Rain's damp blanket hits Super Six (7 June 1999)

7 June 1999

Rain's damp blanket hits Super Six

Trevor Chesterfield

(London) - New Zealand were delivered the nastiest yorker of the World Cup yesterday with the untimely intervention of the British summer at Headingley in Leeds, and with the long-range forecast equally unsettled rain may yet cause further havoc in the Super six stage.

Any casual glance at the forecast yesterday showed that low temperatures, rain and the promise of more to come with equal dampening affect, is spread across the British Isles with sparse sunny patches about the only glimmer that games over the next three days are going to get the same treatment as did the Kiwis and Zimbabwe.

The match was abandoned, giving the sides a point apiece and threw up any number of interesting semi-finals qualifying permutations.

At least both sides were yesterday spared the indignities of what the Duckworth/Lewis system had to offer: unfathomable eqations which make nonsense of the restricting capabilities of the New Zealand bowlers.

But if the weather forecast is as reliable as Inzamam-ul-Haq's call for a single, the murky gloom and damp conditions which have hovered over England since the warm up matches started a month ago will remain.

A far from pleasant thought for those who anticipated some sunshine, and temperatures in keeping with what is known as summer at some stage of the tournament.

What it all means is that Zimbabwe, now heading the table, are almost certain of a semi-final place thanks to the vagaries of the unsettled summer conditions while New Zealand, Australia and India puddle around in the mud patches left by the bowlers in their run ups and trying to scrape their way into one of the two remaining places.

And you thought it was going to be a doddle?

That is, of course, assuming South Africa beat New Zealand on Thursday which will ensure Hansie Cronje's team of qualifying for the semi-finals on June 16 and 17.

India, almost out of the race on Friday, were thrown a damp life-line by the abandoned game at Headingley. Wins over Pakistan at Old Trafford today and New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Saturday might allow them through, even if their run rate is a bit shaky.

Australia have to win one of their two remaining Super six games to give them an outside chance.

Winning both will get them through. They play Zimbabwe at Lord's tomorrow and South Africa in Headingley on Sunday; defeat in either game could drown their hopes if their run rate is lagging. A tricky one indeed.

Of course Messrs Duckworth and Lewis may yet come along with their rain calculations and if the Zimbabwe-New Zealand equation was an example of this make nonsense of all the hopes of the favourites and we may end up with a final between India and Zimbabwe. Now, how is that for a giggle?