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| March 31, 2007 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1428 |
Jailhouse rocker wins when he’s swinging
GEORGETOWN, March 30: Former prison warden Charl Langeveldt may not have the pace of South Africa team-mates Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini, but he's second to none when it comes to delivering in crunch situations.
South Africa were fortunate to find Langeveldt in superb form in their opening World Cup Super Eights match against Sri Lanka, just when they needed it most.
Sri Lanka were poised to launch a closing-overs onslaught when they ran into Langeveldt, who grabbed three wickets in his second spell to restrict the opposition to a modest total of 209.
He finished with a career-best haul 5-39 off 10 disciplined overs, only the second time he had grabbed five wickets in an innings in 42 One-day Internationals since making his debut in 2001.
He shared the Man-of-the-Match award with Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga, who became the first bowler in the one-day history to take four wickets off successive balls.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith was all praise for Langeveldt, saying he played a crucial role with both ball and bat in a tense match.
“Charl has been bowling well for a while. He is a superbly-skilled bowler and he showed that,” said Smith, whose team completed a thrilling one-wicket victory in the maiden One-day International at the Providence Stadium.
“He got the ball to swing and he bowled very well at the death for us and he blocked out ten balls with the bat in the last few overs.”
Langeveldt came in to bat in pressure situation after Malinga had rocked South Africa with four wickets in his second spell. He faced nine balls in scoring just one run before team-mate Robin Peterson hit the winning four.
“When I was batting there at the end, my heart was in my ... I don't know where it was. I was just thinking to get bat on ball but I never expected that I would have to bat,” said Langeveldt, 32.
“I had been saying to the other guys that I would not have to bat. But that's cricket. You learn every day.”Langeveldt, who combined his first-class cricket with his job as a prison warden early in his career, caught the selectors' eye with his ability to swing the ball. It was his movement that caught the Sri Lankans on the wrong-foot.
When asked whether he would like to open the bowling, Langeveldt said: “No, I prefer first change. I like it when the ball's swinging and it was moving around against Sri Lanka in overcast conditions but I prefer first change.”
The Caribbean seems to be a happy hunting ground for Langeveldt, who took a hat-trick to script his team's sensational one-run victory over the West Indies at Bridgetown in Barbados in 2005.
The West Indies were strongly placed at 281-6 chasing South Africa's total of 284 before Langeveldt changed the course of the match with his maiden five-wicket haul.
Langeveldt has given his skipper more options with his variations as he has the ability to strike at crucial moments. He has so far bagged 56 wickets in 42 one-dayers.—AFP
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