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Tie -- just not enough South Africa mourns semifinal defeat
Posted: Tuesday September 07, 1999 03:21 PM
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN/SI) -- An aura of gloom appeared to pervade South Africa the day after its dramatic semifinal against Australia in the Cricket World Cup. Although the Proteas tied the actual match at Edgbaston on Thursday, the men from Down Under will advance to play Pakistan at Lord's in Sunday's final based on the Super Six standings. Another blazing innings by Lance Klusener meant South Africa, with one wicket in hand, needed a single off the last four balls of the match to win. But Allan Donald was run out after responding too late to Klusener's call for a risky run. The local newspapers reflected the national feeling of loss. "Hansie's [Cronje] boys shattered as deciding-run fiasco robs SA of cup final berth," the Johannesburg Star headlined on its front page. "Former SA allrounder Mike Procter looked like he had just seen a ghost," the Star reported. "Pale and drawn, he ambled towards the exit at Edgbaston with shoulders hunched, shaking his head in disbelief. "Not like that. Not on a run out. Caught or bowled, sure, but not on a run out," he was quoted as saying. "I've just been into the dressing room and the guys are shattered -- what do you say to them after that?" Cronje told the paper, "You experience highs and lows in a career, and this is obviously one of the lowest of lows. You will do well to see a match more exciting than this." In an editorial headlined "Going down fighting" the Star urged readers to "spare a thought today for Hansie Cronje and his brave team of cricketing warriors. "Knocked out of the tournament yesterday in a gripping World Cup semifinal, their dreams of winning their sport's greatest prize must wait until the 2003 competition, to be staged in South Africa. "As Hansie and his despondent men fly home they should take spirit in the knowledge that they competed with heart and talent, giving us weeks of exhilaration and, yes, disappointment that such a fine team did not make the final. "But going down fighting is no disgrace -- you and your men did us proud, Hansie." Under the headline, "A World Cup game like no other," the Pretoria News wrote: "It took just one ill-timed dash for glory to turn a potential Cup of joy into one of extreme bitterness. "South Africa had indeed contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." It quoted Cronje as saying: "It's a very cruel game." The Durban daily The Mercury ran a front page picture of the crucial run out and the headline on its back page read: "So near -- but so far again." The Mercury reported: "Shane Warne [who took four for 29] produced eight balls of magic that ultimately cost South Africa a place in a first World Cup final. "But Hansie Cronje's men died as gloriously as it is possible to do in the disappointment of defeat in a semifinal that will go down in the record books as a tie." "SA Crashes out of World Cup," was the Cape Times front page headline. "A stunning suicidal run out pulled the shutters down on South Africa's 1999 World Cup aspirations at Edgbaston," the paper said." On its back page, the Times ran South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten's weekly column. The headline, "Easily the emptiest day of my career," summed up what was to come. "What a day! I honestly never believed it was possible to feel as empty as this," a mournful Kirsten wrote. "I have experienced disappointment before, but nothing has ever -- or will ever -- leave me feeling like this again. "It was the biggest match of our lives and we responded to the occasion as well as the pressure, and at this stage I cannot even speak let alone begin to write about my feelings and the emotions we experienced in the closing stages of the match. "I know life, and the game, goes on. But, at present, I cannot imagine getting over this. "There was so much to lose. Everything, in fact. No one remembers losing finalists, let alone semifinalists." Radio talk shows have also reflected the nation's mourning, with most callers choosing to commiserate with their team. "Hansie and the boys deserve nothing less than a heroes' welcome, they have done us proud," a woman caller said. Another recited a stanza from Grantland Rice's famous poem: "For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name he will ask not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game."
Reuters contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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