A view from the Gully (22 June 1999)

22 June 1999

A view from the Gully

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

The 1999 World Cup final was an enormous disappointment. The hype and aura created surrounding the Pakistanis were dismantled by the efficient and motivated army of Steve Waugh by 9:35 pm local time Sunday.

Expectations ran high among millions of cricket enthusiasts who had sat through hundreds of hours in front of their TV sets during all these days even at odd hours of the night. Hopes for an exciting contest between the two titans of world cricket fizzled out to the dismay of discerning connoisseurs and even the most diehard of the Pakistan supporters, who had bought tickets at great cost, did not think it worthwhile to waste his day at Lord's.

The Australian turnaround in this tournament has been absolutely fascinating. Coming back from the brink, the Australians demonstrated their capacity to fight back and also their quality as individuals and as a team. They promptly exhibited their arrogance and determination to be on their own. They came off brilliantly as a team at the right moment and all the pieces of the puzzle were in the right place at the right time. For winning the coveted trophy and the title they had an uphill task of winning seven important matches on the trot and they did them in style. Amazing!

The Super Six matches were fraught with danger having India, Zimbabwe and South Africa to be overcome before a berth in the semifinals. And then the thought of taking on the might of South Africa again in the semifinal was in itself a daunting task. But a small slice of luck and the stupid act of Klusener under tremendous pressure, took them to their fourth final in the 24-year-old history of the tournament.

The Pakistanis on this particular day, incidentally the most important for them also, played like a team that lost its way in the deserts of Sind. They appeared ordinary and without any purpose. All those talks about relaxation and free from mental tension before such an important match turned out to be true. The captain himself in no uncertain manner spoke his mind out about his players being under no pressure for the final. The press reports also indicated the Pakistanis were playing basketball on the day before the final. It's good to be free from anxiety and tension for such an important occasion, but is it really possible? They wanted to be tension-free against India and they were beaten hollow. Prior to that they wanted to take it easy and was beaten by Bangladesh. And finally they tried to fake coolness and lost to Australia in the most important match. Even Wasim's final speech as the losing captain was an act of indiscretion.

Winning the toss mattered. Wasim took the correct decision to bat first but the entire team caved in most amateurishly without a fight against the Australian bowlers, especially Shane Warne. This was the most rubbish innings seen in a World Cup since 1979 when England lost seven wickets for 11 runs against the West Indies in the final on this ground chasing a target of 287, and the latter won by 92 runs and the West Indies chasing India's 183 and finishing 43 runs short in 1983.

The wicket which was full of runs according to the chief curator Mick Hunt should not have posed problems for the Pakistanis in spite of superb bowling by the Australians. But the Pakistanis were actually so relaxed that they were without an appetite for a fight.

The best team won and hearty congratulations to Steve Waugh and his brigade should be in order.

David Shepherd stood in many important matches over the years. He is a good umpire no doubt but his decision against Cronje and Inzamam in two vital matches cannot be justified even by human margin of errors. Perhaps time has come for him for calling it quits.

I hope you have all enjoyed the World Cup. I am grateful to all the readers and critics of this column for their interest and indulgence.

Source :: The Daily Star