Lance Klusener: An all-rounder who lost to time !!!

saad94 (61)🏅Bangladesh Verified✅in Steem Sports🏈🏀⚾⚽🏁 • 3 years ago

For those of us who have been following cricket since the late nineties, Lance Klusener aka 'Zulu' is the name of a nostalgia. An explosive hard hitter, who could turn the game around at any moment with effective batting in the lower middle order or brilliant bowling. Especially for those who have watched the 1999 World Cup games live on TV, it is not possible to forget this man even if he wants to.

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There are some players who can catch the eye at first sight. Klusener also caught my eye with his baseball-style high backlift and exceptional bowling action. When the issue of action arises, I say a little. Klusener used to jump short at the beginning of the run-up. Before releasing the ball, he would set the target with his right hand in front of his eyes. This is probably one of the unique bowling actions in the history of cricket.

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Zulu made his ODI debut against the England in January 1996. A few months later, he made his Test debut on Indian soil. He entered the XI as a replacement for right-arm pacer Fanie de Villiers.

The story of Zulu's Test debut at Eden Gardens in Kolkata is quite interesting. In the first innings, India captain Azharuddin hit 5 fours in a row against him. He was wicketless with 75 runs in 14 overs.

However, in the second innings, he got the ball in his hand and ignited incredibly. He took 8 wickets for only 64 runs! and brought an unforgettable victory to the team. He became the Man of the Match in his debut.

In his debut Test, because of such devastating bowling, Klusener also took his place in the record book. Even today, no one has been able to break the record of best bowling in Test debut for South Africa (8/74).

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In November 1996, Zulu won the Man of the Match award in just the 'third' ODI of his career. This time, of course, not with bowling, but with batting. An unbeaten 88 off 99 balls against Australia at number three position brought him the glory.

The year 1997 can be called the turning point of Zulu's career. He started the year with a great Test century. He dropped to No. 9 against India in Cape Town and scored 102 off 100 balls. Then for the first time in ODIs, he took 5 wickets with the ball.

Klausener then batted in limited-overs cricket in the top order, bowling the full 10 overs. He opened the match for the first time in his career against Australia by scoring 92 off 118 balls and played a winning knock.

In the Wills four-nation tournament held in Pakistan, Klusener came up in the discussion after winning two matches in a row against world champion Sri Lanka. 54 runs (41 balls) and 6 wickets in the first match, 99 runs (98 balls), and 2 wickets in the second match.

A few days later, Klusener became the best match again against Australia. Aussies chased down South Africa's 181-run target in Melbourne and fell short by 56 runs. Klujner took 5 wickets for just 24 runs.

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Zulu's devastating spell against Pakistan in Cape Town in 1998, took 5 wickets for 25 runs. Klujner's heroics again(Game-Changing Knock 6 with an unbeaten 55 off 49 balls) in a low-scoring thriller against England at Old Trafford!

Klausener's batting position has since shifted from top order to late order He lost his place in the top order as he tried to replace technically superior batsmen like Gibbs, Carsten, and Kallis. However, he also adapted to the role of a finisher at number seven-eight. He proved his mettle by playing two finishing knocks of 27* off 14 balls and 54* off 36 balls against the West Indies.

In March 1999, Klusener snatched an incredible victory against New Zealand. He finished the match with a huge six off the last ball of the innings against Right-arm pacer Dion Nash. He remained unbeaten on 35* off 19 balls.

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The 1999 World Cup is called the Klausener's World Cup. In that tournament, he appeared as a true impact player. He made significant contributions to almost every victory of the team, winning the MOM award in four of them. He took 16 wickets at an average of just 20 with the ball and 281 runs at an average of 140.50 (Strike rate 122.60)! As usual, he also won the 'Player of the Tournament' trophy of the World Cup.

Notably, Klusener's every match-winning innings at the World Cup came at a time of great danger for the team, under tremendous pressure. For example, after being 8 wickets for 112 runs against Sri Lanka(52 (45)), 46 (40) against England in 168/6 situation, or 48 * (41) after being 6 wickets for 135 runs after chasing 221 targets against Pakistan. Where the game-changing moment was Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar hit two sixes in the gallery!

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Noted that the second semi-final of the 1999 World Cup gave birth to one of the most memorable tragedies in the history of cricket, with Lance Klausener in the role of the tragic hero!

The Proteas needed 9 runs in the last over to win against Australia, with only 1 wicket in hand. Klausener hit the boundary with the first two balls of the over by Damien Fleming and brought the game into his hands. The equation of the match was only 1 run from 4 balls!

Alan Donald, who was at the non-strike end, narrowly escaped a run-out in the third ball of the over. Klusener could not connect the next ball. The ball goes straight into the fielder's hands. Klusener ran but Donald is still standing in the crease, looking at the ball with one mind! By the time he started running, Donald got run out! Klausener's unbeaten 31-run innings off 16 balls was therefore a sigh of relief!

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Klusener had been losing both speed and edge of the ball since the 1999 World Cup due to an ankle and back injury. However, he kept the accuracy even though the pace was reduced. He could give the perfect yorker along the blockhole on the batsman. And there were some variations like a slow-off cutter that established him as one of the most effective bowlers in limited-overs cricket.

Many may be surprised to know that the bowler who has taken the most five wickets in ODIs for South Africa is Lance Klusener (6 times)!

Klujner, the hero of the 1999 World Cup, also played in the 2003 World Cup. The host South Africa was eliminated from the group stage, and Klausener's performance was lackluster. He scored only 91 runs in 5 innings and got only 5 wickets!

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Left-handed charismatic hard hitter Klusener, the hero of numerous ODI wins, also contributed to the Test victory with the bat. Not to mention the two match-winning innings of 108 against India at Bloemfontein and a career-best 164 against England. However, he played the most notable innings of his Test career in the 'historic' Candy Test against Sri Lanka.

Lance Klausener, the hero of South Africa's first Test victory on Sri Lankan soil in 2000. The visitors got a dramatic 7-run victory thanks to Klujner's 117-run 'extraordinary' innings off Candy's spin-assisted wicket.

South Africa lost 5 wickets for just 34 runs in the first innings. From there, Klausener had all the credit for taking the team score to over 250. Not only that, he also brought two important breakthroughs in the second innings against the Lankans.

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Lance Klusener started his international in 1997 which ended in 2004. Due to injury, he spent the last part of his career in formlessness. However, in this short career, his achievements at-bat and ball have not been less. In ODIs at an average of 41.10 with a strike rate of 90, 3576 runs and 192 wickets with six fifers is just an indication of the impressive all-rounders in ODI cricket.

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