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Klusener was a class apart

The World Cup is now firmly behind us and it's a good time to look back and try to analyse the top performances of the tournament.

The previous World Cup, held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was described as a batsman-friendly World Cup, but the 1999 World Cup, held in the United Kingdom and its environs, certainly turned the tables, and the balance belonged to the bowler.

The bowler-friendly white balls, combined with juicy pitches and mostly overcast conditions, made things extremely difficult for batsmen, especially those coming in the top order. And, apart from Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, and, in one instance the South African openers at The Oval, Kristen and Gibbs, things were extremely difficult while batting in the preliminary rounds. Those first 30 games were almost totally dominated by bowlers.

The undisputed top performer of the 1999 World Cup though was an all-rounder, who accomplished more with the bat than the ball. That he came in to bat down the order, when the ball had lost most of it's sheen, was certainly a big help, and he changed the direction of many results with his explosive stroke-play.

Lance Klusener was 'Man of the tournament', and rightly so! It was partly his mistake that caused his team, South Africa, a place in the World Cup final. But it was also his dynamic batting that got them into a position to win in the first place.

Just watching that man wield that giant club of his, dispatching bowler after bowler beyond the opens, and sometimes beyond the stands, was exhilarating. You could almost sense that some of the bowlers, when bowling to him, just let the ball go and hoped for the best. Add his 17 wickets to the batting, and you'll get the full story.

Another top performer in this World Cup, sticking to the African continent, was Neil Johnson of Zimbabwe, another all-rounder. His performances came more with the bat than the ball, and he opened the batting for his country. But it was no surprise that his bigger scores came in the latter stages of the tournament.

His scores came against South Africa, May 29, Australia and Pakistan, June 9 and 11, when it certainly was a bit easier for the batsmen, with the pitches drying out and the seam not proving as elusive as in the earlier games. He has to be commended for his innings against the likes of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, and also Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

He was totally unfazed about the prospect of facing up to the these great names and played them like he was batting in his back garden against the neighborhood kids.

Another man who did extremely well from another of the unfashionable teams was Geoff Allott. Twenty wickets in the tournament. A new tournament record that was equalled in the end by the Australian great Shane Warne, who, having played in the final, got one more game than Allott.

Controlled swing and seam movement was his forte, and the fact that he was left arm over the wicket just added that extra dimension to make it difficult for the batsmen. New Zealand's progression to the semi-finals was, in no small part, due to his bowling.

Steve Waugh was not in the best of form coming into this World Cup tournament, but he came good when he was really, truly, needed.

Australia got themselves into a situation, going into the Super 6, where they had to win every game they played to win the cup. Well, we all know who won the cup, but didn't Steve Waugh, as the Australians would say, come to the party. That knock of his in the last Super 6 game at Headingley was inspirational. When he walked to the crease, it was with a no-nonsense attitude. It was almost as if he was saying, "Well, my team is in trouble. I am the leader and I am going to get us out of it."

He was positive throughout that knock and considering the circumstances, it had to be the innings of the tournament. If Australia had lost that game, it would have been goodbye.

Steve Waugh certainly deserves to have that trophy on his mantelpiece at home, if only for a few days. If he can't get that, I suppose a chart of that fine knock of 120 runs, off 110 balls, would suffice. He may even want to put a chart of the second knock against South Africa in the semi-final at Edgbaston beside it.

Those four performers, for me, were the top performers in the 1999 World Cup, because there were quite a few notable performers and performances.

Shane Warne certainly came good in the semi-finals and final. His bowling was back to, or close enough to, his brilliant best of a few years ago, and he would have been pleased.

Another bowler to create a sensation was Shaoib Akhtar. He has pace; serious pace. Every time he had the ball in his hands, there was a buzz of excitement around the ground. He impressed everyone who saw him. What was good also, was his pretty good control while still bowling at great pace. He certainly will give lots of people around the world pleasure in watching him steam in, off his long run. Not too many batsmen will enjoy it when Pakistan come to town.

Three openers who have to be mentioned as well are Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid of India, and Saeed Anwar of Pakistan.

Centuries wern't being given away on a platter in this World Cup, but they got their fair share and more. Anwar got his right at the very end, but Ganguly and Dravid were pretty consistent throughout the tournament.

When Tendulkar had to go home due to his father's death, they took up the job commendably.

The last comment has been left for the fielding of the South African team. On a whole, it was sensational. There were a few hiccups, some of them proved very costly. The dorp by Gibbs, at short midwicket off Steve Waugh, was a big and costly mistake. That came in the Super 6 game at Headingley. But apart from that, they were the fielding team of the tournament by a distance.