‘Victory becomes inherently harder when you start believing in it’
This is the tale of one of the biggest achievements intertwined with a monumental meltdown, a tale that would forever be etched in the annals of cricket history. ‘The Birmingham Jailbreak’, as Stephen Waugh quite appropriately termed that quite incomparable tied WC semi-final, between Australia and South Africa in 1999.
The equations were simple. The Aussie boys needed to win every game from the super-six (cricket version of a quarter-final) stage to progress to the semi-finals. They did – with victories against India, West-Indies and South Africa.
Glenn Mcgrath came to the foray when it mattered most against India and South Africa and Stephen Waugh’s brilliant knock of 120* against SA in the super six game catapulted Australia into the semis, where they would take on the Proteas again.
The Proteas, on the other hand, had an opportunity to send the Aussie boys packing by defeating them in the super-six game, but thanks to Gibbs they failed to do so. Little did they know, they would rue that for a long time to come.
Lance Klusener played like a man on a mission all through the tournament. Could he take SA to their first ever World Cup final?
The day arrived; Aus batted first and after putting up a very modest total of 213, it was the Donald – Pollock show. Warney (Shane Warne) who, quite frankly had done next to nothing up until that point, could not have chosen a better stage to come to the party.
A solid start led to the Proteas standing at 48/0. Time stood still as Warney walked up to his mark at the bowling crease.
As he spun one all the way from outside leg stump to castle Gibbs, his cries of ‘Come On’ reverberated all through Edbagston, sending shivers down the Proteas’ spine. Warney would go onto send the South African top order, Kirsten, Cronje and Kallis back to the pavilion.
The Proteas battled hard, the Aussie boys fielded like demons. With nine needed of the last over, the final pairing of Klusener and Donald were in the middle. It feels like yesterday, I remember being surrounded with 20 odd Proteas fans at 5am in Gainesville, egging Klusener on. Not for the first time, I was horribly outnumbered.
Klusener would quite nonchalantly bludgeon the next two deliveries to the boundary. South Africa stood at the doorstep of victory; all they needed to do now was to take it.
Stephen Waugh brought all the eleven men inside the circle. Three deliveries to go, one run to get.
Fleming ran into bowl what turned out to the last delivery of the game. Klusener drove it straight and start running; Donald didn't, in a moment of psychological haze he melted down and lost his bat.
Stuck in the middle of pitch indecisively … Gilchrist whipped the bails off to tie the semi-final.
I felt incredibly weird celebrating in the midst of 20 other blokes, all infuriated. To their credit they did wish me the worst for the final though.
Australia went into the World Cup final (by virtue of their victory in the previous game against SA). Warney helped architect another victory, and Australia won the World Cup two days later.
The snapshot of Donald losing his bat stranded in the middle of the pitch will forever remain green in the minds of cricket fans around the globe. In a way the sheer influence of this game lasted for the next decade, in one-day version of the sport this match cannot be emphasized enough.
In a way it was a bifurcation point for both teams.
If one dissects that solitary moment, the Proteas stuttered at the last step to victory. Their meltdown was one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the game. The Aussie boys saw an opportunity to seize that very moment. They would go on to win the next two World Cups, with the Proteas ending up second best time and again.
That was the Prologue of this ‘Australian Fairytale’, a tale where a team would go on to reach the pinnacle of the sport for the next decade, a tale that started on a beautiful summer day in Southern England …
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about 1 month ago
yeah i still remember that match though i was just 9 years old but that match was thrilling to watch. Fleming was bowling the last over and Launce was at the strike and SA needed 9 runs at the last over. but Australia tied the match and reaches into the final and won the cricket world cup second time after defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets.
from about 1 month ago
yeah ...
loved, absolutely loved Warney's spell in the semis and finals -
he basically stood up and put his hand up, when they needed him most
about 1 month ago
God knows what heights the South African team would have scaled had they not lost that day. Who knows what effect this loss had on Cronje? His and the teams future could have been entirely different had that match gone their way.
Great read mate.
from about 1 month ago
yeah yeah
Ankit - yeah, it was a defining match in more ways than one - one that influenced the future is a significant way
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