ICC Cricket World Cup 1999: Australia's Title, Tied Semi-Final, Herschelle Gibbs Drop
The ICC Cricket World Cup 1999 was the seventh edition, hosted primarily in England with matches also in Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Wales, from 14 May to 20 June 1999. Australia won their second World Cup title, defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets in the final at Lord's on 20 June 1999. Ricky Ponting scored 140 not out from 121 balls. The most famous moment of the tournament came in a Super Six match between Australia and South Africa at Headingley on 13 June: Steve Waugh was dropped by Herschelle Gibbs — a seemingly routine catch — and went on to score 120 not out to win the match. The semi-final between Australia and South Africa at Edgbaston ended in a tie (both teams 213 all out): Australia advanced on the superior run rate from their group stage.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 1999 was the seventh edition, hosted primarily in England with group matches in Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Wales, from 14 May to 20 June 1999. It was the first World Cup with a Super Six stage — the top three teams from each of two groups advanced to a Super Six round before semi-finals. Australia won the title, defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets in the final at Lord's — Ricky Ponting scoring 140 not out from 121 balls. It was Australia's second World Cup title (having also won in 1987).
The Gibbs Drop: Cricket's Most Famous Missed Catch
In the Super Six match between Australia and South Africa at Headingley, Leeds on 13 June 1999, South Africa needed to beat Australia to secure their semi-final position. With Australia in trouble, Herschelle Gibbs caught Steve Waugh off Shaun Pollock — and celebrated before completing the catch, tossing the ball up prematurely and dropping it. Under the rules, the catch was not taken. Waugh went on to score 120 not out and Australia won the match. Waugh reportedly told Gibbs: 'You've just dropped the World Cup' — a quote that has become one of the most cited in cricket history (though Waugh later said he did not recall the exact words). The drop is considered the turning point of the 1999 World Cup: without it, Australia likely would not have progressed to the semi-finals.
The Tied Semi-Final: Australia vs South Africa at Edgbaston
On 17 June 1999 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Australia and South Africa played one of the most dramatic matches in World Cup history. South Africa, chasing 213, needed 9 runs from 4 balls when Lance Klusener hit two sixes to level the scores with 2 balls remaining. On the next delivery, Klusener hit the ball to mid-on and called Allan Donald for a run — Donald hesitated, turned back, lost his bat, and was run out by Ricky Ponting. The match tied at 213 all out each, but Australia advanced to the final on their superior group-stage run rate over South Africa. South Africa were eliminated despite scoring exactly as many runs as Australia in the semi-final — one of the most heartbreaking exits in World Cup history.
Frequently asked questions
Did South Africa deserve to be eliminated from the 1999 World Cup despite tying the semi-final with Australia?
The 1999 World Cup semi-final tie raises a genuine fairness question. South Africa tied the match at 213 each, meaning they scored the same runs as Australia in the semi-final, but were eliminated because Australia had a better run rate in the Super Six group stage. The rule that determined who went through (group stage run rate rather than the semi-final result) was specific to the 1999 tournament format: in the Super Six, teams carried over their points from the group stage, and Australia had a better run rate. This meant Australia were effectively 'ahead on aggregate' before the semi-final started. However, the elimination of South Africa on run rate rather than the match result — combined with the Gibbs drop that allowed Waugh to score 120 in the group stage, and the Klusener/Donald run-out in the semi-final last ball — made South Africa's 1999 campaign the most collectively unfortunate in World Cup history. The 1999 exit continued what analysts have called South Africa's 'choking' history in World Cup knockouts: they had also been eliminated controversially in 1992 (rain interruption, Duckworth-Lewis predecessor rule) and 1996 (shock quarter-final exit to West Indies). South Africa have never won a World Cup.