by Brett Lee
Shane Warne is about to be let loose on a seven-day-old wicket. Will he be the difference? Or will the accuracy of Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming and Paul Reiffel do the job for the Aussies?
Time will tell.
The first 12 overs go smoothly for South Africa. The pitch offers nothing for the Aussie ‘quicks’ and the South African openers are looking comfortable. Gibbs and Kirsten score freely and race the score along to 48. They are not far from taking their side to a quarter of the required total—and, importantly, South Africa have 10 wickets in hand.
Enter Shane Warne. It is the 13th over of the game. His second ball is tossed up, and pitches outside off-stump. Gibbs pushes at it, probably not expecting too much spin. But spin there is. The ball bites back viciously and clips the off-stump.
This delivery, apart from securing a wicket, will almost certainly have sent a few shivers through the South African dressing room. Five runs are added, then Warne is back for his second over. This time he doesn’t need a warm-up ball. On his first delivery, again tossed up but this time outside off-stump, Gary Kirsten launches into a big sweep. But the spinning ball finds the edge of his bat and rebounds onto his stumps.
In the space of five balls, Shane Warne has dismissed both openers, and South Africa have stumbled to 2 for 53. Another two balls later it is 3 for 53, with the South African captain, Hansie Cronje, trudging back to the pavilion, caught by Mark Waugh for a duck.
Three wickets have been taken and only five runs added. South Africa need cool heads at the wicket. But Jonty Rhodes and Daryll Cullinan have everyone on edge with their hair-raising running between wickets. No less than three times the Aussies have the chance to run out one of the batsmen. But their throws are off-target.
Shane Warne continues to bowl well and is really troubling Cullinan. Rhodes then attempts another cheeky single—a push straight to Michael Bevan at mid-off. Jonty makes his ground, but he hasn’t calculated on Michael Bevan choosing to ping the ball to the batter’s end. This time it is a direct hit and Cullinan is run out.
It is 4 for 61 and the Aussies are on top. But now comes South Africa’s best partnership of the match. The same partnership for Australia added 90 runs. Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes do almost as well, putting on 84 runs as well as taking the South Africans into the last 10 overs of the game.
But they are still struggling to score quickly. It is going to be a tense finish. South Africa still have six wickets in hand as the 41st over begins.
South Africa have moved to 4 for 144. The game is evenly poised. The South Africans have some big hitters to come, but first, the Rhodes/Kallis partnership needs to be broken. And at last it is, when Michael Bevan takes a catch at deep mid-wicket from a Jonty Rhodes sweep.
Shaun Pollock comes in and knocks up some quick runs. Shane Warne’s final over is dramatic. Pollock skies the first ball out to deep mid-off, but Paul Reiffel misjudges the catch. Then Pollock belts Warne for a six and a four. The fourth ball yields a single, and on Warne’s fifth delivery, Kallis pushes a catch to captain Steve Waugh.
In the next over, South Africa lose their seventh wicket with the score on 183 when Pollock plays over a yorker from Damien Fleming, losing his middle stump.
South Africa, still 31 runs away from victory, will be confident while Lance Klusener is at the wicket.
The final overs are likely to be dramatic…
The pressure is building with every ball. In the 49th over (the second last) Glenn McGrath bowls Boucher with his second ball. But Klusener is hitting cleanly, maybe too cleanly. An easy single off McGrath’s fourth delivery becomes an attempted two. But McGrath cleverly pads Reiffel’s strong throw onto the stumps—7 for 196 has become 9 for 198. A single off the last ball means that Klusener has the strike for the last over. Damien Fleming is the bowler.
South Africa need nine runs to win.
Klusener smashes the first ball through the covers for a four.
Five balls left, five runs to win.
Another yorker-length ball, angled in at the batsman, is again clubbed by Klusener—an amazing shot—out through mid-off, for another four.
Four balls left, one run to win. The scores are tied. Steve Waugh brings the fielders in. Fleming changes his angle and comes in over the wicket. Again Lance Klusener belts the ball, but this time it goes straight to a fielder.
At the bowler’s end, Allan Donald has backed up a long way. Darren Lehmann picks up the ball and hurls it at the stumps. It misses. Had he hit, the video suggests that Donald would have been run out.
Three balls left, one run to win.
Another whack from Klusener, this time to mid-off. He charges down the wicket for a single. Donald has his back turned, watching the ball. The fielder throws the ball to Fleming at the bowler’s end; Fleming then underarms it quickly but safely down to the keeper. By now Allan Donald has set off. But not soon enough. Adam Gilchrist takes off the bails and Donald is run out.
An amazing game finishes in a tie. Australia goes on to the final only because it has defeated South Africa in an earlier stage of the tournament.
In the final, Australia defeats Pakistan comfortably.
1999 World Cup Scorecard
World Cup Semi-final
17 June 1999, Edgbaston, England Toss: South
Africa • Decision: Send Australia into bat • Result: Tie
1999 Australia v Pakistan Scorecard
Australia v Pakistan Test Match
18–22 November 1999, Hobart, Australia
Toss: Australia • Decision: Pakistan to bat • Result: Australia won by 4 wickets
Rahul’s Interviews
Part of Rahul’s interview with Dean Jones:
RP: Hello, Dean.
DJ: Hello, how are you?
RP: Good thanks. What was it like out there during your 210?
DJ: Well, it was pretty tough, actually. What made it so hard was the high humidity and the fact that I just couldn’t keep any fluid in.
RP: Is it true that you wanted to go off before you were out?
DJ: Oh, yes, I was pretty sick during the afternoon. I had got to about 170 and I said to AB [Allan Border] that I’d had enough. He said, ‘Righto, we’ll get a Queenslander out here. Someone tough who can stand up to it.’
RP: What happened after you were out?
DJ: I don’t remember much. I remember being put into a bath filled with iced water and ice. Do you know what? It felt lukewarm! Everything was fine until I decided to get out. My body cramped up completely. Everywhere. I just collapsed in a heap. That’s when they decided I needed a visit to the hospital.
RP: Did you get to the hospital?
DJ: Eventually. I’m told it was a pretty hairy ride. We were flying all over the place. The physio with me had to hold me down to stop me from cramping with all the shaking and swerving the ambulance was doing.
RP: What happened when you got to the hospital?
DJ: Well, I’m told that I was taken to casualty. There was a man there who was needing some attention, but when the doctors and other staff realised that a Test cricketer had just arrived, they all left him lying on his bed and raced over to me.
Part of Rahul’s interview with Ray Bright:
RP: Ray, some people say you were the hero of the last hour. What happened?
RB: No, there were plenty of heroes out there. I was actually off the field. I was very dehydrated and struggling to stay on my feet.
RP: But you came back onto the field?
RB: Yes. Allan Border, our captain, wanted me to bowl.
RP: What happened?
RB: Well, it was very tense. Lots of shouting and frustration. I managed to get a couple of wickets quickly and that sort of changed the balance of things. India were in a winning position. I think they needed 20-odd runs off the last five overs with four wickets in hand.
RP: And the last over?
RB: The last over. It probably took about 10 minutes. Greg Matthews bowled it. They needed four runs to win. We need
ed one wicket. Ravi Shastri was batting really well. He was facing. He blocked the first ball and then hit the next for two. He hit the third ball for a single. The scores were tied. The next ball was blocked, but the fifth ball was a wicket!
RP: What was the reaction?
RB: Well, we were jubilant. We were running around very excitedly. Some of us actually thought we’d won. And I suppose, given what the situation was half an hour before, we sort of had.
1986 India v Australia Scorecard
India v Australia Test Match
18–22 September 1986, Madras, India
Toss: Australia • Decision: Australia to bat • Result: Tie
1985 Australia v New Zealand Scorecard
Australia v New Zealand Test Match
8–12 November 1985, Brisbane, Australia
Toss: New Zealand • Decision: Australia to bat • Result: New Zealand won by an innings and 41 runs
1960 Australia v West Indies Scorecard
Australia v West Indies Test Match
9–14 December 1960, Brisbane, Australia
Toss: West Indies • Decision: West Indies to bat • Result: a tie
1930 England v Australia Scorecard
England v Australia Test Match
11–15 July 1930, Headingley, Leeds, England
Toss: Australia • Decision: Australia to bat • Result: Match drawn
Under-13 Southwestern Division
COMPETITION RULES AND DRAW
There will be six teams competing for the Under-13 Cricket Cup this year.
Competition Rules
Points
Five points shall be awarded to the winning team.
A batting point shall be awarded for every 30 runs scored.
A bowling point shall be awarded for every two wickets taken.
One-day games
The side batting second shall face the same number of overs as the side bowling first manages to bowl in 90 minutes.
Batters shall retire on making 30 runs.
Retired batters may return to the crease only if all other batters have been dismissed.
Any bowler cannot bowl more than four overs.
Two-day games
The side batting second shall face the same number of overs as the side bowling first manages to bowl in three and a half hours.
Batters shall retire on making 40 runs.
Retired batters may return to the crease only if all other batters have been dismissed.
Any bowler cannot bowl more than eight overs.
Finals
After the five round robin games have been played the following finals will be scheduled.
Semi-finals (venue—home grounds of first-named teams)
Game A Team 1 v Team 4
Game B Team 2 v Team 3
Grand final (venue—highest placed winner from semi-finals)
Winner of Game A v Winner of Game B
In the grand final there is no limit to the number of overs a bowler may bowl nor to the number of runs a batter may score. If the game is not completed, the team with the higher first innings score will be declared the winner. In the event of a draw, the team placed higher in the division will win the championship.
Draw
SCORES AND LADDERS
Points
Win 5 points
30 runs 1 point
2 wickets 1 point
ROUND 1
TCC 4/135 defeated St Mary’s 5/112
Riverwall 7/164 defeated Motherwell State 107
The Scorpions 5/186 defeated Benchley Park 35 and 68
ROUND 2
Riverwall 8/271 defeated St Mary’s 160
Motherwell State 8/214 defeated Benchley Park 6/204
The Scorpions 7/283 defeated TCC 147
ROUND 3
The Scorpions 9/175 defeated Riverwall 9/174
St Mary’s 8/142 defeated Motherwell State 131
Benchley Park 109 defeated TCC 9/96
ROUND 4
Riverwall 6/191 defeated Benchley Park 170
The Scorpions 5/213 defeated St Mary’s 7/106
Motherwell State 4/161 defeated TCC 118
ROUND 5
The Scorpions 5/282 defeated Motherwell State 9/123
Riverwall 9/256 defeated TCC 172
Benchley Park 5/198 defeated St Mary’s 86
THE FINALS SERIES—SEMI-FINALS
Riverwall v Benchley Park
Riverwall’s home ground
Toss: Riverwall • Decision: Riverwall to bat • Result: Riverwall won by 68 runs
The Scorpions v Motherwell State
The Scorpions 5/161 defeated Motherwell State 53 and 92
THE FINAL SERIES—GRAND FINAL
The Scorpions v Riverwall
The Scorpions’ home ground
Toss: The Scorpions • Decision: Riverwall to bat • Riverwall win the
Under-13 Southwestern Division by 1 run
RIVERWALL SCORES AND STATISTICS
BATTING SCORES
BATTING AVERAGES
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION UNDER-13
Like Jim Oldfield, Rodney Thwaites is a cricket historian. He has been the chief scorer and statistician for the Under-13 Southwestern Cricket Competition since it began 34 years ago. He has spent many hours going through old notes, scorecards, match reports and statistics to present a selection of his favourite match highlights.
Saturday 9 February 1980 TCC v George St
John Simpson (TCC) struck a six with such force that it cracked a windscreen. The driver of the vehicle next door jokingly decided to sit on the bonnet of her car to protect her windscreen. Three overs later John repeated the shot, though a few metres to the left. With a cry of alarm, the lady managed to throw a hand up to protect herself and her windscreen from being smashed. (Oddly enough, it turned out that the two were John’s parents, who had arrived in separate cars!)
Sunday 24 February 1980 George St v St Patrick’s Saints
Lenny Harrow, bowling for George St, accidentally caught his bowling hand in his trouser pocket as he was bowling the second ball of the game. The ball dropped out of his hand and rolled halfway down the pitch. The batter left his crease and took a huge swing at the ball, missing it completely and falling over in the process. Quick-thinking Lenny kicked the ball onto the batter’s stumps before he could regain his crease and the batter was given out (run out) for zero.
Saturday 13 February 1982 St Patrick’s Saints v St John’s
Cal Whitten (St Patrick’s Saints) was so annoyed with himself for getting out in the first over of the day that he managed to convince Timmy Spencer (the team’s number 11 batter) that he should replace him. He strode out to the wicket wearing a large jumper and helmet to help with the disguise. While Timmy hid in a nearby toilet block, Cal (batting left-handed) managed to hit two fours before suspicion was aroused, given that Timmy’s previous highest score in five games was one.
Timmy was discovered and given a bat, though he didn’t score any runs. St John’s was awarded the game, and Cal didn’t play again for St Patrick’s Saints.
Saturday 27 February 1982 George St v Riverwall
George St could only field nine players on this hot day and Riverwall generously allowed Tommy Barnett to play for them in this one-day fixture. The move backfired spectacularly. Not only did Tommy score 23 crucial runs for George St, but he took the final two catches of the Riverwall innings to help ‘his’ team to a two-run victory. In tears after the game, Tommy was heard to remark, ‘I just couldn’t help it. It’s harder to drop a catch on purpose in a game of cricket. It didn’t matter who I was playing for. There was a catch to be taken and I took it.’ Both clubs were full of praise for Tommy. George St offered to declare the game a draw, but Riverwall refused. The story made the newspapers and Tommy received many letters of admiration, including one from the Prime Minister.
Saturday 5 February 1983 TCC v Riverwall
Jeremy Pasco (TCC) hit a magpie with a full-blooded hook
shot. The ball still went for four. His father took the injured bird to the vet and the family later adopted the magpie and looked after it. It was named Hook, on account of the shot Jeremy played and the new shape one of its legs had taken.
Saturday 19 February 1983 Kobrow College v Riverwall
Playing on the Kobrow College main oval, one of the home team batters struck a ball which rolled into a sprinkler hole out at deep mid-wicket. To the delight of the local supporters, the batters ran an amazing 23 runs. The ball had got stuck. Seven fielders tried to pull it out. The two umpires (both from Kobrow) made no move to intervene. One of the Riverwall fielders came rushing towards the wicket pleading to the umpires to stop the game. Suddenly, he pulled a wet cricket ball from his pocket and tossed it to the bowler who ran out one of the batters. The umpires decided later that because the ball was not in a fit state for play (it was soaked through) that the run-out would not stand, but the 23 runs would, as it couldn’t be determined when the ball got wet. (Kobrow won the game by 19 runs.)