Waugh's delight at 'great escape' (18 June 1999)

18 June 1999

Waugh's delight at 'great escape'

Peter Deeley

Australian captain Steve Waugh admitted last night that the dramatic win over South African had been cricket's version of "the great escape".

With one run needed and four balls left, both Waugh and his opposite number, Hansie Cronje, were of the same mind: that a South African win was forthcoming.

"You can't get better games than this," said Waugh. "It was a fantastic match. I'm almost sorry for South Africa. It was a shame they had to lose."

He admitted that South Africa had been in the driving seat at one stage: "They should have won the game. But someone had to produce a match-winning spell and it was Shane Warne that did it.

"Afterwards, it was just an ecstatic atmosphere in the dressing-room. First of all, we thought we had the game won. Then we feared we had lost it."

Warne said that at the outset of the tournament, Australia had been out of touch and had played a couple of "off games. But we got better and better."

Cronje was philosophical. "You experience the highs and the lows in this type of game. And this was the low."

He said he had not spoken to Allan Donald since the run-out which lost the match. "But I do know that he didn't hear the call for the single from Lance Klusener because of the noise of the crowd."

Cronje said he had been wrongly given out when he was caught off his boot. But he was not making excuses. Indeed, he is contemplating his future with new selectors and a new coach taking over in South Africa.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)