Heartbreaking
March 04, 2003 Edition -1
Jermaine Craig
At Kingsmead - Just as a tied match against Australia cruelly knocked South Africa out of the 1999 Cricket World Cup, so a tied match against Sri Lanka sent them crashing out of the 2003 tournament on home soil at the first hurdle.
"I don't think we got what we deserved at this tournament. I don't think we were that bad," skipper Shaun Pollock said minutes after his team's disastrous first-round exit last night.
But, like it did back in their debut World Cup in the 1992 semifinals, it was rain at the most disastrous time that dealt the death knell to the home team's hopes.
Chasing 269 to win, rain forced the players off after the 45th over of the South African innings with their score on 229/6.
The South Africans were under the impression that they had done enough to win the game at that point, but sadly they needed just one more run to give them victory with the dreaded Duckworth-Lewis method.
"We did not know the game was going to finish after that ball. If you lose a wicket, suddenly the score goes up to 240. Had we faced one more ball and scored one run off the next over, we could have been through," Pollock said.
"There's lots of ifs and buts, but at the end of the day it's just very disappointing. We were so close again. Two ties in two World Cups and out of the World Cup after both of them. The guys are gutted. We felt we deserved better on the day.
"It's difficult to say what went wrong. We lost far too many wickets cheaply in a soft manner. But it's not an ideal situation to come into your last game needing a win to pull through. Maybe we should have done things better earlier. It's something we're going to have to accept. It might take a very long time to sink in though," he added.
Asked if he was considering resigning as captain, Pollock said: "No, not at all."
A first-round exit from a home World Cup is disastrous, no matter how one looks at it, but United Cricket Board chief Gerald Majola said he did not regard the team as failures.
"I don't think we've failed. We're all disappointed, but we won't make excuses. It's third time unlucky. The World Cup is one event that seems to keep evading us," he said.
Last night's stunning result also spelt a sad end to the long international career of bowling icon Allan Donald - without his even making it onto the pitch. Donald was dropped for last night's crunch, with 20-year-old Monde Zondeki favoured.
"It was difficult (leaving Donald out). He has a wealth of experience and has been a good performer for us. It was the decision of the selectors to go with Monde Zondeki.
"Allan received a lot of criticism in the press for his performances and it was probably a contributing factor as to why he was left out. You can't tell how the other person will perform, though, I think Monde gave his best," Pollock added.
At the end of the day, the South African team's best just was not good enough.
"We are pleased we are through but we wanted to win that game," Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya said. "The boys played really well."
Chasing 269 for victory, Pollock and Mark Boucher added 63 for the sixth wicket to take their side to 212 for six. Pollock was brilliantly run out by Muttiah Muralitharan, but Lance Klusener and Boucher edged the hosts to 229 for six when persistent rain forced the players off.
Confusion reigned as officials sought the Duckworth-Lewis sheets, and it soon emerged that the match would end in a tie if the players were unable to return.
Boucher had struck Muralitharan for six to reach 45 not out and he then failed to score from the last ball of the 45th over, which became the final delivery of the match. A single would have brought South Africa victory and a place in the next round.
The umpires returned to the arena about 35 minutes later, but within moments the heavens opened up again, and the officials left the field for the last time.
Marvan Atapattu was Sri Lanka's batting inspiration with a sparkling 124, the opener sharing a fourth-wicket partnership of 152 with Aravinda de Silva that laid the foundation for an imposing total of 268.
It could have been higher, but South Africa dismissed both batsmen in quick succession before taking a flurry of late wickets to peg the Sri Lankans back.
SA openers Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs shared a fluent partnership of 65 before Smith, on 35, pulled a De Silva long-hop straight to deep mid-wicket.
Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis fell cheaply, and when Gibbs was bowled by Muralitharan for 73, the hosts were in trouble at 149 for four.
But Pollock and Boucher led the recovery with a sensible run-a-ball partnership that had put the South Africans in a position to push for victory, when the rain came down.
South Africa's misfortune allowed New Zealand to progress, the Kiwis joining Sri Lanka, Kenya, Australia and India in the Super Sixes. The last place will be decided today when Zimbabwe play Pakistan in Group A, with those two sides and England in contention to advance.
