T20 World Cup 2021: 5 times controversy hit South Africa’s World Cup campaign

# 3 1999 World Cup - Caught or dropped?

A screengrab of Herschelle Gibbs’ dropped catch.

There was another controversial moment during South Africa’s Super Six encounter against Australia in Leeds during the 1999 World Cup. The Aussies were chasing 272 to win and book a place in the semi-finals against the same opponents.

After losing some early wickets, captain Steve Waugh was guiding the chase. The match was finely balanced at 152 for 3. On the last ball of the 31st over, Waugh flicked a ball from Lance Klusener straight to Herschelle Gibbs at mid wicket.

The fielder took the catch, but as he went to throw it up in celebration, he lost control of the ball, and it went to ground. There was a debate over whether Gibbs had been in control of the ball for long enough. The umpires eventually concluded it was a ‘dropped’ catch.

Waugh went on to remain unbeaten on 120 to guide his side to victory, and lead them to the semis of the 1999 World Cup. Legend has it that Waugh apparently told Gibbs he had 'dropped the World Cup'.

A few years back, though, Waugh clarified that all he told the South African was something on the lines of “That’s going to cost your team.” The Aussie legend admitted that he did not clarify the 'dropped the World Cup' story earlier, as it sounded good.

The missed catch would haunt South Africa further in the World Cup. The Proteas played out a pulsating tie with the Aussies in the semis, but were knocked out, as Australia had defeated them in the Super Six stage.

---

#4 2003 World Cup - Hosts South Africa's Duckworth/Lewis blunder

Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher leave the field as rain falls during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 match. Pic: Getty Images

If 1992 was a massive disappointment, the 2003 World Cup played at home was an even bigger disaster for South Africa. The Proteas needed to win their last group match against Sri Lanka to progress to the next round.

Batting first in Durban, Sri Lanka had posted an impressive 268-9 on the back of Marvan Atapattu’s 124 and Aravinda de Silva’s 73. Herschelle Gibbs also made 73 in South Africa’s chase to keep them in the hunt. With rain coming in, South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher was told the team needed to be at 229 at the end of the 45th over.

Boucher hit a six off the penultimate ball of the over from Muttiah Muralitharan to take the score to 229 for 6. He defended the last ball calmly. There was no further play in the match. However, South Africa had miscalculated the target terribly. 229 was the score to tie the game, and South Africa needed one more to win.

In their maiden World Cup at home, the Proteas were knocked out in the first round. Captain Shaun Pollock, with his hands on his head in the dressing room, cut a sorry figure.

---

#5 2015 World Cup - The Philander selection controversy

Dale Steyn looks on as Daniel Vettori and Grant Elliott of New Zealand celebrate winning the 2015 Cricket World Cup semi-final. Pic: Getty Images

There was a massive controversy with regards to Vernon Philander’s selection ahead of the in-form Kyle Abbott for the 2015 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland. According to reports in South African media, Philander was included in the XI on the insistence of members of Cricket South Africa (CSA) and against the wishes of both captain AB de Villiers and coach Russell Domingo.

The reports claimed that the board insisted on Philander's inclusion to ensure South Africa fielded four players of colour - Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir being the other three. CSA, however, rubbished all claims, and insisted that the team was picked on merit.

Philander had a forgettable outing with the ball, conceding 52 runs in his eight overs without claiming a wicket. South Africa lost yet another World Cup knockout clash as Grant Elliott slammed Dale Steyn for a six to seal victory for the Kiwis. Following his retirement, Philander admitted that interference in selection and chaos in CSA forced him to call it quits earlier than he would have liked to.

In his autobiography, AB de Villiers broke his silence on the 2015 World Cup selection controversy. He confirmed that half an hour prior to the usual team meeting, he was called in by the selectors. They informed him that Vernon Philander would start the game ahead of Kyle Abbott.

In his book, he wrote:

"It was generally assumed the same team would be named to play in the semifinal. That was my expectation as captain, until I was called to a meeting at 5.30 pm on the evening before the match, half an hour before our usual team meeting was due to start, and was told Vernon Philander, who had passed his fitness test a few days earlier, would play instead of Kyle Abbott."

The semi-final ended in tears for South Africa, as they suffered yet another heartbreak at the quadrennial ICC event.