South Africa, Australia draw series

By Malcolm Conn

MELBOURNE, AUG. 20. An undermanned South Africa may have drawn the enclosed three-match one-day series with a stirring victory on Sunday but the big winners have been the Australian players, who will share about $750,000 between them for little more than a week's work.

That is their share of the $3 million or so the Australian Cricket Board raised over the past five days creating history by playing official international matches under a roof for the first time. Most of the remaining money will go back into the development of Australian cricket at all levels.

A crowd of 32,769 at Melbourne's Colonial Stadium watched South Africa come back from the dead to win by eight runs and level the series, bringing the total from last Wednesday night's Australian victory and Friday night's tie to 94,268.

The ACB considered the venture so successful that chief executive Malcolm Speed said it will be repeated and believes the crowd will grow in future. ``In the short term our obligation and our desire is to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the summer. That's where Australian should play its Test and one-day matches in season,'' Speed said.

``What we've added is another option where we can come in here in the winter months, we can close the roof, put in a pitch which produces very good cricket and play cricket here.

There was a huge television audience for the series, estimated at half a billion viewers, with most on the Indian sub- continent. It is no surprise that the Indian IT company Pentasoft sponsored the event. ``We've had some very good cricket,'' Speed said. ``The players seemed to have enjoyed it. ``We've spoken to South Africa about repeat events. We've done some market research on this event.''

``We'll go back to Ali and talk about where we go next. Whether we play it again and if so when. Part of it is that it's a novelty event but we've been pleased with everything about it. The pitch has been great, the outfield has improved, the facilities are terrific.''

``The market research we have seen today is that it can stand up in the long term. We will do it again. It's just a matter of when we can fit it into our schedule. Generally we're very pleased with it.'' United Cricket Board of South Africa chief executive Ali Bacher was even more adamant about the future of cricket indoors in winter given the success of Australia's three-match tour to South Africa in April at the height of the rugby season, when 80,000 attended. ``It's been brilliantly successful,'' Bacher said.

He is keen to have the event played annual but concedes that will be difficult with cluttered itineraries. Australia tour India and England next year.

Opposing captains Steve Waugh and Shaun Pollock endorsed the concept with their only significant concern a slippery surface, which did improve with spiking over the three matches.

Waugh though was unhappy with more than just a second successive poor batting performance which cost Australia a very winnable match - he was ``astonished'' that Australia were penalised two overs for finishing late nine minutes.

Match referee Brian Hastings also fined both sides 10 percent of their match fee for being two overs behind at the end of their allotted time. This equated to $375 for each Australian and $100 for each South African.

Waugh suggested that the side bowling second lose their score from any overs to be bowled after the official finishing time. ``We've been playing one-day cricket for a long time and in this situation it seems that one side gets a huge advantage if you bowl second,'' he said. ``We knew we were pushing it but there was saw-dust being put out there every second over, boots being cleaned and they were pretty slow with sight screens. On the first two days both teams were 15 or 20 minutes over and didn't get fined.''

Waugh was annoyed because the umpires told him they were on target and he was not even official told of the two-over penalty. It was relayed through coach John Buchanan. As if South Africa has not had enough problems off the field in recent months, it was decimated with injuries going into this match.

Jonty Rhodes and wicket-keeper Mark Boucher had scored half South Africa's runs in the previous game. Rhodes was missing with a groin strain and Boucher sliced his finger so badly cutting dried meat on Friday night that he will miss up to eight weeks with tendon problems.

Opening batsman Andrew Hall, man of the match on Friday mainly because of his bowling, took the gloves and was faultless behind the stumps.

He handed them to Gary Kirsten for the second last over of the match so Hall could bowl despite most bowlers, including captain Shaun Pollock, having overs in reserve. Hall then put the pads back on for the last over - something he first did during his high school days at Alberton.

This has never happened before in one-day internationals but The Hon. Alfred Lyttelton kept then bowled for England against Australia during the third Test at The Oval in 1884, claiming 4- 19 in the first innings. It was the only time he bowled in a four-Test career.

South Africa crumbled to four for 19 after Pollock won the toss and batted and was seven for 150 yet managed to scramble to seven for 206 thanks to a belligerent partnership between Pollock (33 not out) and man of the match and series Nicky Boje (28 not out with two sixes).

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