Auckland went to sleep last night with a smile on its face. It knows it will awake this morning excited at the prospect of spurring on its Black Caps in a World Cup semi-final against South Africa on Tuesday at its sporting cathedral, Eden Park.
Twenty-three years ago it had that same feeling of anticipation. When that fateful day arrived, it was doused through the brilliance of a young Pakistani, Inzamam-ul-Haq, who broke New Zealanders’ hearts with a brilliant innings to knock out the hosts and send a nation into mourning.
South African cricket fans know all about the despair the Kiwis felt that day.
They have experienced it on three occasions previously, with each semi-final carrying its own special dose of sadness.
However, this new generation of Proteas have already made history earlier this week when they became the first South African team to win a knockout match at a World Cup to progress to Tuesday’s semi here, and will know their preparation for the clash against the in-form Black Caps will be crucial.
Shaun Pollock, the former Proteas captain who played in two of those semi-final heartbreaks and suffered the trauma of, especially the 1999 match at Edgbaston in Birmingham against Australia, backs up this view and provides an insight into what possibly went wrong with previous South African teams.
“In 1999, the guys were pretty relaxed, tense in a good, nervous sort of way, but everyone knew the team and their role and what they needed to do on the day,” Pollock said.
“In 2007, the guys were pretty focused on what was needed to be done. But the key was to figure out who will be in the team, so everyone could start preparing mentally for the game.
“We also had quite a few meetings; I think we over-complicated matters against Australia.”
While the 1999 semi-final remains one of the iconic matches in World Cup history and is etched in cricket fans’ mind as a result of its dramatic finish with Proteas last-man Allan Donald left stranded in the middle of the wicket surrounded by a group of celebrating Australians, Pollock has greater regrets about the re-match eight years later in St Lucia.
South Africa simply capitulated against the double-defending champions and were never in the contest, unlike in 1999 when the match was decided in the last over and finished in a tie.
The Proteas’ maiden semi-final back in 1992 against England at the SCG was also a gripping encounter and the team bowed out heroically due to the rain rules washing away South Africa’s semi-final hopes.
“I was vice-captain in 1999. We were playing good cricket and confident of beating Australia. They had not been playing that well,” South Africa’s highest Test wicket-taker said.
“But in 2007, they were really playing good cricket. The way we batted up front, we had guys running down the wicket, and we had all sorts of different game plans, which caused us to lose early wickets and denied us getting into the game.
“The basics of setting up a foundation are always relevant.”
Pollock believes AB de Villiers’s men can rewrite the South African record books on Tuesday by putting out New Zealand’s impressive flame, but believes the selectors have a major influence on the outcome.
“We have plenty of match winners. If the players are in a relaxed but focussed frame of mind, we will give ourselves the best chance of success.
“They can take a lot of confidence out of the quarters clash and a lot of the batsmen didn’t even get a chance to show off their skills.
“However, the key factor on Tuesday will be getting around the noise and atmosphere (against the New Zealanders).
“There’s no need to change what they have been doing in the last period and they must stay calm.
“They should settle down as soon as possible to create clearness in the role of each member of the side.
“There will be some guys dead keen to get out and perform well as some of the batters did not even get an opportunity to play (in the quarter-final).
“It is going to be a wonderful atmosphere, especially in New Zealand.
“They would probably not go into the game as favourites because of the way New Zealand have played at home, so that takes the pressure off them.
“But it is a case of focusing and producing their best cricket on the day and not over-complicating things.”