Cricket: Waugh the force for Australia

World Cup: Captain's crucial century secures semi-final place and another showdown with deflated South Africa

South Africa 271-7 Australia 272-5 Australia win by 5 wickets

TRUE TO their character, an Australian side led from the front by a defiant captain overcame the odds to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup here yesterday, securing the victory that was vital to their survival thanks in considerable measure to Steve Waugh's not unblemished but ultimately unbeaten 120. Waugh, describing the performance as his best in 246 limited-overs innings, admitted that criticisms of his leadership had spurred him on.

Supported first by Ricky Ponting and later by Michael Bevan and Tom Moody after the Australian innings had begun badly, Waugh led his side to a gripping five-wicket win snatched with a mere two balls to spare, overhauling a South African total that seemed likely to justify Hansie Cronje's decision to bat first. As a consequence, Zimbabwe's unlikely and scarcely-merited participation in the final stages will not now happen. Instead, Pakistan take on New Zealand at Old Trafford on Wednesday while these two lock horns again at Edgbaston 24 hours later.

With due respect to Zimbabwe, for the profile of the tournament this was the best outcome. Rules are rules and the Australians - at least those involved with the current squad - were at pains to stress their acceptance of them but, had the points system allowed a team to reach the semi-finals without one victory in the Super Six, the credibility of the format would have been seriously undermined. The burden of beginning the second phase with no points proved too much for India; happily not for Australia.

The significance of the result in psychological terms will be revealed in Birmingham. Intriguingly, the two countries have now met 40 times in one-day internationals since South Africa were readmitted to the fold and have won 20 each. But Australia have now chalked up five consecutive victories in the World Cup and three in a row over South Africa. Waugh's innings was a tribute to his own mental strength after failing to convince all of his country's critics of the merits of his captaincy. "When I got to 50 I thought about some of the things said and that spurred me on," he said. "Hundreds do not come around that often when you bat five and I had dreamed about doing something like this in this kind of game. It is the sort of thing you work for your whole career."

But glory did not come without one enormous slice of luck when Herschelle Gibbs, whose own century had placed South Africa in what appeared to be a commanding position, spilled a routine chance after Waugh, on 56, had clipped a ball from Lance Klusener off his legs and straight into his hands. Gibbs began to celebrate prematurely and let the ball slip from his grasp. Charitably, Cronje forgave him on the grounds of an injured finger.

Waugh, who had started with necessary caution after the first three Australian wickets had fallen for 48 inside 12 overs on a pitch that was not the most trustworthy, needed no second invitation to take full advantage of his fortune. Exploiting the absence from South Africa's attack of Jacques Kallis, out with a stomach muscle strain, he and Ponting accelerated their partnership to such effect that it grew by 50 runs in only 4.4 overs.

The alliance was eventually broken after 126 runs in the 35th over, when Ponting, whose 69 included two sixes, tried to flick Klusener through midwicket only to sky a catch to Allan Donald.

Thereafter, Bevan assumed the supporting rule as his skipper mixed the orthodox with a variety of improvised strokes that sent many a ball soaring towards or over the leg-side boundary, the pair adding 73 more in 11 overs before Tom Moody replaced Bevan. Waugh's boundary count ultimately ran to 10 fours and two sixes.

Fittingly, this classic confrontation had up its sleeve a gripping finish with Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock pitted against Waugh and Moody with 15 runs needed off the last two overs. Seven came off the first of those, bowled by Donald, who did not help his cause by opening with a no-ball and showed his frustration by sending a short delivery fizzing past Waugh's visor.

Eight from the last six balls was still a huge test of Australian mettle but the pair hurried to an audacious two from the first as Moody drove to mid-off. And the pressure was eased considerably when the next ball ripped to the boundary between two fielders square on the offside. Another single off the next delivery and then a nudge from Waugh past the wicketkeeper won the contest.

Earlier, Gibbs's second one-day hundred had put his side in a position of some strength, the opening batsman following his fine 91 against New Zealand with 101 off 134 balls, gaining excellent support from Darryl Cullinan in a partnership of 95 for the second wicket as Australia, forced to field Glenn McGrath despite a thigh injury, struggled to bowl a consistently good line. Later, Gibbs and Jonty Rhodes put on a further 78 before South Africa's innings was given the familiar late bonus by Klusener, who despatched Damien Fleming for six in the final over, making 36 from 21 deliveries before being out for only the second time in the tournament off the penultimate ball. Cullinan fell for 50 off 62 balls - his first half-century of the competition - bowled by his long-time adversary Shane Warne, who had seen a psychologist before the match and showed the apparent benefits by turning in a respectable 2 for 33 from 10 overs after a run of poor returns.