When a pizza dinner wasn’t enough to save the Proteas
South African cricketers have produced some magical moments in the Champions Trophy
IN a series of features we will be running this week in the build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy, cricket writer ZAAHIER
ADAMS highlights major moments in South Africa’s previous tournaments.
ICC Knockout Trophy Final South Africa v West Indies, Dhaka, Nov 1, 1998 Jacques Kallis 5/30
It is possibly fitting that South Africa’s sole ICC global tournament success was achieved due to the brilliance of arguably its greatest ever player. Kallis – and South Africa – may never have won a World Cup but they will always have the 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy (precursor to the ICC Champions Trophy). Aged only 23, Kallis played a leading role in taking South Africa to the final with a breathtaking 113 not out off only 100 balls (5x4, 5x6) in the semi against Sri Lanka. However, in an illustration of his invaluable all-round talents, it was with the ball that Kallis made a significant impact in the showpiece match in Dhaka. After a bullocking 103 from Windies opener Philo Wallace, Kallis changed the course of the final with match-winning figures of 5/30 in 7.3 overs. This enabled South Africa to dismiss the West Indies for 245, which South Africa comfortably chased down with four wickets to spare. Irrefutably Kallis was named man of the final and man of the series.
ICC Champions Trophy, Group Match South Africa v West Indies at Colombo, Sep 13, 2002 Alan Dawson’s last-ball edge
Stay close to the TV when South Africa are playing during this upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, for there is bound to be a thriller when the Proteas are involved. On this occasion, back in 2002, with the ICC Knockout Trophy’s name having formally been changed to the Champions Trophy, South Africa and the Windies once again produced an epic finish. Only this time it was the Proteas who held their nerve and caused the Caribbean side to choke. Merv Dillon had recovered from being struck for six off the first ball of the final over, to remove both Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener to leave South Africa requiring three off the final two deliveries. But that’s when Dillon buckled under the pressure. He bowled a wide, which allowed Nicky Boje and Allan Dawson to scamper home for an extra bye too. Dawson completed the misery for Dillon and the West Indies when he edged the final delivery to the third-man boundary to snatch victory for South Africa from the gaping jaws of defeat.
ICC Champions Trophy, Semi-Final India v South Africa at Colombo, Sep 25, 2002 Herschelle Gibbs 116 retired hurt
This is a bitter-sweet moment in Gibbs’s illustrious career. The South African opener was in superb form throughout the tournament, having struck a century en route to the semi-finals too. He was at his fluent best again in the semi and was on course to guide South Africa to a second Champions Trophy final in three attempts with another sublime century. Crucially, though, Gibbs suffered from severe cramps in the intense heat and could hardly even hold the bat when he was forced to leave the field with South Africa comfortably placed on 192/1 in pursuit of 261. However, Gibbs’s retirement triggered an almighty collapse as India’s spin contingent strengled the middle-order with South Africa eventually finishing on 251/6.
ICC Champions Trophy, Group Match South Africa v West Indies at The Oval, Sep 18-19, 2004 Herschelle Gibbs’s pre-match diet
Another Gibbs century that ultimately did not lead to a South African victory at a major ICC tournament, with the maverick opener’s 101 not enough against the West Indies at The Oval on this occasion. However, this Gibbs innings is not remembered for the fluency of his strokeplay but rather for his pre-match diet. “I had a pizza for the first time in a few months. Maybe it helped with the balance this morning. It would get me a bit more firm on my feet. It made me sleep a bit better. It was washed down with a bit of Jack Daniels!” said the Michelangelo of the Proteas team.
ICC Champions Trophy, Group Match Pakistan v South Africa at Mohali, Oct 27, 2006 Makhaya Ntini 5/21
In a tournament in which bowlers dominated throughout, Makhaya Ntini prospered on a seamer-friendly track. South Africa had stumbled to 42/5 in their innings but recovered to 213/8 due to half-centuries from Mark Boucher and Justin Kemp. Ultimately, it was more than enough with Ntini wrecking the Pakistani top-order to skittle the sub-continent giants for a paltry 89 all out in just 25 overs.
ICC Champions Trophy, Group Match South Africa v New Zealand at Centurion, Sep 24, 2009 Wayne Parnell 5/57
It’s funny how, as much as things change, they remain the same. Parnell, just 20 back then, admitted he had leaked “too many runs” but he still had that “X-factor” to pick up wickets at crucial stages of the innings. His “five-for” played a crucial part in South Africa defeating the Kiwis and the young left-armer finishing the tournament as the overall leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps, despite the Proteas not even progressing to the playoffs.
ICC Champions Trophy, Group Match South Africa v England at Centurion, Sep 24, 2009 Andrew Strauss refuses Graeme Smith a runner
South Africa’s skipper Graeme Smith virtually carried his team on his back to try and haul them over the line and into the semi-finals with an epic 141. However, even heroes like Smith are defeated on occasion, and in this must-win game for South Africa it was to be his arch-nemesis, England’s Andrew Strauss, who got to stick the dagger in.
With Smith cramping up after spending 95 overs in the field, Smith requested a runner to complete his innings. Strauss declined and an already padded-up AB de Villiers had to make his way back up the SuperSport Park steps again. Smith departed moments later and a despondent Proteas crowd, realising their leader had done everything he possibly could, rose in unison to salute Smith even though South Africa were set to be knocked out of another major ICC tournament on home soil before the knockout matches of the competition got under way.