da bet sport： One moment the tension was almost unbearable
Haydn Gill29-Apr-2001One moment the tension was almost unbearable. The next, Sabina Parkwas the scene of sheer pandemonium.Yes, the West Indies had pulled off another victory against SouthAfrica, to the delight of a packed ground that took on an electrifyingatmosphere for most of the day.The final stages were heart-stopping and when it was over, the WestIndies were celebrating a last-ball victory in the first of the sevenCable & Wireless One-Day Internationals.One could hardly hear the sound of a dropped pin as Allan Donaldsprinted in to Ridley Jacobs for the final ball of a fascinatingcontest that featured superb fielding throughout.West Indies, crippled by a late innings hiccup after seemingly oncourse for a straightforward target of 201 from 50 overs, foundthemselves relying on their dependable vice-captain.Fullish lengthLike the champion fast bowler that he is, Donald opted for a ball offullish length, but the line was off. It was outside the off-stump andthe Jacobs slashed a drive that raced across the outfield and down tothe backward point boundary. The fielder on the third-man boundary waswell beaten.As the ball crossed the line, the large contingent of police spreadall the way around the ground could do nothing to stop the inevitableinvasion from scores of spectators.West Indies, who were 149 for three in the 38th over, badly lostmomentum and found themselves needing 24 from the final three overs.Jacobs came good, and so too did Neil McGarrell, whose straight sixoff Jacques Kallis in the penultimate over and his three wickets madehim adjudicator Ron Headley’s choice as Man-Of-The-Match.DelightedWe are delighted with the win. This was the sort of game that if wefound ourselves in this sort of position a few months back wecertainly would have lost, said West Indies coach Roger Harper.We played some good cricket, especially in the first half when webowled. We fielded well in spurts. We had a couple of bad moments, butgenerally I thought we played some very good cricket.South Africa captain Shaun Pollock made no excuses for a side whichcame into the match with ten wins in 11 One-Day Internationals.Two-hundred isn’t enough in a One-Day game to defend. We set ourselvesa nice platform to get a bigger score and we let ourselves down a bit,he said.But the fight shown by the guys to defend it was a superb effort. Itshowed some of the old South African fight and I think the guys couldbe proud of the way they performed.There was some enterprise to the start of the West Indies innings, butit was spoiled by some inept footwork that accounted for debutant LeonGarrick and his fellow Jamaican Marlon Samuels. Neither would want toremember his leaden-footed slash that resulted in an edged catch tothe keeper.Chris Gayle might have been similarly guilty, but his downfall wasbrought about primarily through the awesome brilliance of JontyRhodes. The live-wire fielder clutched an amazing right-handed effortinches off the ground with a full-length dive that stunned everyonebeyond the boundary.Piece of magicWest Indians were just as dumbfounded when he produced another pieceof magic that sent Brian Lara on his way after an impressive halfcentury. Once more, international cricket’s finest fielder threwhimself forward this time to claim the catch just before the ball hitthe turf.It was the dismissal South Africa wanted. Lara and captain CarlHooper, brought together at 60 for three in the 16th over, wereentrenched in a potential match-winning partnership of 89 off 134balls and once Lara was out the way, the scoring slowed almost astandstill for the next seven overs in which South Africa gave awayjust 18 runs.Bout of crampWest Indies’ cause was not assisted by an untimely bout of cramp thataffected Hooper in both legs. The West Indies captain, on 43, holedout to long-on immediately after calling for the services of a runner.In stark contrast to the shoddy out-cricket they displayed in theWorld Series Cup limited-overs competition in Australia, the WestIndies lifted their standards immensely a few straightforwardblemishes notwithstanding.Brian Lara set the pattern in the third over when he prised outHershelle Gibbs with a direct throw from cover to the bowler’s end.There was an even more breathtaking piece of fielding from CameronCuffy to effect the second wicket and end the most promisingpartnership of the innings.The beanpole Vincentian covered plenty of ground in running aroundfrom long-off and was the most excited man on the ground when heintercepted Jacques Kallis’ lofted drive off McGarrell.In the context of how things turned out, it was a decisive strike bythe 28-year-old McGarell, who was playing in his first One-DayInternational in more than two years.The partnership between Kallis and Gary Kirsten was worth 64 in 14.5overs when it was broken by McGarrell’s final ball of his first over.It was principally McGarrell who stemmed the flow of runs againstopponents who had so ruthlessly attacked him in the 1999 limited-oversseries in South Africa when he conceded almost seven runs an over inhis four matches.Yesterday, he hardly delivered a loose ball from the ten successiveovers he sent down in the middle of the innings. He put South Africaunder even more pressure with an important double-strike in his finalover.Jonty Rhodes, without being spectacular, made 36 with little fussbefore his tendency of hitting slightly across the line made him anlbw victim.If Rhodes’ was the big wicket, Lance Klusener, whose big-hittingreputation is matched by few players in this form of the game, was aneven more crucial scalp. His form in the Test series was wretched, butKlusener still remains a feared customer. But, he could not survivehis first ball, one of fullish length which he drove over.He was the third of four wickets in which South Africa slumped from131 for three to 159 for seven. And this time there was no grandrecovery of the kind they have often achieved with the help of theirdeep lower order.McGarrell’s effort with the ball was almost matched by Cuffy, whoconceded 37 runs from his ten overs, but the West Indies’ other twofast bowlers were disappointing.Kerry Jeremy was lashed for 30 runs from his five overs and MervynDillon bowled at five runs an over. Neither was tidy in the field aswell.