'Ghost of '99 is buried'

THE Proteas’ victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final over Australia has been seen as a breakthrough, and legendary SA fast bowler Allan Donald has echoed that sentiment.

As Donald was seen, quite unfairly, as one of the main scapegoats for South Africa’s exit in the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final, it came as welcome relief when Temba Bavuma and his charges finally got one over the old foe in a major final at Lord’s.

South Africa famously tied their 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final in England, with Donald involved in a mix-up with Lance Klusener with one run needed for the win when the fateful run-out occurred. With the teams ending in a tie, Australia advanced to the final and went on to lift the title.

It still ranks as one of the biggest heartbreaks in SA cricketing history, and Donald said those demons can finally be vanquished, telling CricBlog: “It really is a day for the past players who were involved in the ‘99 World Cup and the guys who followed them, will know how close it was to be in the final, but I think we can safely say now that gate is now shut.” 

South Africa were also criticised about their path to the final since they had not played two of the big three in the WTC cycle - Australia and England.

But Donald added: “Well done to this group. They deserve it. They worked so hard…

“I don’t care. They got into the final and when it needed them to produce, they did. That’s all that matters. They did…”