South Africa was bundled out of the 2003 World Cup when rain stopped play five overs early, forcing the tournament host to split points with Sri Lanka when it needed a win to advance.
Mark Boucher's decision to not take a single on the last ball of the 45th over shattered his country's Cup dream at Kingsmead, leaving South Africa tied with Sri Lanka.
The image of former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock , with hands on head, highlighted the depth of despair that engulfed the Protean dressing room on that fateful day.
And with South Africa struggling to get its World Cup 2019 campaign on track, Pollock weighed in on the team's chances, his most memorable ODI contest and who he thinks will win the quadrennial event.
READ | World Cup 2019: De Kock urges South Africa to keep calm as pressure mounts
Have South Africa’s struggles surprised you?
“We toured here (England), I think, two years ago and we got beaten soundly, so the fact we lost to England isn’t really a big surprise. India toured South Africa and beat us handsomely in the one-day format. Should we have won that, maybe not? The loss to Bangladesh was more of a surprise. They did play their ultimate game – to post 330 or whatever it was, was impressive. We wouldn’t have wanted it to start this way, but it’s not doom and gloom yet.”
What are your World Cup highlights?
“We haven’t had too many favourite ones as South Africans. I think the 1999 World Cup. The semifinal at Edgbaston was probably the one of the best one day internationals I’ve played in. It wasn’t a massive score or anything like that. But it was the ebbs and flows. We added one, they added one, everyone was ebbing and flowing between who was going to win. I know it didn’t end up well for us but it was probably the best game I've been involved in.”
Who will win the World Cup?
“I think there’s quite a few favourites, it’s a hard one to call because it can happen on the day. I think England and India will go through, if I had to pick two.”
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