Sport - Cricket

Streak wages lone battle

By Ted Corbett

SOUTHAMPTON July 10. Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe captain, made his second successive fifty but his side could total only 173 for eight on a bowler-friendly pitch at the Rose Bowl, which was staging its first one-day International.

Zimbabwe played like a team which has been lucky to finish third in this NatWest tri-series, but there is clearly a future for this pleasant ground with its stark white buildings, its swimming pool and its good-natured attendants.

When Streak reached the pitch Zimbabwe was 74 for six; situation normal, another fine mess.

South Africa had allowed Jacques Kallis to have a rest after his phenomenal batting and his effort-filled bowling but there never seemed to be any need for his average of 160 and on a seaming pitch it was always a matter of how soon Zimbabwe collapsed.

Zimbabwe was still in the fight when Douglas Hondo, living up to his reputation as a quick with a magic ball for every occasion, whipped out the luckless Herschelle Gibbs and the tall left-hander Martin van Jaarsveld in his first two overs.

Streak was steady and, amazingly, South Africa trailed Zimbabwe on run rate early on as it pressed for the win that might suggest an upset result against England in the final at Lord's on Saturday.

Of course you can say that Streak is not the greatest captain and that he ought to have asked South Africa to bat on a pitch that proved to have sideways movement as well as a certain amount of variable height. These English pitches have caused the experts to sigh deeply and explain to us simple cricket watchers that one-day games should be played on batsmen's wickets, with fast, flat surfaces that make for big scores.

"You see,'' they say with the air of men explaining the alphabet to Martians, "spectators like to see fours and sixes. The boundaries should be smaller too.'' If that is the case then the spectators must be even more stupid than the experts presume, because these games have been consistently sold out.

The only people complaining are batsmen who have in nine matches failed to put on huge scores and who find it difficult to make runs when the ball moves about because they are used to batting in Australia, South Africa and Sharjah where there is no help for the bowlers. Those bowlers have a lesson or two to learn too.

Well as Makaya Ntini bowled this morning he might have been even more destructive if he had pitched the ball up. Once again Shaun Pollock was a disappointment for all his overs cost only four runs each.

Ntini had the match won in his first spell of 7-1-31-4. He had Grant Flower caught behind, Travis Friend caught high at second slip, bowled Tatenda Taibu who was playing no shot, and Sean Ervine caught twice low at slip so that Zimbabwe was four for 49 in the 12th over.

Ervine got the benefit of the television replay when he was caught by Andrew Hall at first slip, but the second time, when Pollock caught a chance just as low at third slip, he walked off without a moment's hesitation. No doubt some old cricketer somewhere recounted how they all trusted one another when he played and that they accepted the words of fielders who claimed a fair catch.

Instead of harping on about the old days we ought to improve the television technology and trust the third umpire.

Only Streak's innings is worth any further notice. He waited patiently, picked out the balls to hit and went to his ninth one-day International fifty with two off the final ball of the innings. All the glory went to the South African bowlers although it is clear to anyone with a knowledge of the human structure that if Andre Nel continues to bowl with such a twisted action he will tear himself in half. Instead he took two for 33 in 10 overs.

After Saturday's final he will go back to work-a-day performances with Northamptonshire for the rest of the summer. I am not sure South Africa can afford to lose his services.

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