Warne ready for Cup Final (19 June 1999)

19 June 1999

Warne ready for Cup Final

Trevor Chesterfield

LONDON (England) - One of Shane Warne's sobriquets is 'Hollywood' which is an apt description for the showmanship of one of the World Cup's top players whose touch of magic has returned in time for the final at Lord's on Sunday.

After the excitement of the tied semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday where Allan Donald's run out by Damien Fleming did much to end South Africa's dream, Warne return's to headquarters to rub out what he has long referred to as 'The worst moment of my sporting life'.

That was the defeat by Sri Lanka in the final at Lahore in 1996 by seven wickets.

It was not so much the margin as the way Australia had got so far but did not have the bowling to reach out and win the match which bothered the Victorian now assuming the mantle as the team's vice-captain.

He is often looked on as a one-man guru of the younger players in a confident side bursting with talent: there may those who view him as the natural captain and not Steve Waugh.

Yet whatever way you look at it the man, a little rotund yet as fit as anyone in the lean Australian side, has the inspiration and the flair. Writing him off is as perilous as facing him as a batsman.

Ask Herschelle Gibbs, the South African opener who was given enough points to make the World Cup Vodaphone XI, about the ball which bowled him at Edgbaston. They talk about the 'Gatting Ball' of 1993, also know as 'The ball from hell' or 'moment of spin magic'

So, do we now refer to the delivery which some suggest was Australia's ticket to the final as the 'Gibbs Ball'? Not at all. It simplifies the equation, and no one can simplify the mystery of the art of leg spin. It was a ball which beat the batsman: it would have beaten most, and as Gibbs has not a noted player of top spin bowling in a pitch which bites as well as give the bowler the advantage of that extra surprise.

Pakistan are all too aware of the dangers which Warne's spin possess. Against Zimbabwe he was brought on as early as the ninth over and was hammered. But it was a once off and there were some field placings in the covers which were out of the ordinary.

It was the way he bowled against New Zealand when Roger Twose and Chris Cairns in the final overs of the game.

The question is, can you afford to experiment in a match? The answer is yes, if you feel the end result is the right mix in the recipe you are seeking to perfect. Which is a lot more than the end justifying the means.

Wasim Akram knows all too well that if any of the top five batsmen cannot master Warne and his disassemble tricks then Pakistan could be in trouble. At Melbourne in 1992 it was Mushtaq Ahmed who dismissed Graeme Hick and Graham Gooch: two prized wickets which enabled Wasim to spread destruction later in the innings.

Perhaps tomorrow the roles will be reversed and it is Warne who turns more than just the ball but the fate of the match with the more than usual rip he purchases on the ball.

Then again, Pakistan's new master trick spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has yet to find conditions to suit his bowling; perhaps Lord's on a dry June afternoon may achieve a little magic of his own.

Who knows. Pakistan feel they have the trophy within their grasp, so to do the Australians.

It makes for an intriguing final. If want to predict the outcome you are a better person than the players whose stage it is tomorrow.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News

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