Another SA heartbreak
South Africa and Australia faced off in the 1999 World Cup semifinal at Edgbaston on June 17 for what, according to many, was the best one-day match of all time. It was a match coloured by what had gone before and one that was full of drama.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl on a pitch expected to provide assistance to their arsenal of quicks. Shaun Pollock got rid of in-form Mark Waugh off the fifth ball of the match, after which Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting played steady cricket to put on 51 for the second wicket. Then Ponting, Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann departed within fourteen runs of each other. From 68 for four, captain Steve Waugh Michael Bevan put on 90, before Steve Waugh became Pollock’s second victim, caught behind by Mark Boucher.
Tom Moody was out to the second ball he faced, and then Bevan, with the help of Shane Warne put on a run-a-ball 49. Warne’s dismissal at 207 precipitated another collapse, with Bevan being Pollock’s fifth victim for a valuable 65, ending the innings at 213.
The game was South Africa’s to win, but Australia’s penchant for a fight and their strong bowling meant the game was far from over. The result was a riveting three hours of fluctuating fortunes and the highest standard of play, especially from Shane Warne. The South Africans got off to a fantastic start, with Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs putting on 48 runs for the first wicket in twelve overs. Then Warne struck, removing both openers in successive overs. Skipper Hansie Cronje followed a run later, caught by Mark Waugh at first slip off the spin legend, and Daryll Cullinan was soon run out by Bevan to leave the South Africans teetering at 61 for four. The stately Kallis and the busy Jonty Rhodes then built an 84 run partnership for the fifth wicket. At 145, Reiffel dismissed Rhodes for 43, with South Africa needing 69 off 57. Kallis was out thirty runs later, caught by Steve Waugh at cover for 53 to give Warne his fourth.
Lusty hits from Pollock and Man-of-the-Tournament Klusener brought the target down to nine off the last over with Klusener facing and last man Donald at the non-striker’s end.
Klusener smashed the first two balls from Damien Fleming for boundaries through the off side. The match was tied with four balls to go. Steve Waugh pulled in all eleven fielders inside the circle to stop the fatal single. The third ball was a full-pitched one that Klusener drilled to mid-on. No run. He fired the next ball towards Mark Waugh at mid-off and set off for a nonexistent run. Donald stayed put, dropped his bat and only started running after Klusener was more than halfway down the pitch. Waugh flicked the ball to Fleming, who rolled it down the wicket to Gilchrist, and the match ended in a tie. Australia went through because of their victory against their photo-finish opponents in their Super Six encounter, to leave South Africa with another Cup heartbreak.
