/156 | 23 December – Perth | 23 December – Perth | | |
| Victoria | 5/157 | 23 December – Perth | 23 December – Perth | | |
| Victoria | 5/157 | Western Australia | 6/215 | | |
| | | Victoria | 7/214 |
| Western Australia | | Victoria | 7/214 |
| BYE | | | |

## Fixtures
### Knock-out round

* 28 October
| South Australia 101 all out (36.4 overs) | v | Queensland 2/105 (32.2 overs) |
| Barry Causby 34 (45) Peter Sleep 25 (52) Jeff Thomson 6/18 (10 overs) | | Maxwell Walters 57* (121) Graham Winter 1/10 (3 overs) |
* Queensland won by 8 wickets Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane (2,065) Umpires: JM Boyle and CE Harvey Player of the match: Jeff Thomson
* 29 October
| New South Wales 6/156 (40 overs) | v | Victoria 5/157 (39 overs) |
| David Johnston 48 (76) Mark Clews 29 (47) Paul Hibbert 1/14 (3 overs) | | Graham Yallop 45 (65) Trevor Laughlin 29 (28) David Hourn 3/31 (8 overs) |
* Victoria won by 5 wickets Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: TF Brooks and RG Harris Player of the match: Graham Yallop
* 40 overs per side due to late start.

### Semi-finals

* 10 December
| Queensland 6/232 (50 overs) | v | Tasmania 9/236 (49.5 overs) |
| David Ogilvie 82 (85) John Buchanan 64 (123) Garry Cowmeadow 2/37 (10 overs) | | Gary Goodman 100 (145) John Hampshire 63 (82) Leonard Balcam 5/49 (9 overs) |
* Tasmania won by 1 wicket Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane (1,586) Umpires: JM Boyle and TH Warwick Player of the match: Gary Goodman
* 23 December
| Western Australia 6/215 (50 overs) | v | Victoria 7/214 (50 overs) |
| Kim Hughes 69 Craig Serjeant 49 Alan Hurst 5/36 (10 overs) | | Jeff Moss 76 Graham Yallop 59 Graeme Porter 2/37 (10 overs) |
* Western Australia won by 1 run WACA Ground, Perth (4,372) Umpires: PJ McConnell and DG Weser Player of the match: Alan Hurst

### Final

* 14 January
| Tasmania 6/180 (50 overs) | v | Western Australia 133 all out (30.1 overs) |
| Jack Simmons 55 (83) Trevor Docking 46 (65) Graeme Porter 2/29 (10 overs) | | Craig Serjeant 47 (78) Jack Simmons 4/17 (10 overs) Anthony Benneworth 3/14 (8.2 overs) |
* Tasmania won by 47 runs TCA Ground, Hobart (10,822) Umpires: K Connor and J Stevens Player of the match: Jack Simmons

## Statistics
### Highest Team Totals

| Team | Total | Opponent | Ground |
| Tasmania | 9/236 | Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground |
| Queensland | 6/232 | Tasmania | Brisbane Cricket Ground |
| Western Australia | 6/215 | Victoria | WACA Ground |
| Victoria | 7/214 | Western Australia | WACA Ground |
| South Australia | 101 all out | Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground |

### Most Runs

| Player | Runs | Inns | Avg | 100s | 50s |
| Gary Goodman (Tasmania) | 130 | 2 | 65.00 | 1 | 0 |
| Graham Yallop (Victoria) | 104 | 2 | 52.00 | 0 | 1 |
| David Ogilvie (Queensland) | 97 | 2 | 48.50 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Serjeant (Western Australia) | 96 | 2 | 48.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Moss (Victoria) | 95 | 2 | 95.00 | – | 1 |

### Highest Scores

| Player | Score | Balls | Opponent | Ground | 4s | 6s |
| Gary Goodman (Tasmania) | 100 | 145 | Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground | 11 | 0 |
| David Ogilvie (Queensland) | 82 | 85 | Tasmania | Brisbane Cricket Ground | 14 | 0 |
| Jeff Moss (Victoria) | 76 | | Western Australia | WACA Ground | 7 | 0 |
| Kim Hughes (Western Australia) | 69 | 129 | Victoria | WACA Ground | 3 | 1 |
| John Buchanan (Queensland) | 64 | 123 | Tasmania | Brisbane Cricket Ground | 5 | 0 |