How 1999 World Cup would have turned out had Herschelle Gibbs not dropped Steve Waugh

#3 Zimbabwe would have been World Cup semi-finalists

Zimbabwe would have reached the semi-finals had South Africa beaten Australia in the Super Sixes

The late 1990s was the golden age of Zimbabwean cricket as they had the likes of Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak, Neil Johnson, Henry Olonga, Guy Whittall, and many other top class players.

The 1999 World Cup was Zimbabwe’s best performance at a World Cup as they beat the likes of South Africa and India in the group stages. Despite losing to England and Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe’s margin of defeat was low enough to grant them a place in the Super Sixes.

With both India and South Africa qualifying for the Super Sixes, Zimbabwe had a huge advantage as they would be carrying the four points from their first round wins in to the Super Six stage. After a washout in their first Super Six match against New Zealand, Zimbabwe lost to Australia and Pakistan but still had a chance to qualify for the semi-finals if South Africa defeated Australia in the final match.

At one point, it looked like Zimbabwe would reach the semis as the Aussies were struggling at 48/3 while chasing 272. South Africa missed a golden opportunity to dismiss Waugh as Gibbs dropped him on 56. That dropped catch affected Zimbabwe as much as it did South Africa as Waugh went on to score an unbeaten 120 to take his side to the semi-finals.

Had Gibbs held on to that catch then there was a good chance that South Africa would have won the match and Zimbabwe would have qualified for the semi-finals where they would have faced South Africa.