The Best Ball:
A three-way tie. Zimbabwe's Grant Flower, bowling his left-arm spin wide of the crease, tempted Sachin Tendulkar half forward before the ball turned and clipped the off bail. "I got one to turn for a change," he said. Tendulkar's 81, however, won the Group A match in Harare for India.
England's James Anderson, exploiting Cape Town's evening conditions, swung a yorker from leg stump to off to bowl Yousuf Youhana first ball. The 20-year-old's previous delivery dismissed Inzamam-ul-Haq. Anderson's four for 29 set up a shock win over Pakistan.
When left-armer Chaminda Vaas had Bangladesh's Ehsanul Haque caught at second slip with a ball angled across the batsman, the Sri Lankan completed an unprecedented first hat-trick from the first three balls of an international match.
The Best Innings:
Canada's John Davison, an off spinner who bats at nine for South Australia, hit the fastest century (8x4, 6x6) in World Cup history with a 67-baller against West Indies. He completed it with a towering six off Mervyn Dillon. "I had no idea (it was the fastest cup hundred)...it sent a shiver down my spine." he said. Four days earlier, Canada had been bowled out for 36 by Sri Lanka. Stephen Fleming's 134 not out off 132 deliveries was also worthy of mention, helping New Zealand to beat South Africa."I've waited a long time for an innings like that," he said.
The Best Catch:
Vasbert Drakes, to end Davison's remarkable innings of 111. Drifting in off the rope at long on, Drakes jack-knifed backwards and caught the ball one-handed. The television commentators had announced a six before Drakes got up with the ball in his hand. Drakes then took five for 44 to set up the West Indies win.
Brett Lee's dismissal of Andy Blignaut after the Zimbabwean had smashed a 25-ball half-century in Bulawayo came close. Blignaut cross-batted a lightning full toss straight back at the bowler who somehow reacted fast enough to catch the ball. Lee himself could not believe it. Lip-readers would have had no problems identifying his expletive.
The Best Celebration:
Kenya's players jived away in a team huddle at the fall of each late wicket as they pulled off the biggest upset of the World Cup against the Sri Lankans in Nairobi.
The Best Quote:
Namibian bowler Rudi van Vuuren, who has also represented his country at rugby union: "Knowing my capabilities as a batsman, I'd rather take on Jonah Lomu one-on-one than Brett Lee."
The Worst Innings:
Inzamam-ul-Haq, one of the world's leading batsman, dismissed for a golden duck against England, went in to bat against the Netherlands needing a confidence boost. Instead he barely moved from his crease to be trapped for a second-ball duck by Tim de Leede's medium-paced floater. He averaged 2.25 in his first four innings.
The Worst Drop:
South Africa's Mark Boucher, snatching too eagerly at the ball, dropped Fleming on 53 at The Wanderers from a regulation edge. Fleming went on to win the match for New Zealand with his unbeaten century, leaving the hosts in turmoil. For the next fewdays, arguments raged over Shaun Pollock's captaincy and whether Allan Donald should be axed.
Pedro Collins made as bad an error against South Africa, when he sauntered nonchalantly backwards to catch Lance Klusener at square leg only to realise he had stepped on the rope. Klusener, however, with 57 from 48 balls, was caught in the deep by Carl Hooper in the final over as West Indies sneaked home by three runs.
The Worst Celebration:
Bangladesh have not had the chance to celebrate anything after five defeats, the first to lowly Canada, and one wash-out. There was some clapping for Mohammad Ashraful's excellent 56 against New Zealand at Kimberley, the team's only half-century of the tournament, but it all paled into insignificance as the team extended their world record run of one-dayers without victory to 31 matches.
The Worst Quote:
Nathan Shamuyarira, information secretary for the governing ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe, reacting to a protest by players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga over the state of democracy in the country: "Olonga is not a Zimbabwean, he is a Zambian, but he has been allowed to play here. Flower is also not a Zimbabwean. He is British."
A three-way tie. Zimbabwe's Grant Flower, bowling his left-arm spin wide of the crease, tempted Sachin Tendulkar half forward before the ball turned and clipped the off bail. "I got one to turn for a change," he said. Tendulkar's 81, however, won the Group A match in Harare for India.
England's James Anderson, exploiting Cape Town's evening conditions, swung a yorker from leg stump to off to bowl Yousuf Youhana first ball. The 20-year-old's previous delivery dismissed Inzamam-ul-Haq. Anderson's four for 29 set up a shock win over Pakistan.
When left-armer Chaminda Vaas had Bangladesh's Ehsanul Haque caught at second slip with a ball angled across the batsman, the Sri Lankan completed an unprecedented first hat-trick from the first three balls of an international match.
The Best Innings:
Canada's John Davison, an off spinner who bats at nine for South Australia, hit the fastest century (8x4, 6x6) in World Cup history with a 67-baller against West Indies. He completed it with a towering six off Mervyn Dillon. "I had no idea (it was the fastest cup hundred)...it sent a shiver down my spine." he said. Four days earlier, Canada had been bowled out for 36 by Sri Lanka. Stephen Fleming's 134 not out off 132 deliveries was also worthy of mention, helping New Zealand to beat South Africa."I've waited a long time for an innings like that," he said.
The Best Catch:
Vasbert Drakes, to end Davison's remarkable innings of 111. Drifting in off the rope at long on, Drakes jack-knifed backwards and caught the ball one-handed. The television commentators had announced a six before Drakes got up with the ball in his hand. Drakes then took five for 44 to set up the West Indies win.
Brett Lee's dismissal of Andy Blignaut after the Zimbabwean had smashed a 25-ball half-century in Bulawayo came close. Blignaut cross-batted a lightning full toss straight back at the bowler who somehow reacted fast enough to catch the ball. Lee himself could not believe it. Lip-readers would have had no problems identifying his expletive.
The Best Celebration:
Kenya's players jived away in a team huddle at the fall of each late wicket as they pulled off the biggest upset of the World Cup against the Sri Lankans in Nairobi.
The Best Quote:
Namibian bowler Rudi van Vuuren, who has also represented his country at rugby union: "Knowing my capabilities as a batsman, I'd rather take on Jonah Lomu one-on-one than Brett Lee."
The Worst Innings:
Inzamam-ul-Haq, one of the world's leading batsman, dismissed for a golden duck against England, went in to bat against the Netherlands needing a confidence boost. Instead he barely moved from his crease to be trapped for a second-ball duck by Tim de Leede's medium-paced floater. He averaged 2.25 in his first four innings.
The Worst Drop:
South Africa's Mark Boucher, snatching too eagerly at the ball, dropped Fleming on 53 at The Wanderers from a regulation edge. Fleming went on to win the match for New Zealand with his unbeaten century, leaving the hosts in turmoil. For the next fewdays, arguments raged over Shaun Pollock's captaincy and whether Allan Donald should be axed.
Pedro Collins made as bad an error against South Africa, when he sauntered nonchalantly backwards to catch Lance Klusener at square leg only to realise he had stepped on the rope. Klusener, however, with 57 from 48 balls, was caught in the deep by Carl Hooper in the final over as West Indies sneaked home by three runs.
The Worst Celebration:
Bangladesh have not had the chance to celebrate anything after five defeats, the first to lowly Canada, and one wash-out. There was some clapping for Mohammad Ashraful's excellent 56 against New Zealand at Kimberley, the team's only half-century of the tournament, but it all paled into insignificance as the team extended their world record run of one-dayers without victory to 31 matches.
The Worst Quote:
Nathan Shamuyarira, information secretary for the governing ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe, reacting to a protest by players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga over the state of democracy in the country: "Olonga is not a Zimbabwean, he is a Zambian, but he has been allowed to play here. Flower is also not a Zimbabwean. He is British."
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