da bet7k： Nairobi – South Africa in their first match against Zimbabwe since the WorldCup defeat at Chelmsford beat a gallant Zimbabwean team at the NairobiGymkhana Club Ground by 9 wickets
Keith Lane28-Sep-1999Nairobi – South Africa in their first match against Zimbabwe since the WorldCup defeat at Chelmsford beat a gallant Zimbabwean team at the NairobiGymkhana Club Ground by 9 wickets. With Lance Klusener scoring his secondone-day international century and ably assisted by first Herschelle Gibbsand the Jacques Kallis the South Africans reached the 217 run target with 15overs to spare.South Africa coming into this match sitting at the bottom of the log startedthe overcast morning well by winning the toss and electing to field. Using arotation basis for selection. Alan Dawson came in for Steve Elworthy, whobowled well against India, and Boeta Dippenaar made way for Paul Adams.A solid first over start by Shaun Pollock, moving the ball both ways andgetting some nice bounce, saw Alan Dawson give away the first boundary toGrant Flower with a leg side ball in the second over.Neil Johnson, who was the thorn in the RSA flesh during the World Cup,lashed out at Pollock in the fifth over sending him to the boundary on twooccasions. Flower finished Dawson’s fifth over with a great well timed coverdrive, beating the off side field.The customary Hansie Cronje bowling change came after the 12 th over withJacques Kallis replacing Pollock from the City end. Kallis started off wellenough but straying slightly onto the leg stump with his fifth ball sawFlower flick the ball high and handsomely over the mid wicket fence for themaximum.As they did at Chelmsford in the World Cup, the Zimbabwe batsmen continuedto frustrate the South Africans. The predicted “revenge attack” was notgoing according to plan for Cronje and his team.During the 15 th over, Kallis clipped Johnson’s pads and then flicked theoff stump without the bail being dislodged.With Johnson and Flower passing Zimbabwe’s previous highest first wicketstand against South Africa, Cronje brought on Derek Crookes who with hissecond ball fed Johnson with a leg side full toss and was lucky to only giveaway a four.Flower had a lucky escape in Crookes second over. Attempting to play areverse sweep he got a top edge and just managed to clear the fingers of thebackward point. Johnson showed him how to play the shot by playing with thespin and lofting the next ball for a four to the mid wicket fence.Flower went to his 23 rd, and well deserved half century in over 21, havingfaced 71 balls including seven fours and a six.South Africa eventually got the breakthrough when Crookes induced Johnsoninto a cut, that may have been too close to the body, and bottom edge theball into the stumps. This time the bails did come off. Johnson who hadplayed a very patient innings ended with 35 off 59 balls including fourboundaries.A good foundation had been set with Zimbabwe at 99/1Paul Adams, who had not played for South Africa since the 97/98 season, wasbrought into the attack in the 26 th over and immediately helped increasethe Zimbabwe run rate by giving away eight runs in his first over.Christmas came early for Klusener who got a gift of a wicket from Campbell.At the start of the 27 th over the captain tried to smash the bowler overmid-wicket only to sky the mistimed slog to Gibbs, taking a good catch,running backwards at extra cover. A poor shot for this stage of the game andCampbell was on his way for seven off 14 balls with one boundary.Murray Goodwin, showing a lot more discipline than his captain, togetherwith Flower pushed the ball into the gaps and with good running kept theboard ticking over.Flower, on 73*, was the next to escape when smashing a full toss from Adamsstraight at Rhodes only to see the little man put the ball down. A catchthat Rhodes would normally take 99% of the time.Klusener, still celebrating Christmas, decided to bounce Goodwin who playeda great hook over the square leg boundary for the maximum.Zimbabwe having not been under any pressure, continued to push the scorealong with well placed singles and dispatching the lose deliveries to andover the fence. Boundary balls were sent down by all the bowlers making itvery easy for the batsmen to pick them off.With the final 15 overs to come, Goodwin, looking in total control againstspin and pace, started using his feet to the bowlers driving forcefullythrough the covers. The only factor in South Africa’s favour, with the helpof a good comeback by Pollock, was that the run rate was being kept to underfive runs per over. The decision to field first must however be in question.Dawson replaced Adams in the 38 th over and Kallis took over from Pollock inthe 39 th…The changes worked well for Cronje as first Kallis taking a low return catchdismissed Flower for 91 off 120 balls (11*4, 1*6). Flower had in the processmade the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean against South Africa.Dawson followed this in the next over by getting the wicket of Goodwinedging to Boucher for 27 off 45 balls including two fours and a six.Flower, unlike his brother, lasted six balls before inside edging a Dawsonball from just outside off into the stumps for six including a edged fourpast the slips. Stuart Carlisle came to the wicket and left as he edged thenext ball to Boucher. 173/3 had become 186/5. Guy Whittall avoided thehatrick.Cronje then brought back Adams to bowl at the tail, a surprise move afterthe pace bowlers had made the breakthrough. The change again worked for himas Whittall lofted a return catch to Adams to leave the arena for 10 off 12balls including a lofted drive to the long off fence.Adams was not finished, as he tempted Strang to pull/sweep to the on side,only to top edge a looping catch to Boucher behind the wickets. Strang hadleft after five balls without troubling the scorers and were Zimbabwe 207/8.Andy Whittall also did not last long, scoring one run off three balls,before being clean bowled by Pollock. The Zimbabwean collapse continued to213/9 .Rennie still at the crease was joined by David Mutendera who now had thetask of batting out the 50 overs. This was not to be as Mutendera playingacross the line gave Adams his third wicket. He was out for two from fiveballs and Zimbabwe kicking themselves for losing 8 wickets for 56 runs andbe bowled out for 216 in 47.4 overs.Adams will feel lucky in ending the day with 3/44 while Dawson bowled wellenough for his 3/36South Africa asked to make 217 in 50 overs at a rate of 4.34 made a goodstart to their innings. Chasing the highest score of the tournament so far,South Africa realised the importance of the match with the winners mostprobably playing in the final. There was also the Zimbabwe victory in theWorld Cup, that may have cost the South African’s an easier ride to thatfinal, to be avenged.Herschelle Gibbs and Lance Klusener, a slight surprise, opened the inningsfor South Africa with Neil Johnson and David Mutendera taking the new ballfor Zimbabwe. Johnson guilty of a wayward first over which included 4 wides,a no ball, and a cracking lofted cover drive for four from Gibbs. Mutenderaused the new ball well to only concede 1 run in his first over.In Johnson’s next over Klusener, slashing at wide ball outside the off, waslucky to get a thick edge just past Campbell at slip for a four to thirdman. Any notion of footwork from Klusener was not evident. He got it all inthe correct place the next over to send the ball racing across the outfieldto the wide long on fence.At the start of the sixth over Campbell replaced the young Mutendera withthe off spinner Andy Whittall who bowled a tidy first over beating Klusenerwith a beauty that drew him forward and turned across him.Johnson continuing was again smashed past mid on by Klusener, but came backto beat him outside the off stump. Gibbs in the meantime dispatched aWhittall long hop to the square leg fence before just pushing a ball pastMurray Goodwin at silly mid off.Mutendera came back, replacing Johnson, and tasted the weight of Klusener’sheavy bat with two consecutive hard hit fours on either side of the wicket.Grant Flower was the next spinner to be brought on for Mutendera. This didnot deter Klusener who dispatched him for two towering straight sixes torecord South Africa’s highest first wicket partnership against Zimbabwe.Whittall at the other end was similarly being dealt with.Gibbs decided that Klusener was getting a bit ahead of him and attackedWhittall for 10 runs in the 14 th over with two fours.Klusener brought up his 50, in 46 balls (7 * 4, 3 * 6) with a six off PaulStrang’s first ball. It did not end there. The next five balls went forfour, six, dot, four, dot, to take South Africa to 101/0 after 15 overs.Strang was next to feel the wrath of Gibbs who dispatched him with a neatnudge past the keeper for four and followed it with a six over mid wicket.At 125/0, and in the 19 th over Gibbs had a problem with his one boots, andafter trying on a few shoes and a visit from the physiotherapist Craig Smithlimped off the field with 48 from 55 balls and what appeared to be a footinjury. It was later diagnosed as a tendon strain. He was replaced byJacques Kallis.With a slight lull in the run rate Kallis decided that it was his turn toget in on the action, this time sending Andy Flower over the ropes at longon and then long off in consecutive balls.Guy Whittall, the best of the Zimbabwe bowlers on display at last got hisjust reward, when in the 28 th over he drew Kallis forward, got the ball tonip back sharply between bat and pad to have him bowled for 25 off 30 ballswhich included 2 sixes. South Africa had lost their first wicket at 174.Captain Hansie Cronje, who needed some time in the middle, came out to joinKlusener.South Africans plans became evident in the 31 st over when it was Cronje’sturn to loft a ball from Andy Whittall over the long off fence. Unlike theway they let the India bowlers dictate, the South Africans had, from thefirst ball, taken the attack to the Zimbabwean bowlers.Cronje took a second six off Andy Whittall in his next over to bring up the200 in the 33 rd over. He then smashed Mutendera, who was brought back,straight back past the stumps for four.Lance Klusener’s second one-day-international came up in the 34 th over off104 balls, with a lucky thick edge to the deep backward point fence.Cronje made the winning runs with first a reverse sweep for four and then asingle pushed to long off for South Africa to win by 9 wickets and 15 oversto spare. A win they would swap with the loss at Chelmsford four and a halfmonths ago.