South Africa win "greatest match of all"
My sporting day started badly as the Brisbane Broncos (my local footy team) got trounced by the Cowboys in the first round of the NRL (it's going to be a loooong winter). Consequently, I badly needed a big Australian win in the cricket tonight to sooth the pain. Unfortunately and quite unbelievably, it was not to be after Australia scored a world record 434 which South Africa chased down with 1 ball and 1 wicket to spare.
South Africa may have kicked off the series with momentum but even the luck of the coin toss was swinging towards Australia as Ricky Ponting won and rushed his openers in with glee. Adam Gilchrist hit a typically furious 55 off 43 balls and even Katich was smacking the bowling around, reaching 50 off 60 balls. For him, that's positively flying. After reaching 50, he even stepped up the pace slightly reaching 79 off 90. You have to credit the guy for taking all the criticisms of slowness on board and upping his game.
Surprisingly, Gilchrist's wicket only served to precipitate an increase in Australia's scoring rate. Ponting was in top touch as his century came up off just 70 balls. Early in Ponting's innings, he had words with Graeme Smith. I'm guessing the word 'choker' may have come up after Smith's crack about Australia being chokers after game 4. Ponting finally fell for 164 off 105 balls, striking an impressive 9 sixes. Mike Hussey played a useful supporting role. Well, for Hussey, a supporting role is 80 runs off 51 balls. Hussey's batting average seems to be consolidating at the 80 mark so his contribution today was around par really.
Usually innings that start at 6 runs an over lose momentum in the middle section and don't quite achieve initial expectations. This time, the run rate amazingly continued to increase as the innings unfolded. 300 is an imposing total in most conditions but Australia reached 300 at the 40 over mark. It was at this point that I realised they were going for the Mecca, the goal that John Buchanan has wet dreams about at night - 400 runs in an ODI. Andrew Symonds came in with only 4 overs to go, took one ball to get his eye in then hit Telemachus for a four and a six. At this point, Telemachus must've been in shock - Australia passed the 400 mark in the 48th over as he bowled 4 consecutive no-balls. The final damage was 434 runs, not just cracking the 400 mark but smashing it. Significantly, the three next highest ODI scores (all in the 390's) were all against minnow countries Kenya, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. At the time, I thought Australian bowling attack was a touch higher calibre than the minnow attacks. The match was all over bar the shouting.
Tell that to the South Africans though. They came out all guns blazing with Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs scoring at 8 runs an over to build a 187 run partnership off 121 balls. At the halfway mark, they were 2 for 222, scoring at an extraordinary 9.16 runs an over. The aggressive batting was downright un-South African! With each over that passed without a wicket falling and Australia's inexperienced bowling attack wilting under the barrage, the thought came that holy crap, they may just do it! When Graeme Smith fell for 90 off 55 balls, I gave up the ghost and went to bed, assuming the South Africans would falter along the way.
Waking up to find South Africa had actually chased down the total was almost as shellshocking an experience as waking to find Australia beaten by Bangladesh last year. After Smith got out, Gibbs actually upped the scoring rate. His final score of 175 outstripped Ponting's 164 and set up their win. The wickets started to fall as you knew they had to but in the end it came down 7 runs off the last over. It was eerily like Edgbaston all over again where South Africa suffered their most famous choke of all. Would history repeat? Lamentably no, as Boucher smacked Brett Lee over mid-on on the second last ball of the match.
It was an extraordinary end to a great series (that makes me regret I didn't get cable TV) and sets things up wonderfully for the Test series that starts in just 4 days. South Africa seem to have shaken off the chokers tag that has been bandied around a lot lately (albeit started by Smith) and Australia desperately need to find some bowlers to fill the void Glenn McGrath left. Commentators like to bandy the 'greatest of all' tag. The recent Ashes was widely described as the 'great Test series ever'. Even Ponting's innings today was described as one of the great one day innings until Gibbs went and outdid him. But if a series deciding finale between the #1 and #2 sides in the world where the world record is smashed then chased down in a spectacular cliffhanger doesn't qualify as the greatest match of all, then what does? I would like to know however why these greatest matches and series all seem to end up with Australia losing.
| Posted by JC on Mon 13 Mar |  5 comments |
Looks like our Man Ponting has some special connection with Jo'berg,remember he had hits Indians out of game in last WC Final as well. I was left jaw dropped first after finding Aussies putting up a massive total on board , and doubly surprised that springboks proved match for it . Well more than pacers need of time was tweakers who could slow down the game ,with some intelligent slow bowling. POnting as Batsman Simply gr8 , Ponting the captain, the thinker proved to be a Dud end of the day :-( Rgds.mmp
Posted by Unsui on 2006-03-12 17:46:58
Posted by Unsui on 2006-03-12 17:46:58
I'm still waiting to wake up from this, when I went to bed last night I would have put my life savings on Australia winning that game.
Don't even get me started about the Broncos....
Posted by Timbo on 2006-03-12 20:29:38
Don't even get me started about the Broncos....
Posted by Timbo on 2006-03-12 20:29:38
I heard some Aussies put $20,000 on Australia winning after their innings. I would've thought that was a safe bet also. Just imagine if they'd put it on South Africa - I'm sure the odds would've been pretty long for them to chase down 434.
I wonder if it'd gone differently if Brad Hogg had played.
Posted by JC on 2006-03-12 22:55:38
I wonder if it'd gone differently if Brad Hogg had played.
Posted by JC on 2006-03-12 22:55:38
Michael Clarke fared better amongst all the bowlers, that supports my argument for favoring tweakers over pacers
Posted by unsui on 2006-03-12 23:47:40
Posted by unsui on 2006-03-12 23:47:40
Yesterday, wasnt interested in the cricket, just waiting to hear that SA had lost. Then my Brother-in-law came over and told me that the Aussies had posted 434/4!! I was truly amazed, knowing they had shattered records. I decided to watch the SA innings to see how far they would go, expecting them to come out looking upset. I took a look at Gibbs and saw the determination on his face: Man, this guy was coming out to DO something... and boy did he do it! I was impressed by his blatant disregard for the Aussie bowling skills, depleted as they were, and was even more impressed by Smiths 'Bring it on' attitude.
Just wanna say one thing: Ponting is good. No doubt. He SHOULD have won this one! It WAS in his hands, but he let it go. Well done Smith!!
Posted by Brendan on 2006-03-13 03:15:43
Just wanna say one thing: Ponting is good. No doubt. He SHOULD have won this one! It WAS in his hands, but he let it go. Well done Smith!!
Posted by Brendan on 2006-03-13 03:15:43
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