Beginning of a legend

After two first-up defeats, Australia needed to go unbeaten through the remainder of the 1999 World Cup tournament if they were to win the competition. It seemed an unlikely prospect. Australia's first challenge was to overcome lowly Bangladesh. Andrew Ramsey, senior writer with cricket.com.au, was there to witness history unfold. Here's how he saw it in an extract from his book, The Wrong Line. 

May 27, Aust v Bangladesh, Chester-le-Street

It was in the wake of Australia’s 10-run loss to Pakistan four days earlier – the second defeat in as many outings at the start of their faltering 1999 World Cup campaign – that Steve Waugh made one of the boldest predictions of a career characterised by fearlessness.

“We just have to win our next seven games,” he told the sceptical Australian media pack, after being asked how a team that had thus far managed only a victory over Scotland could hope to win a tournament they had entered as warm favourites.

“We’re capable of doing that”.

With a misfiring top-order batting outfit, bowlers unable to snare wickets or even stem runs and fielders who looked like they would rather be seated in front of a hearth than enduring a chilly English spring, it was a pronouncement that few other than the Australian skipper took seriously.

But after their loss to Pakistan, the seven-match road to unlikely glory began at the Durham County Cricket Club’s recently developed and expansive Riverside Stadium, which was bathed in welcome sunshine as the Australians looked to right their listing campaign against comparative lightweights Bangladesh.

Haunted by memories of Australia’s historically humiliating loss to similarly unfancied Zimbabwe when the World Cup had been last held in England 16 years earlier, Waugh’s men knew they not only had to win but win emphatically if they were to start believing their own rhetoric.

They reshaped their team, bringing in all-rounder Tom Moody at the expense of batsman Damien Martyn – as much for Moody’s leadership and clear thinking as for his power hitting that might generate some much-needed batting momentum.

It was also thought his handy medium-pacers delivered from a  towering height might be tough for the diminutive Bangladeshi batters even though they were still riding high from their first-ever World Cup win over Scotland five days earlier.

The same rationale explained the inclusion of another tall all-rounder, Brendon Julian in place of steady seamer Paul Reiffel, and when the Australians chose to field first it was clear they were looking for a quick kill.

But despite losing regular wickets, Bangladesh – under their coach, former West Indian batting great Gordon Greenidge – were anything but intimidated, and their 50-over total of 7-178, while scarcely daunting, provided plenty on which to ruminate during the early afternoon innings break.

That was when the change of thinking that was to define the rest of the Australians’ campaign first became evident.

They set themselves the target of blasting past the victory target within the space of 20 overs, partly to try and hit their way out of their batting woes and largely to deliver a sorely needed spike in their run rate that had flatlined and was likely to prove crucial in the latter stages of the tournament.

So openers Mark Waugh – who should have been dismissed for a duck in the first over – and more noticeably Adam Gilchrist launched themselves at the modest Bangladesh attack and were halfway to victory in less than 12 overs.

Julian was then promoted to No.3 to continue the onslaught, and Moody came in at four to fulfil his charter by clubbing an unbeaten 56 from 29 balls to add to the three wickets he had captured earlier in the day and see his team reach their stated 20-over goal with a ball to spare.

He was duly named man of the match and cemented his place in the starting XI for the remainder of the tournament which, if not yet within the Australians’ grasp, still held the notional prospect of proving Steve Waugh correct.

Now the equation had reduced simply to six wins from six matches.