Fair play question raised after nick
Kane Williamson hit a six in the last over to reach his century and followed it up with a boundary to give New Zealand a four-wicket victory over South Africa with three balls to spare yesterday, in the closest finish of the Cricket World Cup so far.
New Zealand went into the last over at 234-6 and chasing 242 for victory. Andile Phehlukwayo’s first ball was sent for a single by Mitchell Santner, sensibly giving Williamson the strike, and the New Zealand captain immediately took his chance with a powerful six.
Williamson finished 106 not out off 138 balls as New Zealand reached 245-6 in a match reduced to 49 overs each innings.
He called it “a great game of cricket on a surface that was tough for both sides”.
The win moved New Zealand atop the standings and effectively put an end to South Africa’s chances of reaching the playoffs.
“I’m feeling five years older. My body is really sore after that,” South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said. “We left everything out there, and that’s all I can ask for as a captain, that the guys fought.”
So did Williamson, who was brilliantly supported and occasionally overshadowed by Colin de Grandhomme, who smashed a 47-ball 60, with five fours and two sixes. De Grandhomme impatiently holed out to du Plessis at long-off to a delivery from Lungi Ngidi at the start of the penultimate over — the 48th — while going for his third six.
Despite the late stress caused by that dismissal, Williamson was keen to praise his teammate.
“The partnership and the knock from Colin was outstanding in terms of swinging that momentum, and he hit the ball beautifully,” Williamson said.
Williamson and de Grandhomme joined with the total at 137-5 in reply to South Africa’s 241-6 off 49 overs, and their partnership was crucial in guiding New Zealand to their fourth win of the tournament.
The Black Caps now have nine points, one clear of top-ranked England and defending champions Australia. At the other end of the table, South Africa are almost certainly out of contention — in the first major shock of the 2019 edition — with only three points from six games.
The New Zealanders appeared content with the run chase ahead of them but the wicket was trickier than it appeared, and the chase far harder. Except for Williamson.
He won everything, including the toss. And while New Zealand failed to bowl out a team for the first time at the tournament, South Africa’s total appeared 20 runs short. Yet the result was in the balance until the end.
“Obviously, I’m extremely disappointed. Cricket means a lot to me, and the performance of this team means a lot to me,” du Plessis said.
Hashim Amla reached a personal landmark as the second-quickest batsman with 8000 runs in ODIs, but the 36-year-old opener again took his time with an 83-ball 55 before falling to Santner’s spin.
Amla shared a 50-run secondwicket partnership with du Plessis (23) and a 52-run third-wicket stand with Aiden Markram (38). But it was mostly slow going.
Rassie van der Dussen provided some late-innings impetus with an Quinton de Kock b Boult ........................................................ 5 Hashim Amla b Santner ........................................................ 55 Faf du Plessis b Ferguson ................................................... 23 Aiden Markram c Munro b de Grandhomme ........... 38 Rassie van der Dussen not out ......................................... 67 David Miller c Boult b Ferguson ...................................... 36 Andile Phehlukwayo c Williamson b Ferguson ........ 0 Chris Morris not out .................................................................. 6 Extras: (7lb, 4w) ........................................................................... 11
__
Total
Fall:
Did not bat:
(for 6 wickets, 49 overs) .....................................
1-9, 2-59, 3-111, 4-136, 5-208, 6-218
Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Lungi
Ngidi
Bowling:
Matt Henry 10-2-34-0, Trent Boult 10-0-63-1 (1w), Lockie Ferguson 10-0-59-3 (3w), Colin de Grandhomme 10-0-33-1, Mitchell Santner 9-0-45-1.
Martin Guptill hit wicket b Phehlukwayo ................... 35 Colin Munro c & b Rabada ..................................................... 9 Kane Williamson not out .................................................. 106 Ross Taylor c de Kock b Morris ........................................... 1 Tom Latham c de Kock b Morris ......................................... 1 Jimmy Neesham c Amla b Morris ................................... 23 Colin de Grandhomme c du Plessis b Ngidi ............. 60 Mitchell Santner not out ......................................................... 2 Extras: (1lb, 6w, 1nb) ................................................................... 8
__
Total
Fall:
Did not bat:
New Zealand
245
(for 6 wickets, 48.3 overs) .................................
1-12, 2-72, 3-74, 4-80, 5-137, 6-228
Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent
Boult
Bowling:
Kagiso Rabada 10-0-42-1 (1w), Lungi Ngidi 10-1-47-1 (2w), Chris Morris 10-0-49-3, Andile Phehlukwayo 8.3-0-73-1 (3w, 1nb), Imran Tahir 10-0-33-0.
New Zealand.
New Zealand won by four wickets.
Toss: Result:
South Africa
241
unbeaten 67 off 64 balls, with two fours and three sixes. David Miller scored a lively 36 from 37. The pair shared a partnership of 72.
Miller swung and hit intimidating quick Lockie Ferguson for a four to bring up the 200 at the start of the 45th over and clipped the pacer away for another boundary right after. Ferguson had the last laugh in the same over when Miller top edged deep to Trent Boult at third man.
Boult had bowled Quinton de Kock for 5 to win an early battle but finished on 1-63.
Ferguson did the most damage with 3-59 while Matt Henry bowled tightly, with two maidens, ending on 0-34.
Martin Guptill became the first New Zealander to be dismissed by hitting his own wicket in any Cricket World Cup tournament, dating back as far as 1975. In the end, it didn’t matter.
“There’s a huge amount to learn from this performance,” Williamson said.
“The experiences that you have by being put under pressure on a number of different occasions, whether it’s with the bat or the ball, having close games in tournaments like the World Cup are great to be a part of, especially when you come out on the right side of things.” Kane Williamson dominated the headlines after leading the Black Caps to a four-wicket win over South Africa, which all but secures New Zealand’s World Cup semifinal place.
A Guardian headline proclaimed “Williamson leads New Zealand past South Africa in thriller”.
“An amazing 106 not out for Kane Williamson shepherded New Zealand home... they’re very close to the semifinals, while South Africa are nearly gone”.
Among those lavishing praise on the remarkable Kiwi cricketer was former England captain Mike Atherton, who described him as a “gem”.
However, former South African spinner Paul Adams questioned why Williamson didn’t walk when he was caught behind from Imran Tahir’s bowling.
The Proteas did not even launch a proper appeal in a truly bizarre World Cup moment which may have ended their tournament. Williamson, on 76 at the time, went on to make a match-winning century.
New Zealand have won praise for leading a healthier attitude to the game, dubbed the “spirit of cricket”, in recent years. But whether batsmen should walk or not when they know they are out — as Williamson would have — remains a complicated issue.
South Africa spilled several chances in the field — and would have had Williamson caught behind in the 70s had they used their review — wilting under the pressure as New Zealand secured their fifth World Cup victory over them.