Winning gold at the Commonwealth Games is no major feat. But winning it in an event that has happened only once in the history of the CWG is a massive achievement in itself. And this title goes to a team that has not had much luck in other ICC events — South Africa.
The Proteas won gold in the event during the 1998 edition, which was also the first Commonwealth Games to be held in Asia. The men's format featured in the event, and although they competed in the 50-over format, the matches were not accorded One Day Internationals (ODI) status.
The 1998 edition, the first Commonwealth Games to be held in Asia, had the men’s teams competing in the 50-over format but the matches were not accorded the status of One Day Internationals (ODI). In that competition, sixteen countries were divided into groups of four and participated in the 11-day cricket extravangza. Each team in each group played the others once, with two points given for a win, and the topper from each group would proceed to the semifinals.
Participants of the competition
Involved in the tournament were the bigwigs — India, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. But some of the teams did not field full-strength squads due to the clash of dates with other cricket tournaments. This included India and Pakistan, who were also playing the Sahara Cup in Canada simultaneously.
The Caribbean countries Jamaica, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda competed as separate teams instead of a collective West Indies as seen in international cricket. And England did not send a team, committing their players to the County Championship instead.
Unusually, the teams did not don coloured jerseys but instead wore white uniforms that did not carry any sponsor logos.
These matches were played at six venues in Kuala Lumpur, namely Royal Selangor Club, Victoria Institute, Kelab Aman, Tenaga National Sports Complex, Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) and Rubber Research Institute.
Because of the bad quality of the pitches, the tournament was a low-scoring affair with teams even struggling to score 200 runs in most matches. This was also affected by the humidity. Batters called for cold towels when they could during breaks. And in one match, India’s Amay Khurasiya was carried from the field on a stretcher after he fainted.
Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka topped their group, making the final four. The Indian cricket team, despite boasting the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and captain Ajay Jadeja in their ranks, had an underwhelming campaign, finishing a lowly ninth. Meanwhile
Australia defeated neighbours New Zealand in a low-scoring, one-sided first semi-final while South Africa edged past Sri Lanka in a thriller to book a place in the final.
Commonwealth Games 1998 cricket final
Shaun Pollock the Proteas led from the front in the final, picking up 4 wickets in his nine overs. He put the Australians on the back foot early in the game, dismissing Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting in his opening spell. The Aussies could only score 183 runs on a sluggish pitch before getting all out, with their captain Steve Waugh making a gritty 90 not out.
In reply, the Proteas started strongly with a 73-run opening stand and a composed knock of 44 from Jacques Kallis took the team within touching distance of the win. Dale Benkenstein hit the winning shot of the match to give South Africa the first-ever gold for cricket at the Commonwealth Games. It was a special moment for Shaun Pollock.
Meanwhile, New Zealand won the bronze medal after defeating Sri Lanka and thus concluded cricket's only appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
While Sri Lanka’s Avishka Gunawardene scored the most runs in the tournament (234 runs in five innings), it was Steve Waugh who shone with the bat. The Aussie captain managed 225 runs in just three innings, including a century against India, and was never dismissed. And the best bowler was Damien Fleming of Australia, who bagged 14 wickets at an average of 9.42.
Cricket will return to the CWG in the next edition — Birmingham 2022 — in the women’s Twenty20I format. The Indian women’s cricket team has already qualified for the event, joining hosts England, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
