Don't drop the baby!

It had been a typical English summer and the 1999 World Cup was at its frenzy. Two of the biggest contenders were locked in a battle for supremacy and therein stems a story that has since become part of cricket folklore…

The Protagonists
Herschelle Gibbs has been a monumental talent ever since he burst on to the scene more than a decade ago. Since then, he has scored many a scintillating hundred and held on to some absolute scorchers to dismiss disbelieving opposition batsmen. He has also often found himself mired in controversy from match-fixing to the more recent alleged racial slur against the Pakistan team. He is widely accepted as a great talent who has under delivered with the bat but has always been outstanding in the field.

Steve Waugh is the quintessential 'save-the-day' man. Be it Test cricket or one-day international cricket, 'Tugga' has often saved Australia the blushes. One of the greatest batsmen and leaders of all time, Waugh has led Australia to many an incredible win in his glittering 18 year career.

The Event
The 1999 World Cup in England was the biggest cricket event of its time. Australia and South Africa were the favourites for the cup. That the two met before the semi-finals was unfortunate, for these two teams could have really lit up Lord's in the final.

The Incident

South Africa batted first in a crucial Super Six match and set Australia 271 to win. Gibbs scored a fabulous 101 and Lance Klusener polished off the innings with a typical 36 off just 25 balls. Australia began their chase in rather disastrous fashion, losing both openers with the score on just 20. And when Damien Martyn fell, Australia had just 48 on the board and it was going to be uphill. Enter Steve Waugh.

Waugh has always known never to give up without a fight. And this was no different. Despite having to chase down a run rate of nearly 7.5 runs per over, he never panicked and with the talented Ricky Ponting at the other end, the going seemed good. Until…

In his efforts, Waugh flicked a ball off his pads uppishly to short mid wicket. It went at a catchable height to the second best fielder in the world (at the time), Herschelle Gibbs. What's more important, is Gibbs seemed to have caught it and just as he was about to start the celebrations, the ball slipped out of his hand! Tragedy!

Successive replays and referrals confirmed that he had not hung on to the ball for the mandatory three seconds for the effort to be considered a catch. Steve Waugh waited for the umpires to rule and they did so in his favour. It was then rumoured that Waugh told Gibbs, "You've just dropped the World Cup, son."

Prophetic as the words turned out, they have since been denied by Waugh, Gibbs and all parties involved! The fact of the matter is that Waugh, who was on 56 at the time, went on to score 120 in just 110 balls and gain the psychological edge for Australia's semi final against the same opponents four days later. And how!

PHOTOS © AP