Date-stamped : 25 Oct94 - 14:25 3 Nation One-day tournament South Africa v Australia, Abarb Miaz Stadium, Peshawar, 24 October 1994 Australia beat South Africa by three wickets in a thrilling fin- ish to their Triangular Series one-day match at the Abarb Miaz Stadium in Peshawar with two balls to spare. Australia were left to make seven runs an over in the last four overs, but Justin Langer took them to victory with an unbeaten 33. Although Australia lost their first wicket on 38 when Mark Taylor was caught at wicket off Fannie de Villiers for 17, they recovered with Michael Slater sharing 67 runs for the second wicket with Mark Waugh. Waugh made 43 with a six off Tim Shaw and hit three fours as well. For the fourth wicket, David Boon added 67 with Michael Bevan before being run out. Boon made 39 in 43 ball with four fours. Earlier, South Africa, having won the toss and deciding to bat first, had a disastrous start by losing their captain Kepler Wessels in the third over. They recovered with a 85-run stand by Hansie Cronje and Gary Kirsten before Kirsten was bowled off stump by Glenn McGrath for 45. Cronje, then at 30, progressed to his fourth 50 in five matches in this series with two fours and two sixes off spinner Tim May. With Daryll Cullinan, he put on another valuable stand for the third wicket, adding 65 in eleven overs. In one over from Shane Warne, 13 runs were taken, with Cullinan hitting him for a six to mid-wicket. Jonty Rhodes sur- vived ten deliveries before holing out to Mark Taylor at cover off Jo Angel, but Cronje continued with authority to take South Africa past 200 in the 42nd over. At 207, South Africa lost two more wickets. Cronje reached his century, his second in one-day games, having stayed at the crease for 198 minutes. He faced 125 balls and hit four fours and three sixes. He was declared man of the match. Contributed by vasa (Vasanthan.Dasan@Central.Sun.COM) ====> more Australia had the last laugh at Abarb Miaz Stadium today, albeit nervously, defeating South Africa with two balls to spare despite Hansie Cronje`s undefeated century, reached from the final ball of the morning`s innings. In a rousing finish, rookie Justin Langer struck fours from the last three balls of the 49th over to level the scores, Jo Angel was bowled for a duck by the third ball of the last over but Craig McDermott drove the winning sin- gle next ball. It was a gallant performance by Australia since the light throughout the afternoon was said by an Australian photographer to be dimmer than in a night match at the SCG. Every batsman played a part but it needed the eyes of the young tyros Langer and Michael Bevan, as keen as the birds of prey circling endless- ly above the ground, to save the fading day. This was Australia`s fourth win in five qualifying matches in the tournament and South Africa`s fifth successive defeat. Peshawar, at the foot of the Khyber Pass, has a lawless, wild west feel about it, and today there were armed police scrutinis- ing the crowds from nearby water tanks and rooftops. The crowd threw litter constantly at the outfielders, and even a few fire- crackers, one landing so near David Boon that it stopped his heart for a couple of beats and the match for a couple of minutes. But the Peshawar people showed an enthusiasm for cricket that shamed some of their countrymen elsewhere, three quarters filling the stadium although Pakistan were not playing, and generously applauding when Shane Warne came on to bowl and Jonty Rhodes came out to bat. They approved heartily when Fanie de Villiers donned a topee, a traditional local woollen knit hat and. later, when Cronje tried on a policeman`s riot helmet. The tournament has come alive in the last week, with all three teams suddenly able to score at around five per over and Cronje`s 100 not out today the fourth individual century in the last three matches. Cronje has become a nemesis for Australia, having made three scores in the nineties, and now this century against them, all this year. Cronje has only failed to reach 50 once in five in- nings in this series. He arrived at the crease upon the fall of the man he is destined to succeed soon as captain, Kepler Wessels, in just the third over. The shadows were long since it was just after 9am, but Cronje seems immune to regional peculiarities and distractions. It is doubtful that even a firecracker on middle and leg would have shaken him. He played straight, hit hard and once he was sure he had all the dimensions of the pitch and the attack, stamped his authority by lofting Tim May for six twice, and later dealing with Warne in the same summary fashion. Cronje established partnerships of 85 with Gary Kirsten (45 from 55 balls) and 65 with Daryll Cullinan (36 from 34 balls). Cul- linan even took the previously unsampled liberty of pulling Warne over mid-wicket for six and when South Africa were 2-156 from 30 overs, they seemed bound for a score of more than 300. But South Africa`s Achilles heel is their lack of depth in their batting, and once Warne had bowled Cullinan behind his legs, Aus- tralia were able to bind up the ensuing batsmen so that they scored only 95 from the last 20 overs. Glenn McGrath was notably the meanest of the bowlers, which means that he almost certainly will replace Damien Fleming for the third Test in Lahore next week. Cronje looked likely to be stranded yet again in the nineties, and finally needed a boundary from the last ball to gain 100. Michael Slater (54 from 81 balls), Mark Waugh (43 from 54), David Boon (39 from 43) and Michael Bevan (45 from 55) all played well but run-outs were costly and it needed the derring-do of Langer to secure the victory. Playing just his third innings on tour, Langer remained 33 not out from merely 19 balls. Thanks :: Greg Baum, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.su.OZ.AU)