/ 23 June 1999

STRAUSS CONFUSED BY CRICKET THRILLER

FOR Tiaan Strauss, at least, a tie was the perfect result. The former Springbok captain scored a hat-trick of tries on his Australian debut last weekend but found himself battling confusion while watching the thrilling World Cup cricket semi-final between his old country and his new one. Strauss and teammate Jason Little woke up most guests at their Perth hotel in the early hours of Friday morning as they followed the fluctuating cricket game on television. “Whenever one team got on top I’d say to Jason, ‘we’re doing well’ and he’d say ‘who do you mean we this time?’,” said Strauss. “It was strange, you can’t just forget your past, there’s still a lot of feeling there. I was neutral.”