Agony for Zimbabwe (14 June 1999)
The Zimbabweans watched the closing stages of the Headingley match when they assembled for a team meeting at their hotel in London
14-Jun-1999
14 June 1999
Agony for Zimbabwe
Charles Randall
The Zimbabweans watched the closing stages of the Headingley match
when they assembled for a team meeting at their hotel in London.
Their survival in the tournament depended on an Australian defeat,
but half an hour or so was as much as most of them could bring
themselves to watch.
Until then the Zimbabwean players and management had to kill the day
in London, wondering if they would have to catch a flight home or
journey on from Kensington to Manchester to prepare for the first
semi-final on Wednesday.
They did not seek out some bar where they could gather together and
cheer on South Africa. Most could not bear the tension, certainly not
Dave Houghton, the coach. He said: "It's nerve-racking enough
watching our lot play without putting myself through it watching
another match. I think we all felt we'd left it to someone else to do
the job for us. The whole thing was out of our hands."
They would have felt sick with disappointment if they had seen the
gaffe by Hershelle Gibbs, who dropped that straightforward midwicket
catch off Steve Waugh in the act of throwing the ball up in triumph.
Zimbabwe's predicament could have been avoided if they had not had
such a heavy Super Sixes defeat at the Oval last Friday. Pakistan
were always going to win after their 271, but Zimbabwe should have
made more than 123, which depressed their run-rate.
They were not to know it at the time, but if Zimbabwe had made 177 or
more in defeat, they would have guaranteed themselves a last four
place by finishing with a run-rate above New Zealand's eventual
figure.
Source :: The Electronic Telegraph