JOHANNESBURG, 5 March 2003 — The washed out World Cup Group A match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Bulawayo yesterday was the latest example of how rain, cricket’s oldest unpredictable factor, has been a key factor at this tournament.
Pakistan needed to win the match and then hope their run-rate was superior to both that of their African hosts and England in order to go through to the Super Six.
But the two points for a no-result ensured it was Zimbabwe who went on to the second phase. Earlier the West Indies’ hopes of progressing were dealt a huge blow when rain denied them what would have been a certain victory against Group B whipping boys Bangladesh who lost all their other matches at this World Cup by convincing margins.
However, no team suffered with the weather as much as hosts South Africa. After piling up a seemingly impregnable 306 for six against New Zealand, rain in Johannesburg interrupted their Group B match at the Wanderers.
This left the Kiwis with a reduced target to chase and New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s masterful century steered his side to a crushing nine-wicket win.
However, so well was the left-hander batting that his team might have got the runs in any case. And it would have been a different story had not South Africa keeper Mark Boucher dropped Fleming off a regulation chance earlier in his innings.
But the resentment against the rain was inflamed further by the dramatic tie with Sri Lanka that saw South Africa exit the tournament on Monday.
A Durban downpour ended the game with South Africa one run short of victory under the Duckworth-Lewis system used to recalculate scores in rain-affected matches. The tie knocked out South Africa, who needed to win to progress, and meant New Zealand went through.
It was the second time a rain rule had worked against South Africa after the regulation in operation at the 1992 World Cup in Australia left them with an impossible 22 to score off the last ball for victory in the semifinals. Once again the rain interruptions here have reopened the debate about whether all World Cup matches, rather than just the semifinals and final should have reserve days in case of bad weather.
But with television, because of the huge money it pays to cover the event, trying to ensure as much certainty as possible for its program schedules, the chances of more World Cup reserve days look slim.
In the meantime all the players can do, as the coaches like to say, is to “control the controllable” and let the weather take care of itself.
