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SOUTH Africa's World Cup ended in agony at Edgbaston on Thursday when the semifinal against Australia ended in a tie, with a desperate but unneccessary scramble for the winning run ending in a run-out when there were still two balls left.

South Africa were eliminated because Australia finished ahead of them in the Super Six on run rate.In the end, the most galling fact for South Africa was that at the most desperate moment, Australian captain Steve Waugh's assessment that Australia held their nerve was true, while Klusener, hero of South Africa's campaign, lost his.

Klusener seemed to have pulled off the near-impossible when he took charge with 16 runs needed off eight balls. He hit a six, a single and, improbably, two blistering fours off the first two balls of the last over, bowled by Damien Fleming. With one run needed and Klusener on strike the odds had swung dramatically in South Africa's favour. It was a time for calm thought. Klusener could afford to let one, two, even three balls be bowled before there was a need to resort to desperation in the quest for the crucial run.

Waugh pulled his men up, placing two slips and challenging Klusener to hit through or over the field. The next ball was hit to mid-on, Donald charged down the pitch and was lucky to get back after Darren Lehmann's throw missed.

Klusener should have learnt from that but when he hit the next ball past Fleming he sprinted for the single, while Donald stood his ground. Michael Bevan threw to Fleming, who whipped the ball to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist for the late-starting Donald to be run out by a distance.

The Australians knew the rules. They whooped and leapt in the air and embraced each other. For South Africa there was utter despair.

For four years, South Africa have had the best record in one-day international cricket but they have failed when it matters, in two World Cups. The record shows that South Africa reached the quarterfinals in 1996 and the semifinals in 1999. No trophy, not even a final. Hansie Cronje was so distressed that he hinted he may not be prepared to carry on as captain. At 29, he has had almost five years of stress. With the firing of the last World Cup winner, Arjuna Ranatunga of Sri Lanka, he is the longest-serving international skipper and the thought of starting all over again, with the 2003 World Cup in South Africa the objective, is daunting.

Wisely, he will take a rest from the game and reflect before making a decision about his future.The game was a thriller to rank alongside the clash between the two teams at Headingley last Sunday where Australia won with two balls to spare, overhauling what seemed an unbeatable South African total of 271.

South Africa again seemed to have taken control of the game when they bowled out Australia for 213 on Thursday, with their great fast bowlers, Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald taking five and four wickets respectively.

It was the first time Pollock had any luck in a tournament which had yielded him only four wickets in eight previous matches, while Donald bowled magnificently on a ground which doubles as his English county base.

It seemed a cruise for South Africa as Herschelle Gibbs batted beautifully, hitting six fours and making 30 in an opening stand of 48 with Gary Kirsten. Bold captaincy by Waugh brought about the breakthrough. Shane Warne was given the ball in the 11th over, which cost three runs.

The pitch, being used for the first time in the season, proved surprisingly receptive to spin and Warne's legspin proved decisive. The first ball of his second over was a masterpiece, upsetting Gibbs' footwork as the ball looped high, then spun viciously off the pitch to hit the off bail.

Daryll Cullinan came in at number three, which seemed questionable in view of his poor record against Warne. Even though he made 50 and defended adequately against Warne at Headingley, the scoring rate had dropped while the two renewed their rivalry. It would have seemed wiser to juggle Cullinan's place in the order, with the ideal being for him to bat when Warne had already bowled most of his overs.

As it was, Cullinan was not one of Warne's victims but neither could he break the legspinner's spell. Kirsten was bowled after a horrible slog against the first ball of Warne's next over and Cronje made his second duck in five days against Australia. He was beaten by another flighted legspinner and caught at slip off his boot. He was given out by umpire David Shepherd but said afterwards, ``I wasn't out''. Nonetheless, Warne had taken three wickets for no runs in nine balls. He went on to complete a sequence of three maiden overs as South Africa's scoring rate dropped disastrously.

Cullinan was run out unnecessarily after Jacques Kallis risked a run to the deadly arm of Michael Bevan at extra cover.

Kallis and Rhodes then had to consolidate and they did so, scoring runs at an agonisingly slow rate.Kallis was, however, a South African hero. He braved the pain of an abdominal muscle injury and bowled superbly in an unbroken ten-over spell, taking one for 27. Remarkably, the speed gun recorded Kallis as bowling the fastest ball (91 miles an hour) and having the highest average speed (85) of the South African bowlers, with Donald next fastest at 87 and 83 respectively.

Kallis went on to make top score of 53 while Rhodes made 43 in a stand of 84. Cronje said afterwards that South Africa were happy with a target of 70 off the last ten overs, with six wickets in hand, but the fact was that Kallis and Rhodes allowed Mark Waugh and Tom Moody, who shared duties as Australia's fifth bowler, to get away too lightly.

Waugh was finally taken out of the attack after Rhodes hit him for six over midwicket in the 40th over but in the next over Rhodes was caught at deep square leg off Paul Reiffel. Shaun Pollock batted aggressively and Warne's last over cost 15 as Pollock swung him over wide mid-on for six before pounding the next ball for four through the covers. Warne struck a last blow, however, when Kallis was caught at cover off a leading edge.

Pollock looked in good enough form to see South Africa through together with Klusener but he stepped away to play an extravagant shot against Fleming and was bowled. Mark Boucher could not score off a succession of balls and ended up swinging wildly at McGrath. Elworthy was run out taking a second run to Reiffel at long-on to keep the strike with Klusener.

With one wicket left and 16 runs needed off eight balls, it seemed South Africa were finished. Klusener, though, had one last flourish. He clubbed McGrath to long-on where Reiffel could only palm the ball over the rope for six. He took a single to keep the strike.

Nine needed off six balls. The first was hit to deep cover. One run? Not with Klusener's power. It raced to the boundary. The next was thumped thrillingly for another four through the covers. Then came panic and, for South Africa, cricket tragedy.

Klusener's unbeaten 31 runs were scored off 16 balls, taking his total for the World Cup to 281 off 230 deliveries, an average of 140,5 and a strike rate of 122.17 runs per hundred balls. He finished the tournament with 17 wickets. He should be named the player of the tournament. Yet he will forever be haunted by the memory of his last act in a five-week drama.

Contributed by managemment (help@cricket.og)