The silly semi-final
The scorecard says it all
March 21 | March 23
1992
The World Cup semi-final that ended in farce. South Africa needed 22 off 13 balls to beat England at Sydney when rain stopped play. Ten minutes later the players were back on … and South Africa needed 21 off one ball. Blame the lowest-scoring-over rain rules, which ruined a cracking contest, and South Africa's dilatoriness - they bowled only 45 overs in the time allotted, and as a result many people felt they got their just desserts. England made 252 for 6, with Graeme Hick thumping 83 and Dermot Reeve bustling 25 off 14 balls. Even though nobody reached 50, South Africa were always in the hunt until the rain came. It meant England had qualified for their third World Cup final in the last four. Three days later, they lost their third World Cup final in the last four.
2001
The end of an unforgettable series. India 2 Australia 1 was a result no-one would have predicted at the halfway point, when India were in disarray, 1-0 down and following on 274 runs behind. But that’s how it ended after their nail-shredding two-wicket win at Chennai. Harbhajan Singh was the star with 15 wickets - in the three-match series he took 32 wickets; the next-best was three. Fittingly, after Australia fought back brilliantly, it was Harbhajan who slashed the winning runs off Glenn McGrath. Whatever they have done before or since, Australia will always have this black spot on their CV - they have not won a series in India since 1969-70.
1988
The last day of Ian Botham’s Queensland career, although he didn’t know it at the time. Beefy was the big overseas signing designed to bring Queensland their first Sheffield Shield, and while he did well enough - seven fifties and 29 wickets in 11 matches - they fell at the final hurdle again, beaten by five wickets in the final by a Western Australia side that included an 18-year-old Alan Mullally. Botham was on a three-year contract, but a few days before the final had been involved in a highly-publicised fracas during the team’s flight from Brisbane to Perth. He pleaded guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour, and his contract was terminated. Typically, it was all over the front pages. Even the Australian prime minister Bob Hawke chipped in: “He let cricket down. He let Queensland down. He let Australia down ... [it was] the right decision”.
1994
Mike Atherton’s new England regime continued to flounder in the Caribbean. In the second Test in Guyana they were well beaten by an innings and 44 runs, despite a superb first-innings 144 from Atherton. That was small beer, though, compared to Brian Lara’s majestic 210-ball 167, his first Test ton in the West Indies. Oh, and Ian Salisbury returned his best Test figures: 37-4-163-4.
1995
A turning point in Sri Lanka’s modern history. A drawn second Test against New Zealand at Dunedin gave them their first Test-series victory overseas, at the 16th attempt. Within a year they were world champions.
1915
Birth of a cricket suicide. New Zealander Fen Cresswell, a medium-pacer with an odd, front-on delivery, made his first-class debut at 34 and had a very good tour of England in 1949, on which he took 62 wickets. He played three Tests in all, and was found dead in Marlborough in 1966 with a shotgun at his side.
Other birthdays
1927 George Thoms (Australia)
1933 Chris Duckworth (South Africa)
1965 Stu Roberts (New Zealand)
1968 Suruj Ragoonath (West Indies)
1971 Arshad Khan (Pakistan)
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1992
The World Cup semi-final that ended in farce. South Africa needed 22 off 13 balls to beat England at Sydney when rain stopped play. Ten minutes later the players were back on … and South Africa needed 21 off one ball. Blame the lowest-scoring-over rain rules, which ruined a cracking contest, and South Africa's dilatoriness - they bowled only 45 overs in the time allotted, and as a result many people felt they got their just desserts. England made 252 for 6, with Graeme Hick thumping 83 and Dermot Reeve bustling 25 off 14 balls. Even though nobody reached 50, South Africa were always in the hunt until the rain came. It meant England had qualified for their third World Cup final in the last four. Three days later, they lost their third World Cup final in the last four.
2001
The end of an unforgettable series. India 2 Australia 1 was a result no-one would have predicted at the halfway point, when India were in disarray, 1-0 down and following on 274 runs behind. But that’s how it ended after their nail-shredding two-wicket win at Chennai. Harbhajan Singh was the star with 15 wickets - in the three-match series he took 32 wickets; the next-best was three. Fittingly, after Australia fought back brilliantly, it was Harbhajan who slashed the winning runs off Glenn McGrath. Whatever they have done before or since, Australia will always have this black spot on their CV - they have not won a series in India since 1969-70.
1988
The last day of Ian Botham’s Queensland career, although he didn’t know it at the time. Beefy was the big overseas signing designed to bring Queensland their first Sheffield Shield, and while he did well enough - seven fifties and 29 wickets in 11 matches - they fell at the final hurdle again, beaten by five wickets in the final by a Western Australia side that included an 18-year-old Alan Mullally. Botham was on a three-year contract, but a few days before the final had been involved in a highly-publicised fracas during the team’s flight from Brisbane to Perth. He pleaded guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour, and his contract was terminated. Typically, it was all over the front pages. Even the Australian prime minister Bob Hawke chipped in: “He let cricket down. He let Queensland down. He let Australia down ... [it was] the right decision”.
1994
Mike Atherton’s new England regime continued to flounder in the Caribbean. In the second Test in Guyana they were well beaten by an innings and 44 runs, despite a superb first-innings 144 from Atherton. That was small beer, though, compared to Brian Lara’s majestic 210-ball 167, his first Test ton in the West Indies. Oh, and Ian Salisbury returned his best Test figures: 37-4-163-4.
1995
A turning point in Sri Lanka’s modern history. A drawn second Test against New Zealand at Dunedin gave them their first Test-series victory overseas, at the 16th attempt. Within a year they were world champions.
1915
Birth of a cricket suicide. New Zealander Fen Cresswell, a medium-pacer with an odd, front-on delivery, made his first-class debut at 34 and had a very good tour of England in 1949, on which he took 62 wickets. He played three Tests in all, and was found dead in Marlborough in 1966 with a shotgun at his side.
Other birthdays
1927 George Thoms (Australia)
1933 Chris Duckworth (South Africa)
1965 Stu Roberts (New Zealand)
1968 Suruj Ragoonath (West Indies)
1971 Arshad Khan (Pakistan)
