An Alfred Hitchock thriller (19 June 1999)

19 June 1999

An Alfred Hitchock thriller

Elmo Rodrigopulle

It was packed with suspense, excitement, thrilling and if there were weak hearts watching the final rites of this game it was heart stopping.

Agony and ecstasy was what this game was all about. While the Kangaroos hopped and shed tears of joy, the Proteas were seen shedding tears of sorrow rueing on what might have been had Allan Donald responded to a call from Lance Klusner for the match winning single instead of playing ducks and drakes and being stranded when the Aussie wicketkeeper whipped off the bails.

It is said that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. At one stage the South Africans were cruising when their openers Gibbs and Kirsten were strolling. Then that will o' the wisp, the sheik of tweak Shane Warne got his magic leg spinning act together and the Proteas were mesmerised.

Fluctuating fortunes from here onwards were never better exemplified. At one stage it looked like the Proteas would be home, then a vital wicket and the Aussies were looking victors.

When Flemming began the last over nine runs were required. Klusner like he usually does lanced the first and second balls for fours. With the scores tied and with the atmosphere electric, skipper Steve Waugh called all his men to arms as it were and crowded Klusner in an endeavour to deprive him of the single that would have meant victory for the Proteas and defeat for the Kangaroos.

A sudden rush of blood made Klusner drive the ball past the bowler and scamper for what he thought was the winner. But Donald who seemed to have been awestruck due to the immense pressure instead of dashing for dear life to the striker's end, started, stopped and when he started again he went into the land of loneliness and a land that he will not forget for the rest of his career and his life.

Both teams must still be in dreamland. One unable to imagine that they won and the other unable to fathom how they lost. Spectators were at the edge of their seats. Some were fingernail biting and some others closing their eyes and yet others praying in silence for their side to win.

But the game was destined to end in Aussie favour. The tie was a fitting result, because both sides did not deserve to lose. But the rules were such that it pushed the Aussies into the final against the Pakistanis, a final that will be hotly contested, but one that will not produce the heart stopper that was enacted at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. This game will go down as one of the best, if not the best in this type of game.

Cathy Aston, the chief executive and managing director of Mobitel, a keen supporter of Sri Lanka and Aussies cricket leapt for joy when the result was announced and says that her bet is on Australia winning the final.

Source :: The Daily News