Huge total gives South Africa 153-run over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo ODI
South Africa put Zimbabwe to the sword at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, hammering an awesome 363 for the loss of just three wickets against a helpless Zimbabwean bowling line-up, before going on to win the match by 153 runs
John Ward
23-Sep-2001
South Africa put Zimbabwe to the sword at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, hammering an awesome 363 for the loss of just three wickets
against a helpless Zimbabwean bowling line-up, before going on to win the match by
153 runs.
It was an adequate reflection of excellent batting and an incompetent
Zimbabwean performance at the bowling crease - 15 wides and 7 no-balls also
tell their story - and the match as a contest was over very early on.
Once again Zimbabwe were let down by undisciplined bowling, especially by
Travis Friend, who conceded 47 runs in his opening spell of four overs.
Gary Kirsten began the slaughter with cuts for four off Friend's first two
deliveries, then Herschelle Gibbs took him apart, including a remarkable front-foot six
over backward point. Once more Zimbabwe's selectors seemed to have made
their choices with little appreciation of the virtues of accuracy. Heath
Streak also failed to threaten the batsmen or keep the score down, and the
hundred came up in only the tenth over.
Gibbs reached his fifty off 30 balls, and it took leg-spinner Paul Strang to
exercise some sort of control. Replays showed he might have been unlucky
not to win an lbw appeal against Kirsten when the latter was on 47, just
before he ran to his fifty off 41 balls, but the umpire had no hesitation
later when Kirsten had 66 and was struck in front of the stumps attempting a
sweep. South Africa were 153 for one in the 19th over.
The slower bowlers, helped by additional boundary fielders, made South
Africa work harder for their runs, but Gibbs' century still came off 84
balls, South Africa's fastest in one-day cricket. Streak returned for the
36th over and claimed Gibbs lbw for 125, rather controversially as he was
well forward and was perhaps hit outside the line of off stump; 244 for two.
The coming of Jonty Rhodes as usual led to superb running between wickets with
Jacques Kallis, and at one stage he reverse-swept Grant Flower for six. The
score was by now past 300; 313 was the previous highest total against
Zimbabwe and 328 the highest by South Africa in one-day internationals.
Kallis on 83 was caught by Andy Flower driving at Friend to be dismissed for
the first time on tour. Rhodes reached fifty off 37 balls, finishing on 54,
and South Africa finished with the incredible total of 363 for three
wickets.
Zimbabwe quickly lost Dion Ebrahim (0), dabbing a catch to slip off Andre
Nel. Hamilton Masakadza (11), on his debut, played safely for a while with
Alistair Campbell, although scoring at nowhere near the required rate, until
Campbell refused a call for a risky single to mid-off and Masakadza was run out;
Zimbabwe were 43 for two on the 14th over.
Andy Flower came in at number four and as usual started collecting runs
apparently with time to spare, at better than a run a ball. The incredulous
South Africans in the press box nominated a six off Makhaya Ntini high over
wide long-off as the shot of the day, even ahead of Gibbs' six over backward
point. With 34 off 32 balls, though, he risked a single too close to Rhodes
on the off side and was thrown out by several yards at the bowler's end;
Zimbabwe 97 for three in the 24th over.
Campbell batted well for 81 but then misread a slower delivery to give
Shaun Pollock the simplest of return catches. Craig Wishart scored 45 before
being brilliantly caught by Klusener running back from slip as he top-edged
a sweep at Claude Henderson, but by now Zimbabwe were treating it as mere batting
practice. Grant Flower (22 not out) and Guy Whittall (5 not out) were
content to stay there and the match finished with a whimper; Zimbabwe 210
for five.