OTD| South Africa played their first World Cup match after their return to international cricket in 1992

South African cricket has had to go through several ups and downs in its long history but undoubtedly the biggest setback that the Proteas had to suffer was their exclusion from international cricket in the apartheid era. But they were inducted back as a Test nation in 1991. In 1992 they participated in the ODI World Cup for the first time and on this day, they played their first World Cup match against Australia in Sydney. 

First Innings

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first to put runs on the board for South Africa to chase. The Aussies got to a good start as the opening pair of Geoff Marsh and David Boon added 42 runs on the board. The partnership was broken with the unfortunate run out of David Boon. After this dismissal, Marsh stitched another 34-run partnership with Dean Jones. The Aussies appeared to be in control but a calamity was in the offing. South Africa picked up two wickets in quick succession by dismissing Geoff Marsh and the skipper Allan Border. This double whammy transferred the momentum in South Africa’s favor. 

The Proteas bowling attack kept taking wickets at regular intervals and did not let Australia build large partnerships that could take them to a huge total. As a result, the Kangaroos were restricted to 170 runs in the first innings. 

Second Innings

Fans would have expected pressure on South Africa in the run chase as they were playing their first World Cup match but the Proteas looked very comfortable in the second innings. Captain Kepler Wessels led from the front and stayed unbeaten in the run chase. He scored 81 runs and played an anchor role. Andrew Hudson and Peter Kirsten also made valuable contributions that ensured an easy run chase for South Africa. The Proteas completed the run chase with 13 balls to spare and won the match by 9 wickets. Kepler Wessels was awarded the Player of the Match for an unbeaten batting effort. 

Also read: OTD| Javed Miandad scored his 6th and final double-hundred in 1989