South Africa were playing Australia at Headingley in the final match of the Super Six stage of the World Cup. Australia needed to win the match to make the semifinals, and their opponents had set them 271...
“You’ve just dropped the World Cup.”
The apocryphal words of Australia captain Steve Waugh, one of the steeliest and hardest cricketers the game has ever seen, to South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs.
South Africa were playing Australia at Headingley in the final match of the Super Six stage of the World Cup. Australia needed to win the match to make the semifinals, and their opponents had set them 271, largely thanks to a magnificent century from Gibbs.
When Waugh came to the crease, his side were 48 for 3, with Adam Gilchrist, his brother Mark, and then Damien Martyn all having been dismissed cheaply.
The Australia captain, and his future successor Ricky Ponting, set about rebuilding their innings, with the elder statesman making it his half-century off just 47 balls.
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With Australia 152 for 3 and the match in the balance, an inside edge from Waugh off the bowling of Lance Klusener gave the simplest of chances to Gibbs, who thought he had it, but seemed to drop the ball in the midst of celebrating too quickly.
It was at this point that Waugh apparently uttered his cutting statement. Bear in mind this wasn’t even the semi-final, which was to create an incredibly compelling moment of its own, this was the match to get to it. In fact, the story of the line only started circulating after the second game
As it was, Waugh went on to score a brilliant undefeated hundred as he inspired his side to the victory they needed with two balls remaining.
However, neither Waugh nor Gibbs remember those words being said. In his book Out of My Comfort Zone, Waugh remembers saying: “I hope you realise that you have just lose the game for your team.”
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story though eh?
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