The 1979 John Player League was the eleventh competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the first time by Somerset County Cricket Club.
| Administrator(s) | Test and County Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Limited overs cricket(40 overs per innings) |
| Tournament format(s) | League |
| Champions | Somerset (1st title) |
| Participants | 17 |
| Matches | 136 |
| Most runs | 668 Younis Ahmed (Worcestershire) |
| Most wickets | 24 Derek Underwood (Kent)/John Lever (Essex)/Brian Brain (Gloucs) |
Standings
| Team | Pld | W | T | L | N/R | A | Pts | R/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset (C) | 16 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 4.257 |
| Kent | 16 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 4.185 |
| Worcestershire | 16 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 5.032 |
| Middlesex | 16 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 4.385 |
| Yorkshire | 16 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 40 | 4.322 |
| Essex | 16 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 4.277 |
| Leicestershire | 16 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 36 | 4.361 |
| Gloucestershire | 16 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 4.414 |
| Nottinghamshire | 16 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 4.376 |
| Hampshire | 16 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 4.368 |
| Lancashire | 16 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 4.154 |
| Glamorgan | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4.108 |
| Northamptonshire | 16 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 4.170 |
| Surrey | 16 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 4.255 |
| Sussex | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4.220 |
| Derbyshire | 16 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 4.065 |
| Warwickshire | 16 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4.694 |
| Team marked (C) finished as champions. Source: CricketArchive[1] | ||||||||