Interview: "We just needed 1 run, and there was an opportunity to get it" - Lance Klusener on '99 World Cup, coaching Dolphins and art of 'finishing'
Lance Klusener – 1999 World Cup, sensational batting, unique bowling action and a legend for a generation which grappled with the fantastic idea of a great all-rounder.
The images are still fresh as ever. Klusener called Allan Donald for a single, who was ball-watching and didn’t hear the call. The Australian fielders rallied the ball between themselves, from Mark Waugh to Damien Fleming, who then rolled it towards Adam Gilchrist at the other end. Donald started running, but it was too late. He was caught short of his crease by Gilchrist. The dream was over for South Africa.
Klusener didn’t stop. He kept walking down the ground towards the pavilion, having glanced back once to see the Aussies celebrating. He walked off, knowing how close he had got his side to their maiden World Cup final, and failed. Having almost achieved the impossible, Klusener’s innings and that run-out symbolised possibly the biggest heartbreak of that era.
It was the peak of Klusener’s career which never achieved the same glory after that.
After a bitter departure from international cricket, he went to England to play for Northamptonshire. He had a short stint with the now-defunct Indian Cricket League before deciding to take up coaching. After a brief role with South Africa A side, he finally found the big break with Dolphins, where he was appointed the head coach.
He’s currently in India for his maiden Champions League T20, where his side is making its first appearance, having won the Ram Slam T20 back home. He joined me and Hardik Vyas for a conversation:
2 losses in 2 games in the first CLT20 for Dolphins. How’s the morale in the camp?
Not too bad at all. We would’ve obviously loved to have a couple of results go our way, but that's just the way it is. The important thing is that we learn from the way we've played and how we can keep progressing in the competition.
You almost had the match in your pocket against Perth Scorchers, but then Mitchell Marsh hit those two sixes off last two balls, and then you had a poor game against Chennai Super Kings. Did those last two balls against Scorchers deeply affect the team’s morale?
No, I wouldn't say so. I don't think you can judge how we play by just a couple of balls. That's just the nature of the game. To be competitive we have to be extremely precise.
If maybe, we've been little bit off, but we haven't played poor cricket. We've competed really well... lost off the last ball in the first game. And then we just ran into probably the best franchise team in the world playing on a good day. And that's always tough. We were up with the rate, right in the game, and probably ahead of the game up until the 12th over [against CSK]. So we're going to take a lot of strength out of that and there are a lot of lessons that we can take back home.
If you're up against the best team in the world on a good day, you're always going to be under pressure.
Despite a poor start against Perth Scorchers [they were 12/3], the batsmen kept going for their shots. Was there any talk of taking a calmer approach to weather the storm, or is all-out attack the way to go for Dolphins?
I think it depends on the condition and the make-up of the team. We're missing quite a few of our players in the tournament, so we have to play within our strengths and back everyone [to contribute] right up to the no. 10 batsman. That affords us the opportunity to come hard [at the opposition].
If we want to win this competition, it might come down to the run-rate. So we want to be up there and give ourselves the best opportunity [to qualify]. So that's probably what suits us and is the best way for us to continue in this competition.
Morne van Vyk recently said, “With Lance, you always know where you stand. A lot of people can talk but they are not really communicating. Lance doesn’t talk a lot but when he does, he is very clear.” What’s your approach towards coaching?
I think I call it as it is. Obviously you work with the talent that you've got in front of you. I'm just trying to get people to do stuff which maybe they can't [currently]. It’s about identifying the talent that you've got in front of you, and making sure that your communication with them about how they can get better is pretty clear.
Any ambitions to coach at international level?
I'm not too worried about that. I'm just concentrating on winning as many trophies I can with Dolphins.
Unlike many CLT20 teams, Dolphins don’t have many star cricketers, not many national team players. What is the unit’s mentality while facing big teams with big names?
If we can all just contribute, and if every single one of the XI on the day is contributing and adding the value that they have been chosen for, then we can compete with the big teams. When we get caught out is when only a few of our players show up. For us to beat the really big teams, all eleven of us need to pitch in on the day and play the best we can. Otherwise we'll always be under pressure.
When did you decide to take up coaching?
Graham Ford, who was coaching the Dolphins, ended up having to go to Sri Lanka halfway through the season (in January 2012, Ford was appointed Sri Lanka’s head coach). I had just finished playing and had been doing a little bit of work with the juniors at the Dolphins, so I just filled in till the end of the season and carried on after that.
And then Shaun Pollock was involved with Mumbai [Indians] and they had an opening as a bowling coach, so I managed to get that role.
Graham Ford once said that Thisara Perera reminded him of you. Which current cricketer reminds you of your style of play?
I think there are a whole lot [of players] who're way better than me, and there are a lot of guys out there who play that way. MS Dhoni is someone who's an all-rounder himself. He bats in that position, lower down the order, finishing games. He’s someone who springs to mind.
You and Michael Bevan were considered the finest finishers of your time. Who would you call a great finisher in the current era? What’s the role of a typical ‘finisher’?
Probably David Miller and MS [Dhoni], I guess.
It's just about working out what you need to do and actually having the talent and ability to get things done. Whether it's setting up a good score and [planning] how to get there, or if you're chasing, just to work it out really and get yourself in a position where you've got the ability to chase down whatever the target be, and have faith in that.
It's the same mindset [you have while] finishing a game which you have while batting second. It's simple. You know the equation – runs required and balls left – you just need to have that ability and that belief in yourself that you can actually do it.
In 1999 World Cup semifinal, what happened on that fateful ball?
We just needed to get one run, and there was an opportunity to get a run. Unfortunately, Allan [Donald] had to turn around and didn't hear the call, and we know what happened then.
[As for the urgency to take the run on that ball] Yes, we had two deliveries left, but those could have been great yorkers, or I could have got out, and then you would've said why we didn’t go [for a single] a bit earlier! I think we were pretty clear as to what we wanted to do, and it didn't work out that way, but that's sport, that's just the game.
Does it affect you that people remember only the ‘99 World Cup while talking about your 8-year-long career?
I don't mind and I don't care. That's sport. It's a lovely business to be in. There are no guarantees. There are a lot of things that you as a sportsman can't control, and that's what makes sports so exciting. No guarantees! Doesn't matter how hard you train, you’re still never certain of the result.
The ‘99 World Cup was a great tournament for me personally, although we didn't win the title. For me personally, it's a lovely subject.
In your career, if you had to pick an innings or spell which gave you the most satisfaction and pride, which one would it be?
For me, I don't think it's any one innings or spell. Every time you just need to get the job done, and that might be scoring only 10 runs off 10 balls. The satisfaction just comes from doing your job, whatever's on your plate. It doesn't always happen that way. But even if it is just [chasing] 10 runs off 10 balls and you manage to get the team home, then that gives you satisfaction.
On your debut [against India in Calcutta, 1996], Mohammad Azharuddin hit you for 5 consecutive fours and you had a poor outing in first innings. But you came back in the second to pick 8 wickets for just 64 runs [still the best figures by a South African debutant]. What went through your mind between innings?
Not a lot really. Sometimes, you do need a little bit of luck. If luck's on your side, then you can get the wickets. But in the end it's just about the belief that you can actually do it at this level.
Sometimes you need that luck, a little bit of help that goes your way, and that happened [that day]. Thank goodness it happened pretty soon [in my career].
Your South African career didn’t have a fairytale ending. Did you ever think you could have had a different farewell from international cricket, probably contributed more at that stage?
No, not at all! I wanted to go and play cricket in England, and then just made that decision. I spent 5 great years playing county cricket, which was great. And no, not really. I'm pretty quiet and personal guy, so when I thought it was time to leave, it was time to leave. I didn't have to make a scene about it.
What do you think about the ‘chokers’ tag? Does it worry you how often South Africa are lablelled that?
No, I think it's just a word dreamt up by someone some day and it’s just something that the press has been able to hang on to, and I guess it won't go away until we win a big ICC trophy. That's just what it is.
I mean, any team can be associated with that [tag] if you looked hard enough. Every time someone loses a game, you can pretty much attach that [with any team] at your own convenience. It's just something that is just going to hang around with us; not necessarily apply to us, but just hang around with us until we win a big ICC event.
You started off as a No. 11 fast bowler. When did you start taking your batting seriously?
I obviously had the talent to bat. Sometimes it’s just the case that there are way better batsmen than what you are at that stage. And in those days, if you bowled fast, you batted 11.
But obviously I had the potential, and as time went on, I developed that skill and got opportunities [to bat] higher up [the order].
What was your first reaction to T20 when it was introduced – were you impressed or sceptical?
It was always going to improve players' skills and their ability to score runs, and now I'm sure we've all seen the benefits of T20s. It brings people back to the stadiums. It has probably added 20 or 30 runs to the 50-over scores that we saw in our days. It's great entertainment. It's good value and people love it.
Where do you see Dolphins going from here? Can they come back stronger next season?
Yeah definitely. We've got a very young team. 10 of those 15 players are under-25 or under-24, so it's an extremely young team and there's a huge amount of potential there. It's important that we learn from every time we go up [in global tournaments].
If we stop learning, we'll to stop growing as a unit. We've got a taste of victory back home [in Ram Slam T20] and hopefully that place will stay, and we can go from strength to strength. There's some awesome ability in this squad.
From Dolphins, David Miller and Kyle Abbot have made it to the South African squad. Who do you think is next?
I think there are quite a handful, and they that have go up and actually do it. There's a lot of potential there. We don't have many national players, so our philosophy is to make our own national players. It takes a bit of time, but we're well on the way. We've got David [Miller] back in there and obviously Kyle [Abbott] as well. But there are some youngsters there who are all going to be sensations [in the future].
Who would you pick in an all-time South Africa XI? Including you of course! (the inner fanboy couldn’t resist)
I don't make the team. There are way better cricketers than me. I'm not even in the picture, and probably don't even make it to the second squad. It's really unfortunate that we never got to see those players through Apartheid. But having said that, I don't make that team, I'm not even supposed to make that team.
It's not something I would like to venture into (selecting an all-time XI). I wouldn't even know where to start with. There were some unbelievable players who didn't get the opportunity to play Test cricket. And then there are some great players who played after that. So as I said, I wouldn't even come close to making that team.