Derek Randall really was an amazing fielder. Great instincts and agilty. It was foolish in the extreme to chance a run to him. He arguably won this game for England with the run outs he executed in this game.
The NZ bowler Gary Troup was always known in my home as 'Gory Trup'. He was on the NZ tour of the UK in '78 and when I got his autograph during a match NZ played against Kent at Canterbury, not having a clue who he was, Gory Trup is what his signature looked like !
It was definitely a weird World cup for England! 5 games, only once passing 200 (this game), Boycott was a better bowler (Average 18!!) than a batsman (average 23!). Brearley posted 2 scores of over 50 (and a 44 against Australia) plus 2 o's. Gooch was the best England batsman in the competition yet never opened and Botham had a very quiet World cup by his own high standards yet still reached the World cup final.
How many would the current England one day side make off 60 overs? 500, 550, 600? Roy, Bairstow, Root and Morgan would all have time to make hundreds and then Buttler and Stokes could give it a biff at the end.
Randall had a pretty awful world cup up until this point and so ended up batting at 7. But his 42* proved vital in a close game. As always his fielding was immense.
Certainly a different game these days. 61-2 after 27 overs just wouldn't be acceptable as a scoring rate. Plus I don't think the likes of Boycott and Brearley would be considered for a one day match!
In those days the first 40 overs of a 1 day game would be like watching Test match cricket. Only really in the last 20 overs would you see the scoring rate rise rapidly. You have to remember in those days there was no powerplay, no 30 yard fielding circle (actually no fielding restrictions at all), wides were the same as test match cricket, there was no 'free hit' rule for no balls, and certainly no fancy shots such as scoops, ramps (reverse sweeps were a very new invention back in 1979 too with the shot, up to that point, only being used in Sunday league games). I've often wondered about holding a ODI with 1970's rules and see just how much scores would come down!!
Which week was that? Maybe, but Turner was one of the best NZ batsmen ever, and with Coney, Wright, Edgar and Howarth... actually this was quite a strong lineup. They tended to play across the line a bit in this game though, and possibly nerves also, didn't help.