‘We were gone’: Inside ‘chokers’ 30-year nightmare and Warne epic that stunned world

The history of South Africa in World Cup semi-finals is akin to a Shakespearean tragicomedy, packed with heartbreak and anguish.

Sometimes their fate’s been out of their control, while other times they’ve only had themselves to blame. What can’t be denied is that South Africa has an uncanny knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in World Cup knockouts.

So much so that Australian great Brad Haddin labelled them ‘chokers’ this week.

Rain seems to always intervene at inopportune times, most notably in Sydney in 1992, when an ill-conceived rule manifested the revised run chase of 21 from one delivery.

The untimely weather returned in Auckland in 2015, when Grant Elliot steered the Black Caps towards victory with one ball to spare, aided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.

South Africa’s two other World Cup semi-final appearances were both against Australia, in 1999 and 2007 — the latter was a one-sided thrashing, while the other is regarded as one of the greatest matches in ODI history.

South Africa’s World Cup Semi-finals

1992 — Lost to England by 19 runs

1999 — Tie against Australia, eliminated

2007 — Lost to Australia by seven wickets with 18.3 overs to spare

2015 — Lost to New Zealand by four wickets with one ball to spare

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The Proteas, boasting a world-class squad packed with talent, came up against the mighty Australians at Edgbaston, with captain Hansie Cronje winning the toss and electing to bowl first.

Australia suffered an early collapse before captain Steve Waugh and repairman Michael Bevan steered their side towards a defendable total of 213 all out. Shaun Pollock claimed a five-wicket haul while Allan Donald snared 4-32 — but unfortunately, nobody remembers the match for his contribution with the ball.

Early in the run chase, South Africa was seemingly cruising towards victory after openers Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten quickly knocked 48 runs off the deficit.

“I thought we gone, for sure,” the legendary Adam Gilchrist, who was donning the gloves, explained to Fox Cricket.

“I thought we were gone for all money.”

Enter, Shane Warne.

The King of Spin produced a masterful spell in Birmingham, toppling Gibbs with a peach that pitched outside leg and clipped the top of off stump. Kirsten missed a slog-sweep,

Cronje edged to first slip, and all-rounder Jacques Kallis chipped a catch towards cover.

The match was suddenly on a knife’s edge.

“Some of the deliveries (Warne) bowled in that innings are on par with the Ball of the Century that got Mike Gatting out in 1993,” Gilchrist claimed.

“People might think that’s a big sweeping statement, but if you go back and watch it, some of them were just extraordinary.”

South Africa needed 16 runs with eight deliveries to spare when Lance Klusener slapped Glenn McGrath’s low full toss towards long-on, where Paul Reiffel dropped a catch and parried it over the boundary for six.

Klusener, batting alongside Proteas No. 11 Donald, then smacked back-to-back boundaries in the final over to tie the scores, with South Africa needing one run from the final four deliveries to book their spot in the final.

Damien Fleming made the bold decision to abandon Australia’s preconceived plan and come over the wicket to Klusener, which immediately paid dividends. The left-hander mis-hit the following delivery towards mid-on, with Donald setting off for the match-winning single — but Klusener sent him back. Darren Lehmann under-armed the ball towards the non-striker’s end, but missed the target.

“That’s when I thought the horse had bolted,” Gilchrist admitted.

On the fourth ball, Fleming produced a near-perfect yorker that Klusener bunted down the ground. He ran, but Donald, spooked by his blunder from the previous delivery, stayed put.

In calamitous scenes, Donald dropped his bat while turning to make his ground at the non-striker’s end. Mark Waugh awkwardly flung the ball towards Fleming, who underarmed it towards Gilchrist, who dislodged the bail.

The match was tied, the first instance in World Cup history. Due to their superior position on the Super Six standings, Australia progressed through to the final.

“Fortunately we went ten-pin bowling in the lead-up to that game,” Gilchrist laughed.
“The Julios vs the Nerds, of which I was a very proud member of the Nerds.

“The ten-pin bowing skills came out with great effect when Damien Fleming under-armed the ball to me and I had the great pleasure of knocking the bails off.”

Who won the ten-pin bowling contest?

“Definitely the Julios,” Gilchrist recalled.

“We weren’t very good.”

South Africa had cemented its status as World Cup chokers, a moniker they haven’t shaken in the 24 years since. However, the Proteas will have another chance to break the semi-finals curse on Thursday when they face Australia at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

The South Africans are coming off four consecutive wins against Australia, including last month’s crushing 134-run victory in Lucknow. However, the Proteas have never beaten Australia in a World Cup knock-out match.

Will they be feeling the weight of history on their shoulders?

“I wouldn’t think so,” Gilchrist said.

“It’s just people like us (in the media) who keep conjuring it up.

“The history doesn’t guarantee anything. We’ve won five 50-over World Cups, and we have a strong pedigree in this format, but it doesn’t guarantee anything for this current group of Australian players, and they’ll be aware of that. They know they’ve got to write their own history, some of which did that in 2015.

“Same for South Africa. There’s no reason any players need to be burdened by any history in that regard. They’ve played some really intelligent, exciting, entertaining cricket in this tournament.

“Their heads will just be in this, they won’t be thinking about history.”

Australia will face the Proteas at Eden Gardens on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT — and South African cricket fans will shudder at the weather forecast.

Watch live on Fox Cricket or stream on Kayo Sports.