Cometh the over, cometh the hitman! (23 May 1999)

23 May 1999

Cometh the over, cometh the hitman!

COLIN BRYDEN from London.

IT hasn't taken long for Lance Klusener to become one of the most feared cricketers at the World Cup.

One English journalist asked South African captain Hansie Cronjé whether he thought Klusener might be the best one-day cricketer in the world.

To which Cronjé responded: "Lance realises he still has a long way to go. He's one of 11 good players in the South African team.

"You can't really put a label on someone and say he's the best player in one-day cricket. You can look at a Mark Waugh or a Sachin Tendulkar, but they play completely different roles to Klusener."

The fact is, though, that Klusener's calm temperament and explosive hitting have been one of the main factors in South Africa's success in the one-day game this season.

The ability of the man known as "Zulu" to hit fours and huge sixes in the final overs, sometimes off the final ball, have stretched credulity beyond a point where it could be said he has had a lucky slog. It has simply happened too often.

There was the first one-day international against the West Indies at the Wanderers. South Africa needed 12 off the last over. Klusener hit Neil McGarrell for six and although he lost the strike, South Africa won off the last ball.

There was the thriller against New Zealand at Napier. Four needed off Dion Nash's last ball. Klusener clubbed a low full toss for six.

Then there was Northampton. South Africa were in a desperate situation against Sri Lanka at 122 for eight.

Klusener showed two sides to his batting character. First he stayed cool and organised, preserving his wicket. Then he turned hitman again, slamming the last five balls from the otherwise immaculate Chaminda Vaas for 4, 2, 4, 6, 6.

Klusener's bowling is a not inconsiderable second string. Bustling and aggressive, he has added variation to the all-out pace and enthusiasm that he brought into the side. His use of the crease has enabled him to vary his angle, while he has learnt to swing the ball away from the batsman as well as in.

Klusener tends to be a streak bowler. If he has one success, he is quite likely to follow up with two, three or four more.

Not even Allan Donald can match his remarkable tally of four five-wicket hauls in one-day internationals.

It is Klusener's batting, though, which is most likely to swing a match. Not since Adrian Kuiper has South Africa had so explosive a hitter.

Towards the end of Kuiper's career, he found his right niche in the batting order, as a "floater" who would come in with around 10 overs left with a licence to hit.

Like Kuiper, Klusener has the ability when required to play a long, responsible innings. He has opened and batted at number three with notable success but his main value is as a destroyer in the last few overs when he wields his extra-heavy bat like a baseball club. Klusener's power has proved a devastating antidote to the modern tactic of the fast, low full toss. Unless the bowlers get it in absolutely the right place, there is every chance the ball will blast past them at a quite frightening pace.

There is a vivid contrast between the classically correct Barry Richards and the savage power of Klusener, yet both opened the batting for Durban High School, albeit more than a generation apart.

Klusener was by his own admission an average performer and only developed as a bowler playing country districts cricket in rural Natal.

Although evidently a lively presence in the dressing room, with firm views on tactics and opponents, Klusener is quietly-spoken in public.

He is determined to do well on a second visit to England after returning home with a heel injury midway through the Test series last year.

"Hopefully I can make amends for letting the guys down last time," he says. "I'm feeling confident, and one-day cricket is all about having confidence."