Tony Becca
EVERY NOW and again there comes a cricket match to remember a contest that produces the unexpected and is so thrilling that it is almost like a fairytale.
One such contest was the tied Test in the exciting series between the West Indies and Australia in 1960-61 and another was the recent nail-biting Ashes series between England and Australia.
The most recent of all, however, probably the greatest of them all and the one to remember forever, was the one-day international between Australia and South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg last Sunday.
RAISED THE BAR
It was a contest that has raised the bar in one-day cricket, a contest that has stirred the imagination and, because of that, one that has set the stage for the coming World Cup in the West Indies.
With the series locked at 2-2 after South Africa were leading 2-0, Australia went into the 'Bull Ring', won the toss and went to bat before a full house.
With Adam Gilchrist setting the pace by scoring 55 off 44 deliveries, the team proceeded to set a world record total by smashing 434 for the loss of four wickets off the allotted 50 overs with captain Ricky Ponting, batting at number three and hitting 13 fours and nine sixes, blasting 164 off 105 deliveries.
At that stage, the match was over and the 'Bull Ring' was as quiet as a churchyard. In less than four hours, however, Australia's new record was history, the 'Bull Ring' was rocking, and so was all of South Africa as the home team squeezed through to victory by only one wicket with only one delivery to spare.
In a glorious, unbelievable performance, South Africa, after losing Boeta Dippenaar at three for one in the second over, dashed to438 for the loss of nine wickets off 49.5 overs with captain Graeme Smith smashing 90 off 55 deliveries with 13 fours and two sixes and Herschelle Gibbs, batting at number three, blasting 175 off 111 deliveries with 21 fours and seven sixes.
The record books will show that it was the first time a team had scored more than 400 runs in a one-day match and that the two teams did so, that the total number of runs, 872, was 179 more than the previous match aggregate, and that there were 87 fours 43 by Australia and 44 by South Africa, and a record 26 sixes in the match 14 by Australia and 12 by South Africa.
RUTHLESS TEAM
What was really interesting about the match, however, was not only that South Africa, despite the odds against them at the start, in spite of their history of choking, took up the challenge, but also that, but from the first over, they scored at a rate of more than eight runs an over from start to finish against the mighty Australia the most ruthless team in the world of cricket.
After 10 overs, it was Australia 66 without loss, South Africa 81 for one; after 20, it was Australia 123 for one, South Africa 168 for one; after 30, it was Australia 209 for one, South Africa 279 for two; after 40, it was Australia 301 for two, South Africa 342 for five; and after 45, it was Australia 362 for two, South Africa 388 for six.
In the end, South Africa needed 30 from three and seven from one before, with Makhaya Ntini stroking a single to third man off the fourth delivery to level the score, Mark Boucher drove Brett Lee over mid-on to the boundary to set off a wild celebration in South Africa.
It was so unexpected, so emotional, that tears of joy ran down the cheeks of many South Africans.
According to Jonty Rhodes, South Africa's greatest fielder ever and one of the many South Africans praying for rain at the end of Australia's innings, it was an unbelievable performance by South Africa and so it was.
It has certainly raised the bar in one-day cricket.
SCORING
Based on the history of the game, the score after 30 overs is usually doubled in one-day cricket, Australia, at 209 for one after 30 overs, did just that and more, and with South Africa on 279 for two after 30 overs, had they needed to, and as impossible as that may seem, they may well have doubled that.
Five hundred, 558 runs off 50 overs in a one-day match, may seem impossible for the simple reason that that would mean scoring at more than 10 runs an over.
Based on the action in Johannesburg last Sunday, however, it is now possible.
It could happen during World Cup 2007 and if it does, that would really make it, as Chris Dehring and his team have promised, the greatest World Cup ever.
