Brian Lara admitted yesterday that his sixteenth one day hundred and his second in Cricket World Cup-matches against the old foe, South Africa, was probably his best one day-knock ever.
A brilliant Lara scored 116 off 134 deliveries to set up an amazing 3 run victory by the West Indies in the World Cup opening match against South Africa at Newlands on Sunday.
Afterwards the SA captain, Shaun Pollock, said the hosts might have been a little bit hard done by the fact that the umpires decided to dock them one over because they began the last over mere seconds outside the required time.
Pollock, though, did not want to blame the umpires for the loss, although he admitted that one over was a crucial factor in the loss.
He gave Lance Klusener huge credit for his superb knock. He added that South Africa cannot afford to sulk after the loss. ‘We need to regroup and focus on our next matches,†he said.
Pollock said the Windies finished superbly and that South Africa need to improve their bowling.
There were also an occasional soft wicket that cost South Africa the momentum early on in their innings.
Carl Hooper, the Windies captain, said Lara’s innings set up the victory by the Caribbean team.
Lara, who was out of action for about five months because of hepatitis A, said afterwards he worked very hard the past four months. ‘I knew all along I had to push myself hard to the front because this is a very talented team.â€
Asked about his century in the context of his one day career, he said it was his best ever. Lara, dropped by Jacques Kallis off his first delivery, also scored a magnificent 111 in the Cricket World Cup of 1996 in Karachi to ensure a famous Windie-victory over South Africa.
‘Lance was superb and to get so close — we feel a bit robbed,†Pollock said of Klusener’s knock.
‘In the end we did not play well enough in the middle period to really warrant getting that close,†he added.
The SA captain said the hosts had never underestimated the power of this Windies team.
‘We knew it was a quality team. Lara is a quality player. He started slowly, but then he got going. Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan finished off well,†he added.
Pollock said their were a few positives that could be taken from the loss — like the batting of Gary Kirsten, Mark Boucher and Klusener, as well as the bowling up front.
He suggested the SA team might consider playing their best team now to ensure they get to the next phase, although he did not commit himself to a specific answer when asked whether the team management would consider a rotation policy.