Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener
Personal information
Full name Lance Klusener
Born (1971-09-04) 4 September 1971
Durban, Natal Province, South Africa
Nickname Zulu
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Batting Left-handed
Bowling Right arm fast medium
Role All-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 265) 27 November 1996 v India
Last Test 8 August 2004 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 40) 19 January 1996 v England
Last ODI 19 September 2004 v West Indies
ODI shirt no. 69
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1991–2004 KwaZulu Natal
2002 Nottinghamshire
2004 Middlesex
2004–2007 Dolphins
2004–2008 Northamptonshire (squad no. 4)
2006–2008 Royal Bengal Tigers
2010 Mountaineers
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC List A
Matches 49 171 197 324
Runs scored 1906 3576 9521 6648
Batting average 32.86 41.10 42.69 40.04
100s/50s 4/8 2/19 21/48 3/34
Top score 174 103* 202* 142*
Balls bowled 6887 7336 31735 13459
Wickets 80 192 508 334
Bowling average 37.91 29.95 30.40 31.50
5 wickets in innings 1 6 20 8
10 wickets in match 0 – 4 –
Best bowling 8/64 6/12 8/34 6/49
Catches/stumpings 34/- 35/- 99/- 82/-
Source: Cricinfo, 14 February 2016

Lance Klusener (born 4 September 1971) is a former South African all-rounder cricketer. He is known for his aggressive batting and his fast-medium swing bowling.

He is nicknamed "Zulu" because of his fluency in the Zulu language. Since his retirement he has occasionally commentated on cricket in both Zulu and Xhosa, as the two languages are mutually intelligible.

His ODI batting average of 41.0 and ODI bowling average of 29.0 places him among the ranks of South Africa's most accomplished one-day players. He also has a particularly impressive first class record, with a batting average of 43.0 and a bowling average of 30.0.

Career

Domestic career

Klusener played for KwaZulu-Natal (Nashua Dolphins) in the domestic level in South Africa between 1991 and 2004. In 2004, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club signed him on a contract running until late 2008. At Wantage Road he impressed with his fired-up seam bowling and his hard-hitting in the low middle-order. Due to family bereavements back home, it was announced that his contract with the county will not be renewed at the end of the 2008 season. In late 2007, he started playing in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 tournament in India for the Kolkata Tigers team.[1]

International career

Klusener made his Test debut for South Africa against India in Calcutta during the second Test in 1996/97. Klusener, at the time playing primarily as a bowler, took some fearful hammering at the hands of Mohammad Azharuddin, who at one point hit him for five consecutive fours, in his first innings of his debut but returned career best figures of eight for 64 in the second.[2]

Klusener will be remembered mainly for his contributions in One Day Internationals, in which he became feared as a hard hitting batsman and was voted as Man of the Tournament during the 1999 World Cup. He showed glimpses of his big-hitting in the years leading to the 1999 World Cup. His baseball-style backlift and thunderous hitting symbolised the tournament and his heroics nearly took South Africa to the final. He was also voted as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2000.

His international career has tapered off since then, due mainly to persistent ankle injuries, as well as a public dispute with the then South African captain Graeme Smith, who at a breakfast meeting shortly after his appointment to the captaincy described Klusener as a "disruptive force" to the younger players within the South African national cricket team, with the quote ending up in the South African press.[3] However it seems that Klusener and Smith have patched up their differences.[4][5]

He had scored 1,906 runs in 49 matches with a highest score of 174 and 80 wickets with best of 8/64 in Test Matches. In ODI's he scored 3,576 runs in 171 matches at an average of 41.1 with a highest score of 103 and took 192 wickets with a best of 6/49.

1999 World Cup

In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, South Africa had progressed to the semi-finals, and Klusener till then had an excellent tournament, taking 17 wickets and scoring 250 runs (including two half centuries) in 8 matches and building a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman in tight situations.

He won four Man of the Match awards out of the nine matches South Africa played in the tournament. The four awards were consecutive with respect to South Africa's wins (one match in between was won by Zimbabwe). The only other South African to win this award in this tournament was Jacques Kallis.

The second semi-final was played between Australia and South Africa in Edgbaston, England. Australia, having been put in to bat, set a target of 214 for South Africa to chase in 50 overs. Klusener came in to bat when South Africa were 175/6 in 44.5 overs, and by virtue of his big-hitting (along with support from other batsmen), South Africa entered the final over at 205/9, needing nine runs to win with only one wicket remaining. The two batsmen at the crease were Klusener (on strike) and Allan Donald.

Klusener scored consecutive fours in the first two balls of the over (bowled by Damien Fleming), levelling the scores and leaving South Africa with only 1 run to win in 4 balls with Klusener on strike. The third ball was a dot, and the fourth saw Klusener mis-hit his shot to mid-wicket fielder Mark Waugh. Klusener went for the run, although chances of a run-out were high and two balls were still remaining. However, Donald at the other end, keeping his eyes on the ball, did not see Klusener sprinting down the pitch and did not hear the call to run, and Klusener was almost at the bowler's end by the time Donald (who had also dropped his bat) began running. By then, Waugh had thrown the ball to Fleming, who rolled it to Adam Gilchrist who took the bails off at the other end, meaning Donald was run-out by some distance, thus ending the match with the scores level. However, a tie meant that Australia progressed to the final since they had beaten South Africa in the group stages of the tournament. As commentator Bill Lawry put it during the final ball:

"...this will be out surely – oh it's out, it's gonna be run out...oh, that is South Africa out – Donald did not run, I cannot believe it. Australia go into the World Cup Final – ridiculous running with two balls to go. Donald did not go, Klusener came – what a disappointing end for South Africa."

Australia went on to win the tournament; although Klusener's heroics weren't in vain, as he was voted the Player of the Series.[6]

In 2014, Klusener stated in an interview that Donald was not to blame for what happened. Klusener stated that he became impatient and, although he made it to the bowler's end, there was genuinely no run. After the match, he was cross at himself and regretted making that run.[7]

Coaching career

Klusener severed all of his ties with the Indian Cricket League in late 2009 and then completed a Level-three coaching course provided by Cricket South Africa in Spring 2010. Klusener confirmed he was in negotiations with the Bangladesh Cricket Board about becoming the team bowling coach. However, in early September 2010 the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed that they were still awaiting a response from Klusener.[8] Lance Klusener had finally turned down the offer to take over as Bangladesh's bowling coach, replacing Sri Lanka's Champaka Ramanayake. Klusener was reportedly unable to convince his wife about a permanent move to Bangladesh.[9]

From 2012 until 2016 he was head coach of the Dolphins, whom he represented in domestic cricket during his playing career,[10] [11]

In 2016, he started as batting coach for the Zimbabwe national team. He also coaches the Lyca Kovai Kings in India.[12]

Style of play

Klusener is an all-round cricketer known for his powerful left hand batting and right arm swing bowling. His batting averages are particularly notable for the peculiar fact that his ODI average is considerably higher than his Test average. This is a fair reflection of his aggressive temperament in shorter matches.

Lance Klusener has the highest career strike rate in World Cup history of 121.0 (min 10 matches)[13]

International centuries

  • In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
  • The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test centuries

Test centuries of Lance Klusener
NoRunsMatchAgainstCity/CountryVenueStart dateResult
[1]102*4 IndiaSouth Africa Cape Town, South AfricaNewlands Cricket Ground2 January 1997Won
[2]17424 EnglandSouth Africa Port Elizabeth, South AfricaSt George's Park9 December 1999Drawn
[3]118*31 Sri LankaSri Lanka Kandy, Sri LankaAsgiriya Stadium30 July 2000Won
[4]10845 IndiaSouth Africa Bloemfontein, South AfricaMangaung Oval3 November 2001

ODI centuries

One Day International centuries of Lance Klusener
NoRunsMatchAgainstCity/CountryVenueDateResult
[1]103*49 New ZealandNew Zealand Auckland, New ZealandEden Park20 February 1999Lost
[2]101*64 ZimbabweKenya Nairobi, KenyaGymkhana Club Ground28 September 1999Won

International record

Test 5 Wicket hauls

#FiguresMatchOpponentVenueCityCountryYear
18/641 IndiaEden GardensKolkataIndia1996

ODI 5 Wicket hauls

#FiguresMatchOpponentVenueCityCountryYear
15/425 IndiaMangaung OvalBloemfonteinSouth Africa1997
26/4918 Sri LankaGaddafi StadiumLahorePakistan1997
35/2422 AustraliaMelbourne Cricket GroundMelbourneAustralia1997
45/2536 PakistanNewlands Cricket GroundCape TownSouth Africa1998
55/2157 KenyaVRA GroundAmstelveenNetherlands1999
65/4780 PakistanSharjah Cricket StadiumSharjahUAE2000

International awards

One Day International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No Opponent Venue Date Match Performance Result
1 Australia Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein 13 April 1997 92 (118 balls: 7x4, 1x6) ; 7–1–41–3, 2 Ct.  South Africa won by 109 runs.[14]
2 Sri Lanka Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 6 November 1997 54 (41 balls: 9x4, 1x6) ; 10–0–49–6, 1 Ct.  South Africa won by 66 runs.[15]
3 Sri Lanka Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 8 November 1997 7–0–29–1, 2 Ct. ; 99 (96 balls: 11x4, 2x6)  South Africa won by 4 wickets.[16]
4 Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 9 December 1997 17 (31 balls: 2x4) ; 7.1–0–24–5  South Africa won by 45 runs.[17]
5 New Zealand Bellerive Oval, Hobart 11 December 1997 37 (60 balls: 1x4, 1x6) ; 10–0–46–3  South Africa won by 1 run.[18]
6 Pakistan Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town 23 April 1998 7.1–1–25–5 ; DNB  South Africa won by 9 wickets.[19]
7 England Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester 23 May 1998 55* (49 balls: 5x4) ; 9–0–58–1  South Africa won by 32 runs.[20]
8 West Indies Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town 2 February 1999 54* (36 balls: 2x4, 3x6) ; 8–2–17–2  South Africa won by 89 runs.[21]
9 New Zealand McLean Park, Napier 26 March 1999 7–0–33–1 ; 35* (19 balls: 4x4, 1x6)  South Africa won by 2 wickets.[22]
10 Sri Lanka County Ground, Northampton 19 May 1999 52* (45 balls: 5x4, 2x6) ; 5.2–1–21–3  South Africa won by 89 runs.[23]
11 England Kennington Oval, London 22 May 1999 48* (40 balls: 3x4, 1x6) ; 6–0–16–1  South Africa won by 122 runs.[24]
12 Kenya VRA Ground, Amstelveen 26 May 1999 8.3–3–21–5, 1 Ct. ; DNB  South Africa won by 7 wickets.[25]
13 Pakistan Trent Bridge, Nottingham 5 June 1999 9–0–41–1 ; 46* (41 balls: 3x4, 3x6)  South Africa won by 3 wickets.[26]
14 Zimbabwe Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi 28 September 1999 7–0–30–1 ; 101* (105 balls: 11x4, 4x6)  South Africa won by 9 wickets.[27]
15 India Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi 19 March 2000 75* (58 balls: 8x4, 3x6) ; 9–0–59–3  South Africa won by 10 runs.[28]
16 Pakistan Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah 24 March 2000 10–0–47–5 ; 5 (14 balls)  South Africa won by 3 wickets.[29]
17 Australia New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 16 April 2000 10–1–45–2 ; 52* (50 balls: 9x4)  South Africa won by 4 wickets.[30]
18 New Zealand Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town 4 November 2000 2-0-27-0 ; 59* (42 balls: 2x4, 4x6)  South Africa won by 89 runs.[31]
19 Kenya Senwes Park, Potchefstroom 12 February 2003 8-2-16-4 ; DNB  South Africa won by 10 wickets.[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chennai Superstars bt Kolkata Tigers, enter final
  2. ↑ "2nd Test: India v South Africa at Kolkata, Nov 27 – Dec 1, 1996". espncricinfo. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  3. ↑ Smith: Klusener can "ruin a team", Cricinfo, retrieved on 18 April 2009
  4. ↑ Klusener offers olive branch to Smith, Cricinfo, retrieved on 18 April 2009
  5. ↑ Klusener back in action, BBC Sport, retrieved on 18 April 2009
  6. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65234.html
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRZdqb9LiiM
  8. ↑ http://www.cricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/current/story/475371.html
  9. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/story/475554.html
  10. ↑ Moonda, Firdose (25 January 2012). "Klusener appointed Dolphins interim coach". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Klusener shocked at Dolphins sacking". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Klusener ropen in as coach by Koval Kings". Lanka Help Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "Cricket Records | Records | World Cup | Highest strike rates | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  14. ↑ "1996–1997 South Africa v Australia – 7th Match – Bloemfontein".
  15. ↑ "1997–1998 Wills Quadrangular Tournament – 6th Match – South Africa v Sri Lanka – Lahore".
  16. ↑ "1997–1998 Wills Quadrangular Tournament – Final – South Africa v Sri Lanka – Lahore".
  17. ↑ "1997–1998 Carlton & United Series – 4th Match – Australia v South Africa – Melbourne".
  18. ↑ "1997–1998 Carlton & United Series – 5th Match – New Zealand v South Africa – Hobart".
  19. ↑ "1997–1998 Standard Bank International – Final – South Africa v Pakistan – Cape Town".
  20. ↑ "1998 England v South Africa – 2nd Match – Manchester".
  21. ↑ "1998–1999 South Africa v West Indies – 5th Match – Cape Town".
  22. ↑ "1998–1999 New Zealand v South Africa – 5th Match – Napier".
  23. ↑ "1999 ICC World Cup – 9th Match – South Africa v Sri Lanka – Northampton".
  24. ↑ "1999 ICC World Cup – 13th Match – England v South Africa – London".
  25. ↑ "1999 ICC World Cup – 20th Match – Kenya v South Africa – Amstelveen".
  26. ↑ "1999 ICC World Cup – 32nd Match – Pakistan v South Africa – Nottingham".
  27. ↑ "1999–2000 LG Cup – 3rd Match – South Africa v Zimbabwe – Nairobi".
  28. ↑ "1999–2000 India v South Africa – 5th Match – Nagpur".
  29. ↑ "1999–2000 Coca-Cola Cup – 3rd Match – Pakistan v South Africa – Sharjah".
  30. ↑ "1999–2000 South Africa v Australia – 3rd Match – Johannesburg".
  31. ↑ "2000-2001 South Africa v New Zealand - 6th Match - Cape Town".
  32. ↑ "2002-2003 ICC World Cup - 6th Match - South Africa v Kenya - Potchefstroom".
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