Australia needed 19 off the last over to reach the 2007 World Cup final. Michael Hussey hit 18 off the first five balls — then a bye completed the single needed as Australia tied the match and qualified for the final on Duckworth-Lewis calculations.
Australia had been dominant throughout the 2007 World Cup but the South Africa semi-final tested them. Chasing 233, Australia had slumped to 149/6 — South Africa apparently heading to their first World Cup final. Then Hussey arrived.
Hussey had already been building the chase calmly. In the final over, bowled by Andrew Hall, Australia needed 19 off 6 balls. At this point in ODI cricket, such requirements were considered effectively impossible.
Ball 1: Hussey hit Hall straight for four. 14 off 5. Ball 2: Six over square leg. 8 off 4. Ball 3: Four through mid-on. 4 off 3. Ball 4: Hussey attempted another big shot — missed, leg bye. 3 off 2. Ball 5: Four through the off side. 1 off 1.
Final ball: Hall bowled. Hussey hit it. Byes as the wicketkeeper missed. 1 run. Tie. Australia won on Duckworth-Lewis. They reached the final without technically winning the game.
South Africa were devastated. They had once again fallen at the final hurdle — their third consecutive semi-final exit. Hussey had taken the match from their grasp in one extraordinary over.
Australia 149/6 — South Africa in control, final seemed set
Hussey's sequence: 4, 6, 4, leg bye, 4 — 18 off 5 balls
1 off the last ball — tie, Australia qualify on DLS
April 3, 2007
World Cup semi-final, St Lucia — South Africa set Australia 233
Australia innings, 149/6
Match apparently over — Hussey arrives
Final over, 19 needed
Hussey hits 18 off 5 balls — 1 off last ball, Australia qualify
Australia beat Sri Lanka in the final — Gilchrist's 149 completing the triumph. South Africa's World Cup semi-final exits under pressure became a defining narrative of their cricket in the 2000s.
One of the great individual finishing performances in ODI cricket — Hussey's 48 off 11 balls defied every probability. South Africa lost without bowling badly or fielding poorly, which made it all the more cruel.
Michael Hussey's World Cup semi-final over is cited alongside Brathwaite's four sixes as the definitive example of ODI finishing excellence — the ability to score 19 off the last over when everything says it's impossible.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.