South Africa, after the resounding win against Zimbabwe, had
moved to second place ahead of their neighbours on the point's
table. To be sure of a place in the final on Sunday, they however
needed to win this match by a big margin to increase their net
run rate.
This was not to be. Whether the South Africans underestimated the
Kenyans will not be known but the experimentation continued.
Firstly Hansie Cronje decided to opening the batting, then
decided to bowl three overs from a five meter run-up giving away
21 runs. Paul Adams was also allowed to bowl his full quota of 10
overs for 59 runs that included five wides, while Shaun Pollock
and Steve Elworthy had overs in hand. If it was not for the South
African fielding they might just not have won this match.
Losing the toss and asked to bat first by Maurice Odumbe, South
Africa with their rotation policy came into the game with three
changes, Boeta Dippenaar for Herschelle Gibbs, Elworthy for Derek
Crookes and Victor Mpitsang for Alan Dawson. Kenya left out
Josephat Ababu for debutante Peter Oshieng.
The first surprise of the day was that captain Cronje came out to
open the innings with Dippenaar, while Martin Suji and Thomas
Odoyo were entrusted with the new ball. Unlike yesterday's early
overs, the Kenyan bowlers strayed to both sides of the wickets
and it was Dippenaar who recorded the first boundary of the day
with a little flick to fine leg. He followed this with two more
fours, one to backward square leg and one past backward point,
off the bowling of Suji.
Cronje was soon on his way, playing back and fishing outside off,
nudged the ball to Kennedy Otieno's right and taking a very good
one handed catch. Cronje's demise for two left South Africa at
23/1 and made way for Lance Klusener to come to the wicket.
Klusener, being tucked up by the bowlers, struggled to free his
arms and battled with the pace of pitch. It was not until the
ninth over that he did manage to drive Suji away to the long on
fence boundary and repeated the same shot to Odoyo the next over.
Under the overcast conditions the Kenyan bowlers slowly regained
their composure, getting the line and length right to make
scoring difficult for the two batsmen.
With Suji moving the ball away off a good length, Dippenaar who
had played and missed a few balls outside the off, struck a
glorious cover drive in the 13 th over. If there was one notable
mistake in his technique it seemed to be the ball fullish in
length outside the off. His foot was just not getting far enough
across causing him to push at the ball as it went by.
With only 12 runs being scored between overs 10 and 16 the Kenyan
pace bowlers had, as they had done against India, done a
marvellous job with the ball. Containing one of the most
aggressive batsmen in one-day international cricket was going to
pay dividends.
This it did, as a frustrated Klusener trying to force the pace,
got a leading edge to Anthony Suji that went high to long on for
Odoyo to take a good running catch. Klusener, who made 22, was
soon followed by Dippenaar for 26 as he skied Ochieng to midwicket for Ravindu Shah to take the catch. South Africa had gone
from 55/2 to 56/3.
A contrast in technique, with similar results, between
Benkenstein, using his feet and Jacques Kallis, playing from the
crease, resulted in one's and two's with the occasional four
being scored around the ground.
The recovery was short lived when Benkenstein received a full
toss from Sheikh and pulled it straight into the hands of Odoyo
at mid-wicket. A short breezy innings of 12 came to a
disappointing end and South Africa 83/4.
Jonty Rhodes came to the crease and nearly left it four balls
later. Holding back on a shot outside the off, from Sheikh, he
scooped the ball to backward point where Alpesh Vadher was a bit
slow to get to the catch.
Rhodes receiving a full toss from Sheikh, showed Benkenstein what
he should have done, by sending the ball high over the wide long
on fence for the maximum and bringing up the South African 100 in
the 31 st over. A second straight six followed from Sheikh's next
over.
Vadher must have cursed his slip in the field when Rhodes played
the shot of the day off Odumbe, a cracking cover drive past extra
cover. Rhodes had raced to 30 when he should have been out
without scoring.
Rhodes, one of the few South African batsmen who can play spin,
employed the sweep and pull sweep to great effect. Kallis
following suit was content to give the bowling to his partner,
plus putting the odd short ball away to the point boundary.
The 50 partnership came up in the 36 th over with Rhodes
contributing 38 of them. With no Lance Klusener to come and save
South Africa, Rhodes had filled the big mans shoes admirably.
Captain Odumbe, who could not stop the "Jonty Express" taking
impossible singles, reverted to his pace bowlers for the
breakthrough.
It was Martin Suji who proved Rhodes's undoing. In trying to
clear the long on fence Rhodes got under it and gave Ochieng an
easy catch near the boundary to depart for 45 off 46 deliveries,
helping South Africa to 156/5
As so often happens in a good partnership, Kallis followed soon
afterwards. Slashing a vicious cover drive at a half volley from
Anthony Suji, Kallis could only smile as Odoyo snatched a rocket
out of the air at short cover. Kallis was gone for 39 and South
Africa 158/6 in the 40 th over.
Once again South Africa had two new batsmen at the crease. With
only one recognised batsman, Elworthy, to come additional
responsibility had been placed on Pollock and Mark Boucher. One
of Rhodes or Kallis should have made sure of batting through the
innings.
As Rhodes did, Pollock and Boucher used the sweep to accumulate
runs between square leg and fine leg. Pollock did however in the
45 th over come down the pitch to hoist Tikolo for maximum at
long off.
The 200 came up in the 48 th over with both batsmen still content
to work the ball into gaps. Good running turned one's into two's
with one quick run turning into three because of an unnecessary
overthrow from Tikolo.
Pollock started the 49 th over sending Odoyo out the park at long
on. Trying it once too often, and playing across the line, saw
himself bowled for 30. He had hit one four and two sixes and took
the score to 207/7.
Some good running by Elworthy and Boucher, plus a four from
Boucher saw 11 runs coming off the final over, bowled by Odumbe,
for South Africa to end their 50 overs on 220/7.
Martin and Anthony Suji were the best of the Kenyan bowlers with
two wickets apiece, while Sheikh and Tikolo gave away 61 runs in
their combined 10 overs.
Kenya needing 221 to win, and cause a big upset in the
tournament, started off nervously with Kennedy Otieno and Ravindu
Shah sparring outside the off to Pollock and content to defend to
Kallis.
Pollock started the afternoon session with three maidens in a
row, while Kallis had given away 3 boundaries, one driven by
Shah, one edged past the slips by Shah, and one off Shah's pads.
Kallis started the sixth over having Shah put down by Pollock at
second slip, and then watched Otieno come down the pitch and
smack him over extra cover for four.
Pollock made amends for the dropped catch by having Shah driving
and edging to Boucher for nine. Kenyan were nearly 20/2 when
Vadher survived a huge appeal for LBW first ball up to what
looked like a ball that just pitched outside the line.
Kallis bowling at quite a pace, bowled the odd wide, but was also
beating the bat with regularity. When he did twice catch the edge
of the bat the ball landed just short of second slip. He got his
reward in the 12 th over catching Otieno right in front, on the
back foot, for seven and Kenya's second wicket was down for 28.
Steven Tikolo who started slowly severely punished anything
loose. He cut Steve Elworthy past point, pulled Klusener to
square leg and made a meal of Paul Adams.
Elworthy was back to his normal length and after four overs had
brought his economy rate back to two runs an over. Bowling with
enough pace and not giving the batsmen any width or room to play
their shots in, made it easy for Cronje to set a field to.
Frustrating Vadher, he nearly held onto a great caught and bowled
chance but the ball just popped out.
Klusener unlucky not to get Vadher when the latter edged a four
just wide of a diving Boucher got his man an over later with the
help of a great diving catch by Boucher. Vadher out for 17 and
Kenya had lost their third wicket for 60 in the 23 rd over.
With the run rate required going above 6 runs an over Tikolo
started to show some urgency. First dispatching a long hop from
Adams to the mid-wicket fence, and then chipped Klusener to the
fence for three with Cronje just hauling it in at the rope.
Klusener picked up his second wicket when Odumbe was trapped
right in front for 3 and Kenya on 74/4.
Adams at the other end was way off with his length. Bowling at
least one full toss an over and the odd short ball mixed with a
few wides made it easy for the batsmen, especially for Tikolo.
Good fielding by the South Africans helped to keep his bowling
figures on the five runs per over. He got his first wicket in the
32 nd over when Hitesh Modi tried to sweep but top edged to
Cronje taking a good diving catch at backward square leg. Modi
had been at the crease for 16 balls scoring 10 runs to leave
Kenya struggling at 95/6.
Mpitsang, the 19 year old, playing in only his second
international, made a brief appearance before giving away 13 in
his third over when Tikolo and Odoyo were on the charge.
Steven Tikolo brought up his 50 in the 36 th over with a smashing
cover drive through the off field. An innings that grew in
stature the longer he stayed at the crease. With the run rate
required at just over seven runs to the over, and batting with
Thomas Odoyo, Kenya were still very much in this match and making
South Africa fight for a victory.
Cronje realising his position replaced Adams and Mpitsang with
Kallis and Elworthy but it was first Tikolo who sent Elworthy to
the square leg and mid-wicket fence for two fours and then Odoyo
who crashed Kallis to the long on fence and then tickled Elworthy
to the fine leg fence.
Adams was once more brought back but was still inclined to bowl
too short giving the batsmen plenty of time to play their shots.
Cronje brought himself on in the 41 st over giving away 6 runs,
including 2 wides, bowling from a shortened run-up. In his second
over he got a very lucky wicket, that of Tikolo, sweeping and
being adjudged LBW to a ball that appeared to take a bottom edge.
Tikolo had batted superbly and was out for 67 off 87 ball
including 9 fours.
Anthony Suji now joined Odoyo but was out three balls later
without scoring, caught by Rhodes off Adams bowling.
Odoyo was left to attack Cronje and smashed him for two fours to
take 13 off the 45 th over. Kenya needed 40 runs in the last five
overs.
With Kallis still having two overs and Pollock three overs to
bowl, Adams was, for some reason, kept on and gave away 10 runs
in the 46 th over that included two wides to finish his 10 over
spell with 59/2.
Pollock, now given the ball, came back on in the 47 th over and
proceeded to join the other bowlers in giving the umpire some
exercise with another wide. He did however get a charging Odoyo
to edge a catch to Boucher. Odoyo had made his highest one-day
international score of 41 off 50 balls including five fours and
Kenya now in trouble at 195/8.
It was up to Sheikh and Martin Suji to get Kenya home while South
Africa hopes were on Kallis and Pollock.
Kallis bowled a very good, straight and full, 48 th over and was
rewarded with the wicket of Suji bowled by a reverse swinging leg
stump yorker without scoring. Kenya was now 196/9 with Pollock to
bowl the 49 th over and still 25 runs short.
It was all over first ball of the over with Sheikh hoisting him
to the long on boundary where Klusener accepted the catch. Sheikh
gone for nine off 12 balls and Kenya all out for 196.
South Africa won by 24 runs with Pollock taking 3/10 in 8.1
overs, and now has to wait for the India vs Zimbabwe match to see
who plays in the final.