On Thursday, 28 March 1996 at 10:00:00 UTC+2, J M Keartland wrote:
> In article <4jdjeo$i...@newnews.iafrica.com> cri...@iafrica.com (Dave Abbott) writes:
> >From: cri...@iafrica.com (Dave Abbott)
> >Subject: Re: Jonty and last ball six?
> >Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 15:45:53 GMT
> >gt4...@prism.gatech.edu (Sean C Mendis) wrote:
> >>I remember hearing some time ago about how Jonty Rhodes won a one-day game
> >>in South Africa for Natal after 12runs were required from the last ball..
> >>Richard Snell was the bowler and he bowled a no-ball that Jonty dispatched
> >>for 6.
> >>The next ball was then also dispatched over the fence to give Natal a
> >>great win!
> >>Anyone in South Africa who can provide more details on this?
> >>Cheers
> >>Sean
> >>--
> >>SEAN C MENDIS
> >>gt4...@prism.gatech.edu
> >Hi Sean
> >This is just about right except it was seven required off the last
> >ball.Snell duly obliged with a no ball and Jonty hit the last one for
> >a six,most distressing for us Transvaal supporters
> >Cheers
> >Dave Abbott
> >Johannesburg,South Africa
> Hi all (esp. Sean and Dave)
> I remember it slightly differently. Indeed, Natal needed seven off the last
> ball. Snelly bowled a ball above shoulder height (which is why it was a
> no-ball) and Jonty smacked this for six. This left one ball to come, and one
> run required. This time Snell's concentration :-) held, but the field had all
> come in to prevent the single, Jonty found a gap and the ball was taken by
> one of the spectators rushing onto the field - which meant that the shot was
> scored a four.
> Any further versions?
> Peace and light
> Jonathan
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr J.M. Keartland, Department of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand,
> P.O. WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
> E-mail: ktl...@physnet.phys.wits.ac.za
> Fax: +27 11 3398262
> Phone: +27 11 7164209
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a most welcome distraction from my work this sun shining Tuesday morning, 25 October 2022. I am on a construction site out in Camperdown in KZN – building the N3.

What is being referred to is the Benson & Hedges semi-final in Kingsmead - summer of 1991 (March some time). A church friend got us tickets and drove us early to the ground in his maroon Nissan Skyline. We witnessed wonder and magic in cricket that evening. Transvaal set us a target of 225 with a sterling effort by Roy Pienaar – I can’t remember his score but he scored a century. Peter Rawson took a thrashing.

When Natal went in to bat, Andrew Hudson who played a few cover drives with the finesse only he could muster, scored handsomely that day - I can't remember his score either but he also surpassed 50 and laid the foundation for an enthralling partnership with Rhodes a few wickets later. To every young aspirant cricketer, irrespective of colour and ethnicity, Rhodes was a legend and a hero. He could do no wrong. At that game when he scored 50, I ran onto the ground with a can of coke which he, and prior to him, Hudson, always gulped down with gratitude. I had done this several times before and chanced my pace against the ground staff guards. I won – again. That’s my claim to fame. I was 15 years old on this occasion.

In those days the Oak trees stood gallantly on the east end of the ground (Umgeni End) in rebellion to the inner workings of SA cricket administration of the time. It was an unspoken rule that people of Indian decent sat under those Oak trees. The White people usually sat at Castle Corner (City End).. But this is about Rhodes, Snell and the sweet relish of glory. The vibe - singing, sledging, camaraderie, the aroma of roasting Indian spices in the braai - was still incomparable.

Imagine our dismay and hopelessness when we (Natal) had to make 7 runs off the last ball - the game was done and us boys were distraught to the point of tears. What kept us was the fact that it was the last ball and Jonty was on strike. And faith like a mustard seed. The facts are described above - 7 balls off the last ball. Richard Snell (Wits's pretty boy) should have kept it simple but for some reason bowled a no ball which Rhodes duly dispatched for plenty (six) in the direction of the old Oak trees. The next ball was counted for 4 runs even though it was picked up by a spectator running onto the field. We were among that number – running like mad men tasting the air glory. It was raw, brutal, and inspirational.

For Natal, the likes of Hudson, Rhodes, Norman, Rawson, Stewart and others - they made our cricket world come alive with a verve and dynasty that is still alive more than 30 years on.