Waugh puts his faith in the intensity factor (12 June 1999)

12 June 1999

Waugh puts his faith in the intensity factor

Charles Randall

Australia will take on South Africa at Headingley tomorrow knowing exactly how close they are to the World Cup semi-finals. The chances are that they will already be safely through, but it is unlikely Steve Waugh will allow his team to forget the "intensity" factor.

Waugh's team will need the Super Six win if New Zealand subdue India, definite non-qualifiers, at Nottingham today. They will already be safely through if the Indians triumph.

And if Australia are defeated by South Africa tomorrow, they will be meeting them again at Old Trafford three days later, provided India allow them to qualify. Waugh believes the contest at Headingley will be an indication of who will be ultimate champions.

He has looked more confident with each passing week, regarding the high-scoring Group B defeat by Pakistan as a turning point. After four successive wins he is relishing tomorrow's South Africa match.

Waugh said: "We've got to keep the intensity up. That's the main thing in one-day cricket. If you hustle out there and you're hungry and if the intensity is in the cricket, then you're going to play well. That's when we're at our best.

"We like playing big games in pressure situations. South Africa play cricket similar to us and we really enjoy the way they play the game. It's a tough contest out in the field. They certainly don't give you anything and we're not going to give them anything. So I'm looking forward to the game and I think that it will be a pointer to who will carry on and win the World Cup."

At the start of the tournament other people were worried by Glenn McGrath's slow start; Waugh was not. Now Shane Warne's effectiveness has been questioned, but Waugh is not concerned. Batsmen, left-handers such as Robin Singh, of India, and Neil Johnson, the Zimbabwean opener, have started to single out Warne's leg-spin for special treatment, though in their cases these were attempts to rescue lost causes.

Waugh said after the Zimbabwe match: "Shane's got a bit of a sore shoulder, but he'll be good enough to overcome that. He would like to have bowled better, but the whole game wasn't hanging on his 10 overs and I think he'll bowl his best if that situation comes up for him."

Despite Waugh's reassurance, the past week has been a test for Warne's confidence and his own philosophy. In a recent newspaper column he suggested that England's problems stemmed from an inability to deal with pressure.

"By pressure, I mean the fear of failure. If you believe in your ability and the ability of your mates in the team, then you can never fail," Warne said. He added that Australia never considered the consequences of losing. Australia, though, would not be human if they did not feel a slight twinge of anxiety should they play South Africa tomorrow with their World Cup existence at stake.

The one-day record between Australia and South Africa has been extraordinarily close since matches began in 1992. It stands at 19-18 in South Africa's favour, the most recent meeting occurring in Sydney in January last year as the culmination of a peculiar triangular series with New Zealand.

During the tournament Australia lost all four group matches heavily to South Africa before qualifying for the three-match final by edging out New Zealand. They lost the first final, but won the last two games in Sydney to take the Carlton Series. Somehow Waugh trumped Hansie Cronje on that occasion.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph