Australia in South Africa, 5th ODI, 2006

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South Africa
Australia

The 5th One Day International cricket match between South Africa and Australia, played on March 12, 2006 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, has been acclaimed by many media commentators as being one of the greatest ODI matches ever played. The match broke many cricket records, including both the first and the second team innings of over 400 runs. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 434 for 4 off their 50 overs, smashing the previous record of 398-5 by Sri Lanka against Kenya in 1996. In reply, South Africa scored 438-9, winning by 1 wicket with one ball to spare.

Contents

[edit] Background

For some years, there had been an intense rivalry between Australia and South Africa in One-Day Internationals, dating from the semi-final of the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where South Africa could only tie against Australia in a match they needed to win to progress to the final. Some followers of cricket considered that to be the greatest game of all time.[1][2] Earlier in the 2005–06 season, South Africa had toured Australia, where they had failed to reach the final of the three-team one-day series, including losing three of their four matches against Australia. They had also lost the three Test series 2-0. It was also of constant irritation to the South Africans that the Australians were referring to them as 'chokers'.

This match was the final match of a five-match series in South Africa. South Africa had won the first two matches comfortably, but Australia had fought back to win the next two, making this match the deciding match. Australia had to play the series without their best one-day bowler, Glenn McGrath, whose wife was suffering from cancer. The South African team also missed their best one-day bowler, Shaun Pollock, in the final match due to a back strain. The absence of these two bowlers who possess two of the best economy rates in one-day cricket may arguably have contributed to the large number of runs scored in the match.

[edit] The Match

The Australian captain chose to bat after winning the toss. Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich got the side off to a good start, both scoring fifties. A difficult catch by Andrew Hall diving to his left removed Gilchrist in the 16th over while the partnership was on 97. Ponting then scored his fastest century with 100 off 73 balls, and went on to his highest score at the Wanderers ground with 164 from 105 balls, including 9 sixes and 13 fours. Ponting and Katich put on 139 runs for the second wicket, before Katich was caught at third man by Roger Telemachus after a delivery by Makhaya Ntini. Michael Hussey was promoted up the order and made 81. Ponting was dismissed after his drive shot was caught by Boeta Dippenaar in the 48th over. By the end of the innings, South Africa were under pressure with Telemachus beginning the 49th over with four no-balls. Australia made 40 runs off its last two overs:[3] Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee helping the side past the world record with 27 and 9 runs respectively and Australia became the first side to ever score 400 runs in a One Day International.

News sites reported how Australia had smashed the world record.[4][5][6][7]

With the series at two all, South Africa went out batting, giving it their all, requiring 8.7 an over from the start. The early loss of Dippenaar for 1 probably helped the cause, as Dippenaar was not seen as a batsman who could score quickly.[citation needed] Herschelle Gibbs batted at number 3 and reached his 16th ODI hundred in 79 balls, beating his own South African record for the fastest scoring of a hundred that had previously been off 84 balls against Zimbabwe.[8] Gibbs scored the second highest total by a South African with 175 off 111 balls. He and Graeme Smith had a 187 run partnership, bringing the South Africans back into the game. When Smith was out for 90, Gibbs shared another strong partnership, this time with AB de Villiers. Australia kept the pressure on after Gibbs' dismissal with consistent wickets, but big hitting by Johannes van der Wath and Mark Boucher kept the Proteas in the hunt. Nathan Bracken, in contrasting fashion to the rest of the match, bowled particularly well collecting 5 wickets and keeping his economy a respectable 6.7. By the final over of the match, South Africa needed 7 off 6, with Boucher on strike. He pushed a single, giving the strike to Andrew Hall who hit a four away, leaving 2 required off four balls. However he was out caught attempting to repeat the shot, leaving the side at 433-9. Ntini, the number 11 batsman, managed to get the bowler, Brett Lee, away for a single to third man and tie the scores. Boucher then hit a four the next ball (getting his 19th fifty in ODI cricket), with commentator Tony Greig exclaiming "one of the great one day matches of all time".

Both Ponting and Gibbs were awarded the Man of the Match, but Ponting declined it, saying that it belonged to Gibbs.[9] Shaun Pollock was named Man of the Series, although he was resting for a back injury during this game.

[edit] Trivia

According to Neil Manthorp of the South African website SuperCricket,[10] the game was also notable for a number of eerily precise prognostications advanced by members of the South African team:

  • After the team had reassembled in the changing room during the lunch break, South African vice-captain Jacques Kallis is reported to have said, ostensibly in jest: "It's a 450 wicket, guys...they're about 15 short!"
  • Herschelle Gibbs, who scored a remarkable innings of 175, told journalists later that he had woken up feeling "different" and that he knew it was going to be a special day for him.
  • Following the dismissal of Graeme Smith and with South Africa on 190-2, the injured Shaun Pollock turned to Makhaya Ntini and said - for no apparent reason: "George, you are going to hit the winning four. You're going to be there at the end." Ntini didn't hit the winning four, but did hit the tying single and was very much there at the end as he watched Boucher hit the winning four from the other end.
  • With Herschelle Gibbs out for 175 and South Africa at 299-4, Ashwell Prince is reported to have suddenly exclaimed: "Oh my God, we're going to win this by one wicket!"
  • While the Australian innings was progressing, South African commentator and former Proteas allrounder Pat Symcox commented that they would see the first 400 total scored in a match.
  • Radio sport commentator and former Springbok cricketer Hylton Ackermann burst into tears at the end of the game when South Africa won and he was still on air.
  • Australian batsman, Damien Martyn, was reported to have said "I don't have a good feeling about this." to captain Ricky Ponting half-way through South Africa's innings.
  • An Australian punter placed a bet of AU$20,000 on Australia to win during the innings break at the odds of $1.01. He therefore stood to win only $200.[11]

[edit] Reaction

The huge score has led Steve Waugh to say that 500 in an innings is the next possibility. Others have said that scores like this are bad for the sport, with Barry Richards saying There is such a propensity for hitting boundaries that bowlers have been taken out of game. This was said despite Nathan Bracken picking up career best bowling figures.

Cricinfo's headline for the match was South Africa win the greatest game, while The Sydney Morning Herald called the match The greatest the world has seen;[12] The Advertiser called it the Greatest of all time;[13] The Age The best one dayer;[14] iafrica called it The greatest match ever[15] and iol the greatest match ever played.[16]

[edit] Scorecard

Flag of Australia Australia innings
Batsman Method of dismissal Runs Balls 4s 6s
+A. C. Gilchrist c Hall b Telemachus 55 44 9 0
S. M. Katich c Telemachus b Ntini 79 90 9 1
*R. T. Ponting c Dippenaar b Telemachus 164 105 13 9
M. E. K. Hussey c Ntini b Hall 81 51 9 3
A. Symonds not out 27 13 3 1
B. Lee not out 9 7 0 0
Did not bat: D. R. Martyn, M. J. Clarke, N. W. Bracken, S. R. Clark, M. L. Lewis
Fall of wickets: 1–97 (Gilchrist, 15.2 ov), 2–216 (Katich, 30.3 ov), 3–374 (Hussey, 46.1 ov), 4–407 (Ponting, 47.4 ov)
Extras (lb 4, w 5, nb 10) 19
Total (for 4 wickets, 50 overs) 434
Flag of South Africa South Africa bowling statistics
Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
M. Ntini 9 0 80 1
A. J. Hall 10 0 80 1
J. J. van der Wath 10 0 76 0
R. Telemachus 10 1 87 2
G. C. Smith 4 0 29 0
J. H. Kallis 6 0 70 0
J. M. Kemp 1 0 8 0


Flag of South Africa South Africa innings
Batsman Method of dismissal Runs Balls 4s 6s
*G. C. Smith c Hussey b Clarke 90 55 13 2
H. H. Dippenaar b Bracken 1 7 0 0
H. H. Gibbs c Lee b Symonds 175 111 21 7
A. B. de Villiers c Clarke b Bracken 14 20 1 0
J. H. Kallis c & b Symonds 20 21 1 0
+M. V. Boucher not out 50 43 4 0
J. M. Kemp c Martyn b Bracken 13 17 1 0
J. J. van der Wath c Ponting b Bracken 35 18 1 3
R. Telemachus c Hussey b Bracken 12 6 2 0
A. J. Hall c Clarke b Lee 7 4 1 0
M. Ntini not out 1 1 0 0
Fall of wickets: 1–3 (Dippenaar, 1.2 ov), 2–190 (Smith, 22.1 ov), 3–284 (de Villiers, 30.5 ov), 4–299 (Gibbs, 31.5 ov), 5–327 (Kallis, 37.4 ov), 6–355 (Kemp, 42.1 ov), 7–399 (van der Wath, 46.3 ov), 8–423 (Telemachus, 48.2 ov), 9–433 (Hall, 49.3 ov)
Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 4, nb 4) 20
Total (for 9 wickets, 49.5 overs) 438
Flag of Australia Australia bowling statistics
Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
B. Lee 7.5 0 68 1
N. W. Bracken 10 0 67 5
S. R. Clark 6 0 54 0
M. L. Lewis 10 0 113 0
A. C. Symonds 9 0 75 2
M. J. Clarke 7 0 49 1

[edit] Records

[edit] Team

[edit] Overall

  • Highest aggregate runs in a match: 872, beating the previous 693 of India v Pakistan in 2004.
  • Most sixes in a match: 26, now equalled by New Zealand v Australia, 3rd ODI, Hamilton, New Zealand, February, 2007.
  • Most fours in a match: 88.

[edit] Individual

  • Herschelle Gibbs's 175 is the tenth-highest individual score in ODIs and the second-highest by a South African.
  • Gibbs's innings is the third fastest in terms of strike rate for scores above 130, while Ponting's is the fourth fastest.
  • Second fastest 150. By Ponting, off 99 balls (one fewer than Gibbs's 150 off 100 balls). This record was surpassed by Sanath Jayasuriya's 95 ball 150 against England in July. ODI 2389
  • Mick Lewis becomes the most expensive bowler in the history of ODI cricket for a single match, becoming the first bowler to have 100 hit off his 10 overs. He ended with 0-113 off 10.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Real" deal tied, from CNNSI.com
  2. ^ Cricinfo, Ball by Ball, Australia v South Africa, 1999 World Cup Semi Final
  3. ^ Guardian, South Africa shatter Australia with record 438-run winning chase
  4. ^ news.com.au, Australia smashes one-day record
  5. ^ The Age, Australia breaks record in final
  6. ^ The Financial Express, Aussies shatter one-day runs mark
  7. ^ Daily News & Analyis, Australia script ODI history, score 434-4
  8. ^ Fox Sports, Proteas do impossible
  9. ^ CNN, South Africa win a record-breaker, March 13, 2006
  10. ^ SuperCricket, The big game ...revisited
  11. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, Out for $20,000 - a punter's nightmare
  12. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, The greatest the world has seen
  13. ^ The Advertiser, Greatest of all time
  14. ^ The Age, How Australia lost the best one-dayer
  15. ^ iafrica, The greatest match ever
  16. ^ iol.co.za, Simply the greatest match ever played

[edit] External links