Cronje, Pollock author great escape as SA make it four in a row

Prem Panicker

What is most intriguing about this SBI one day international tournament thus far is that it takes the game right back to the classic format - slow start, gradual stepping up of the pace in the middle, the late blitz at the very end to put up decent totals or chase them.

Hardly in keeping with the formula patented by the Sri Lankans, who bat the first 15 overs as if it was the last five and then settle down to slow and easy consolidation - but hey, it's working just fine out here. And providing its own share of excitement, what is more - so who's complaining?

South Africa, in front of a boisterous home ground at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, proved why they are such a dangerous one-day side, chasing 257 to win, being 3/16 and 4/72, 5/102 and looking totally out of it, and then turning the game right around again with commonsense cricket to shut Zimbabwe out of the game with four wickets, and nine deliveries, to spare.

Here's how they did it:

The Zimbabwe innings

Alistair Campbell makes almost a fetish of winning the toss. He did it here again, and opted for first strike. Hindsight, they say, is always 20-20 vision - but frankly, it did look a better idea for Campbell to try chasing for a change.

The reason? Simple - you always play to your strength, and Zimbabwe's strength is its batting. Sure, the bowlers do tend to strike hard and early - but once Brandes and Streak are through with their first spells, what follows is pretty pedestrian. Bowling first, thus, just might have been the better option, the Zimbabwe batsmen would then be able to have an idea of the target they are looking at and plan their innings in accordance.

Anyways, that is so much theory - in actual fact, Campbell took first strike on a Wanderers' wicket strokeplaying batsmen have sweet dreams about, and went into the game with two changes. Out went Craig Evans, and in came Guy Whittall - a case of one batting all-rounder for another. Out went John Rennie and in came Everton Matamnanadzo, a 20-year-old fast medium bowler - and this change, given that Rennie has done a tidy job till date, didn't seem to make too much sense.

In the event, Grant Flower and Andrew Waller walked out to open, and straightaway got a surprise when Allan Donald took the new ball himself, rather than bowl second change with an older ball, as he has preferred to do of late. The ploy was obvious - on a batting wicket, the best bet for the bowling side was to look for early strikes, and Donald was the best man for the job.

Over number three, and the express bowler bowled one at mail-train speed, holding it back for Waller, whose fondness for playing across the line keeps getting him in trouble, to play off the leading edge back into the bowler's hands and reduce Zimbabwe to 6/1.

Two balls later, that became 6/2 when a lovely awayswinger, pitching on off and moving away from the left-hander, took the edge of Andy Flower's bat and gave Richardson some catching practise behind the stumps, to have the scoreboard reading 6/2.

Craig Wishart came in at this stage, and both he and Grant Flower to their credit looked totally at ease against the SA attack. No heroics, no swashbuckling swishes and hoiks and such - just sensible push-and-run tactics and Zimbabwe seemed en route to recovery when, with the score at 51 and his own contribution reading 24, Wishart went after one from Pollock outside off and leaving the bat even further, and Richardson got himself yet another scalp.

Alistair Campbell is a lovely, free-flowing batsman - why he has a tendency to get run out is, of course, the key question. He began with a great pickup, from off stump, to cart Pollock over midwicket for a one-bounce four. And minutes later, backed up too far and found Hudson, probably the one SA fielder who does not qualify for the adjective "electric", picking up at mid on and breaking the stumps to have Zimbabwe in all kinds of bother at 61/4.

That brought Dave Houghton to the wicket - up a place after his performance in the previous game but at number six, a shade too low in the order for one of his talent. And from that point on, it was like a different ball game. Grant Flower was all thoughtful cricket, pushing into the gaps, working the ball around, getting the singles and waiting for the odd loose ball to thump for more. Houghton, meanwhile, was classically correct one minute, brilliantly innovative the next as he authored yet another perfect one-day knock. 57 runs came off just 61 balls with four fours, including two of the most exquisite cover drives you ever want to see, and a trademark pickup from outside off that deposited the ball way above the fence at midwicket. And the partnership looked to be running away with the game when, with the score at 154, Houghton attempted to pull Symcox round, kneeling to get right down for the shot, and ended up top edging for the ball to balloon behind the bowler and Rhodes, running easily across from mid on, to complete the catch.

Grant Flower had been batting with immense concentration right through, and looked set for a big score when Hansie Cronje, as he so often does, produced one of those deadly deliveries that are most devastating for being so apparently innocuous. This one was pitched just outside off, as the previous one had been. But where the preceeding ball moved away, this one nipped back in at Flower who, looking for the push to backward point, found himself hopelessly out of positon as the ball thudded into the stumps. Zimbabwe 168/6 at this stage, and again looking to have slumped after a good job in the middle order. Flower for his part took 62 off 93 with five fours - another very good innings from the opening batsman who, on this tour thus far, has looked in peak form.

As indicated in the beginning, the Zimbabwe team has some good one day batsmen, and the loss of Houghton and Flower in quick succession brought Whittall and Paul Strang to the crease. Followed another classic little one day partnership, characterised by clever placement, swift running and some clean hits through the line, especially from Paul Strang who time and again played shots that mixed the authentic with the agricultural to pierce the field. When Whittall went to a great diving catch at midwicket by Cronje while trying to flick Donald, he had already scored a brisk 41 off 45 with just two fours (an indication of the quality of running between the wickets) and Zimbabwe were back on track for the big score this pitch dictated, with his wicket going down at 231.

Heath Streak was sent out to hit and he did just that, thumping 12 off 10 before playing all over a Donald yorker, and when the 50th over was bowled, Strang was still unconquered with a great little cameo of 40 off 38 with five fours, Eddo Brandes keeping him company with a single off the only ball he faced.

256 for 8 in 50 was a good target to set - though, given the batting conditions, Zimbabwe could have added another 10, 15 runs to the total at the least if the opening batsmen had been better able to withstand Donald's fire.

For South Africa, Donald was again outstanding, going for 46 off his 10 but picking up four wickets. Bryson was a shade less tidy than in the previous game, straying outside off too often and getting stick from Houghton, first, and Whittall and Strang later. Pollock was good in support, with 1/43, Klusener sort of average with 0/39 off 7 and Symcox expensive, again, with 1/55 in his ten overs. Hansie Cronje, meanwhile, did another of his trademark stints, sending down five overs for 24 and picking up the key wicket of Grant Flower, to help his main bowlers along just when the going was getting tough.

The fielding, as per usual, was outstanding - and Rhodes was on a planet of his own. One placard raised in the stands said it all for SA's star fielder: "Two thirds of the earth is covered by water; the other one third by Jonty Rhodes".

Yeah, right.

The SA innings

The key to chasing a good score is a steady start, but Eddo Brandes - so often, and so condescendingly, referred to as the "chicken farmer" by the media - had the capacity crowd at the Wanderers laying eggs when he first straightened one on the stumps to get Hudson plumb in front (the batsman again falling to his weakness of playing across the line from off to leg early in his innings) and have SA on 4/1. Then inducing Lance Klusener - who really should stop treating this whole business of batting as some kind of schoolboy lark, his habit of standing with upraised bat and having a healthy swipe at everything, regardless of conditions, is a bit too cavalier for comfort - to balloon one to mid off where Whittall ran back and took a well judged catch behind his left shoulder to have SA on 15/2. And immediately after, straightened another one in at Kirsten to have him plumb in front, and SA in deep trouble at 16/3.

Cullinan and Rhodes thus found themselves at the wicket rather earlier than they had expected - and followed an extraordinary innings by Jonty Rhodes. Electric running between the wickets is a Rhodes special at all times, but in this particular tournament he seems determined to hit the cover off the ball. Five fours were smashed through the infield, several singles were stolen (a couple of them up there in the coronary-causing class) and Rhodes, with 34 off 28, looked hell bent on winning the game off his own bat when he flicked at Matambanadzo for Campbell to hold well at short midwicket.

At this stage, with SA reduced to 72/4, we were still in the 14th over. And already, some of Campbell's decisions in the field were raising eyebrows. For instance, when you have the opposition down at 16/3, you do not bowl your best bowler with a single slip, and no other fielder up close. Again, it seemed rather strange for Campbell to bring on the innocuous Whittall as first change, when the more obvious option appeared to be to give the ball to Paul Strang, with a fielder or three round the bat to put Cullinan, who is always a shade uncomfortable against leg spin, under some pressure.

In the event Cullinan, who was looking as usual in ominous touch, perished from his own over-confidence, aiming a flick across the line at Whittall. The batsman does play this stroke with elegance and timing - but that strength is also a major weakness, for he tends to do it once too often. Here the ball was straight, and of fuller length - not quite the prescription for that shot, but Cullinan played, missed, and back went the stumps to curtail a good innings of 30 off 42 and reduce South Africa to 102/5.

At this stage, SA had two things going for them - one, the good form of Cronje in this tournament and two, the fact that Rhodes and Cullinan had got their runs at a brisk rate and thus kept SA well up on the asking rate. Zimbabwe meanwhile needed to attack and prise out either Pollock or Cronje, but instead chose to defend the target.

And one thing this SA team is, is professional. Both batsmen judged the situation to perfection, realised precisely what they needed to do, and from that point on, kept accumulating singles at a steady four, five an over. In fact, at one point in this superb, level-headed partnership, 65 runs came without a single boundary, and of those, fully 59 were singles well judged and taken.

Sure, there were the odd occasions when direct hits would have found either batsman out of his ground, but so intense was the pressure that the Zimbabwe fielding, outstanding till then, began cracking.

Adding to Campbell's woes, Matambanadzo was way too wayward - fully nine wides coming off him alone. In fact, the erratic bowling was a major minus for the fielding side, 16 wides being given away and effectively ensuring that SA's real target was 241 from 52.4 deliveries, rather than 257 from 50. You don't do that at this level and not expect to pay a price - and when you consider that SA won with just 9 balls to spare, the price Zimbabwe paid for poor control of line and length is obvious.

This, however, is not to take away from a superlative exhibition of batting from Cronje and Pollock. While the former was all calm and calculating, getting his runs from gentle deflections, nudges, pushes and pokes into the outfield, Pollock was, as per his usual, considerably more aggressive, racing to his 50 ahead of the senior partner and from there on, launching a blitz on the bowling that saw Paul Strang disappear for 15 off one over.

Campbell, meanwhile, was so strapped for options that he was forced to even bowl Grant Flower, not exactly terrifying a prospect for well set batsmen. Why, when both Brandes and Streak had four overs apiece, the Zimbabwe captain did not use a short burst from either to try and end this partnership will remain a mystery - in the event, the next wicket to fall was against the run of play when Pollock tried to swing Streak round from his middle stump, found the ball too full in length for the shot and paid for the indiscretion with his middle stump. Pollock's best ODI innings thus far had fetched him 75 off 85 with five fours, and reinforced his growing claim to rank among the few genuine all-rounders of class in the world today.

SA at this stage was 239/6, well ahead of the ask rate, and skipper Cronje (70 not out off 86 with five fours) guarded against any last minute alarms by calmly controlling the strike and, in company with Richardson, piloting his team past the winning post.

For Zimbabwe, Brandes was outstanding with 3/45 off his 10 overs, Streak competent in support with 1/44 off 9 and Strang quite good, troubling the batsmen time and again with flight and turn to return figures of 0/48 off his 10. Matambanadzo, however, had a nightmare of a day, going for 53 off 8.3 for his sole wicket and, thanks to his profusion of wides, helping the SA cause along even further/ AS for Whittall and Flower, both were pedestrian at best - making Rennie's absence all the more inexplicable.

Zimbabwe, in the final analysis, had a great chance here to put pressure on India by winning one against RSA - and muffed it. Meanwhile, the home team, now on a winning trot extending to 29 of the last 34 games, appears to be peaking into awesome form.

Zimbabwe's defeat here is, thus, good news for India. SA's effortless chase after being five down for little, however, is not. And that makes the upcoming battle on Sunday February 2 between India and SA all the more interesting. Wait for it.

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