Australia Window 2003 Hosting

Admin | November 16, 2011 | Comments Off

Australia Window 2003 Hosting

Australia Window 2003 Hosting

South Africa had missed the first four Cricket World Cup’s due to the international sporting boycott imposed on them during the apartheid era. The first tournament they participated in on their return was the 1992 World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand. They made an immediate impact, thrashing Australia by 9 wickets in their opening match. South African Kepler Wessels, who had played for Australia while South Africa were banned, scored 81 not out for his homeland. South Africa then lost to New Zealand and Sri Lanka, before recovering to beat West Indies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and India, suffering only one further defeat at the group stage at the hands of England. Having played all eight teams in the competition, South Africa were ranked third in the final table, sending them through to the semi final stage, and a re-match with the English. A close match was building up to a nail-biting finale when weather intervened, and due to the rules in place at the time the South Africans were set an impossible target of 21 runs from one ball, and were duly eliminated. Following this match, the rules for rain affected matches were changed.

South Africa Suffer Semi Final Defeat

South Africa were back in action in the 1996 World Cup in Asia, and cruised through the opening round, winning all five of their matches, including a victory over England. This set up a quarter final tie against West Indies and the indomitable Brian Lara. The prolific West Indian smashed 111 from a score of 264-8, and South Africa fell short in their run chase, and were surprisingly eliminated. The 1999 tournament was held in England, and South Africa once again sent a strong squad, and were expected to challenge for the title. They began well with wins over India and Sri Lanka, before humiliating the host nation by 122 runs. A victory over Kenya confirmed their place in the next round and rendered a shock defeat to Zimbabwe seemingly insignificant. South Africa proceeded to the new Super 6 stage, where they met the qualifiers from the other group. Pakistan and New Zealand were overcome, but South Africa lost out to Australia in their final match. This result, along with the defeat against Zimbabwe, meant that they finished third in the Super 6 group, and met Australia again in the semi final. After the high scoring group game, the Australians could only muster 213 in the knock out match, a total South Africa were capable of chasing down. In a pulsating match the momentum swung back and forth, before South Africa seemed to have the game won in the final over, needing just one run from three deliveries. But they also had just one wicket remaining, and in a panic to cross the finish line Allan Donald attempted an impossible single, and was run out. The extraordinary match finished in a tie, and since Australia had finished above South Africa in the Super 6 stage, it was they who progressed to the final.

South Africa Host the Cricket World Cup

South Africa were the primary hosts of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, with support from Zimbabwe and Kenya. If South African fans hoped home advantage would be decisive, however, they were to be disappointed. In their opening match South Africa lost to West Indies after a nail-biting finish, and although they recovered to record an easy win over Kenya they were then thrashed by New Zealand. Expected victories over Bangladesh and Canada kept them in the hunt for qualification, but they still needed to beat Sri Lanka in their final match to stand any chance of progressing. In a flashback to 1992, South Africa were involved in a rain affected run chase, but this time as the match reached its finale, their problems were of their own making. A miscalculation or misunderstanding on the part of the South African batsmen meant that they failed to attempt a run off the last ball of their innings, believing they already had sufficient runs to put them ahead. However, they were only tied, and found themselves eliminated from their own tournament in the first round.