Football
Reuters 17y

Cricket-Dutch manage to find funny side in Gibbs mauling

(attention language in 8th para)

By Telford Vice

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, March 16 - Dutch captain
Luuk van Troost had planned on his side making cricket history
against the number one-ranked South Africans in the World Cup on
Friday and Herschelle Gibbs ensured they achieved it.

The Netherlands were the recipients of a slew of unwanted
scoring records with South Africa making mincemeat of the
part-timers but Gibbs led the way with a maximum six sixes hit
off hapless spinner Daan van Bunge.

Only three men in the history of the game have achieved 36
runs from an over at elite-level cricket, West Indian Garfield
Sobers in 1968, Indian Ravi Shastri in 1985 and now Gibbs.

It was the first time, however, the ultimate feat has been
achieved in a one-day international or World Cup.

GOOD HUMOUR

In his post-match news conference, Van Troost dealt with the
humiliation with good humour.

"Before the game we said let's make history today by beating
South Africa," Van Troost said. "We made history but not by
beating them."

Van Troost related the conversation he had with Van Bunge
during the bowler's nightmare over.

"After the third one I told him (Van Bunge) to try to bowl a
quicker delivery, and he said, 'I just did'. There were a few
good balls, and a few shit ones as well."

The effects of the mauling lingered with Van Bunge.

"He (Van Bunge) had some flashbacks, he started laughing
when he was sitting in the dressing-room."

Van Troost offered no excuses for his team's eventual
221-run loss.

"I was quite happy with the start but they totally outplayed
us," he said. "This was world class batting and the small
boundaries didn't help us.

"In the end we didn't bowl well enough."

News of Gibbs's feat reached Australian captain Ricky
Ponting, who scored 113 in Australia's 203-run win over Scotland
at the same venue on Wednesday.

"I didn't see any of it but it doesn't surprise me that
much," Ponting told a news conference at Australia's training
session elsewhere in St Kitts.

"Having played out there the other day it is a very, very
small ground. (But) you have to have a fair bit of skill to be
able to do it."

Gibbs's blast earned a donation of US$1-million to the
Habitat for Humanity housing project put up by World Cup
sponsors Johnnie Walker.

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