The Hindu : Sport : South Africa chokes, match ends in a tie

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 04, 2005

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Sport

South Africa chokes, match ends in a tie

By Ted Corbett

BLOEMFONTEIN, FEB. 3. South Africa choked in the final over of its second one-day international against England on Wednesday night when victory should have gone its way.

Memories of the 1999 World Cup semifinal against Australia flooded back as its all-rounder Andrew Hall was stumped off the last ball of the match with only a single needed.

England's little-known seamer Kabir Ali, took two wickets in that over and its wicket-keeper Geraint Jones, who had earlier allowed four byes which looked likely to cost the visiting side the match, saved his reputation with the dismissal of Hall.

Goodyear Park was sold out for the first time and the 14,820 spectators could not have seen a tenser finish.

When the last over began it seemed that Marcus Trescothick, standing in for his captain Michael Vaughan, who had a stomach bug, would ask Ashley Giles, the left-arm spinner, to use his experience to stop South Africa scoring the eight runs needed for victory to level the series 1-1.

Worst combination

Instead he turned to Kabir Ali, the lad from a Birmingham Pakistani family and the principle strike bowler for Worcestershire. Kabir's first ball was the worst possible combination; an attempted yorker which went above Mark Boucher's head and was ruled a no-ball for height as Boucher struck it for four.

So only three were needed and six balls remained. It was an equation which would have been seen as easy by any county side, but Boucher was caught on the boundary next ball.

There was an appeal for a catch behind off Ashwell Prince from the second legal ball, and a single from the third; then Prince was run out by a quick throw from the England newcomer Ian Bell. Shaun Pollock took a single and with one ball to go South Africa needed one run to win.

In the Durban Test of 1948-49 England's last two batsmen Alec Bedser and Cliff Gladwin faced the same problem until Bedser walked down the pitch and whispered: "Don't forget the leg bye." Gladwin got a boot to the last ball and looked up to find Bedser in his crease screaming "Run!"

From such bits of cricket lore are big matches won and I am sorry to say South Africa failed its knowledge test last night as it did against Australia at Edgbaston in 1999.

In all it took 12 minutes to bowl the final over last night; you can imagine the debates and reshuffling of the field for the last ball before Ali set out on his long, shambling run, the ball got through Hall's guard as he stumbled forward and Jones waited until Hall was out of his ground to stump him.

What a superb way to end a one-day game. England won because it had cricketers whose game is honed in the hustle and bustle of weekly county one-day games and who not only know what to expect but how to deal with each situation. It was South Africa's fourth tie since 1999 and only England's third.

Pietersen's first century

Earlier the new England glamour boy Kevin Pietersen blitzed his way to a maiden century off 92 balls. He has been out only once in five one-day matches and has the remarkable average of 234, made more amazing by his unsophisticated batting.

The 24-year-old, born in South Africa and abused as a traitor by the home fans, used his bat like a bludgeon to hit two sixes and six fours and show a power of stroke surpassed by few international batsman.

South Africa's six pace bowlers had no answer and made one wonder, not for the first time, whether its selectors are so blinded by the needs of the quota system that they forget every principle of cricket.

South Africa's answer to Pietersen was a push and run partnership of 134 by Jacques Kallis, at his most irritatingly regal, and Herschelle Gibbs, whose 13 one-day centuries as an opener did not prevent him being sent down the order to No. 4. Again you have to ask why.

The method of smooth accumulation adopted by Kallis, who seems to play the same innings whatever the circumstances, and Gibbs meant that they had to bat to the end of the innings and when they were both out England always had a chance although Justin Kemp played exactly the right innings with 32 off 26 balls before the last glittering over.

England: 270 for five in 50 overs.

South Africa: G. Smith c Jones b Hoggard 25, A. de Villiers c sub b Ali 20, J. Kallis c Trescothick b Giles 63, H. Gibbs c Gough b Hoggard 78, J. Kemp b Gough 32, M. Boucher c Giles b Ali 15, S. Pollock (not out) 17, A. Prince (run out) 0, A. Hall st. Jones b Ali 0. Extras: (b-4, lb-6, nb-5, w-5) 20. Total: (for eight wkts. in 50 overs) 270.

Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-51, 3-185, 4-237, 5-239, 6-268, 7-269, 8-270.

England bowling: Gough 10-0-49-1, Hoggard 10-1-42-2, Ali 8-0-56-3, Collingwood 10-0-42-0, Giles 8-0-46-1, Trescothick 4-0-25-0.

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