It was a remarkable turnaround that at one stage existed only in the figment of Waugh's imagination. And what an imagination this skipper of Australia had. And what a performance he came up with to give wings to such an imagination.

Chasing 272 for a win against one of the most potent bowling and fielding teams in cricket, nobody gave the Australians even a ghost of a chance of winning. And at 48 for three Australia were decidedly out of the competition. But one man simply refused to accept the verdict. That was Waugh. And he set about changing the course of the match with a sensational knock that will long be cherished by the capacity crowd here.

Waugh's unbeaten 120 in 110balls (10 fours and 2 sixes) and his 126-run partnership with Ricky Ponting (69 from 100 balls) set the tone. Michael Bevan and Tom Moody then stood by their skipper as Australia won by five wickets with just two balls to spare. GIFT OF GIBBS: The South Africans thought they had Waugh when he was on 55 (152 for three). But Herschelle Gibbs who took the `catch' at square leg off an attempted flick, did not have sufficient control of the ball and the umpires ruled him not out.

Waugh and Ponting who came together at 48 for three caught the South Africans unaware when they cut loose suddenly after a prolonged spell of defensive grafting. Waugh set the tone by taking on Lance Klusener and belting him for 13 runs in one over. From then on runs came at a furious pace. Australia, who were struggling at 65 for three in 21 overs, suddenly went into overdrive as the duo blasted every South African bowler.

Initially, it looked like they had picked Nicky Boje and Hansie Cronje for special attention. But they were justas severe on Shaun Pollock and the others. Waugh raced to his 50 in 47 deliveries (5 fours and a huge six off Boje). Ponting's 50 came in 88 deliveries (4 fours & 2 sixes). The 100 of the stand came in 112 balls, with the second 50 coming in an incredible 28 balls. Their 126-run stand in 135 balls gave Australia just the lease of life to come back into reckoning.

The win took Australia to another contest with South Africa, this time in the semi-finals. Pakistan take on New Zealand while Zimbabwe, who were harbouring hopes of a semi-final berth, were knocked out. In the morning, South Africa, opting to take first strike, seemed to have batted Australia out of the World Cup. They treated leg spinner Shane Warne with great respect, intent on ensuring he was denied breakthroughs. The other bowlers were milked in splendid fashion.

Herschelle Gibbs showed the way with an excellent century that was marked by some sensible hitting and hectic running between the wickets. Darryl Cullinan, so woefully out of form,also came good. But the innings of the morning came from the bat of `axeman' Lance Klusner. He blasted four fours and a six in his 21-ball knock of 36 that finished the South African innings in style.

Both teams were handicapped by the absence of their key player. Jacques Kallis sat out the match with a suspected hernia (the team management said he had stomach ache). Darren Lehman was forced to miss the crucial tie owing to an injured finger.

South Africa come unstuck in big matches -- Waugh

``South africa have won an astonishing percentage of their one-day matches these past two years. But they have come unstuck in the big matches,'' said the Australian skipper Steve Waugh.

``Their strength is also their weakness. Their fast bowlers stick to a line and length and bowl with great discipline. But this strength of theirs is also their weakness. They are extremely predictable,'' he added.

The Australian contingent, which was on the players balcony besides the press box, popped in every now andthen and made jokes nervously with the media men during the chase. Darren Lehman made one dramatic entry when Waugh was going great guns and said: ``Hey, is this a graveyard or what? The silence is deafening.''

He then reassured the Aussie press corps. ``We will win with five balls to spare. Just watch,'' he said when the team was still 100-odd runs short of the target. They ultimately won with two balls to spare. Talk of confidence in your skipper!

South Africa vs Australia at Headingley

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first

SOUTH AFRICA

Gary Kirsten c Ponting b Reiffel 21 46 3/0
Herschelle Gibbs b McGrath 101 134 10/1
Darryl Cullinan b Warne 50 62 4/1
Hansie Cronje lbw b Warne 0 3 0/0
Jonty Rhodes c M Waugh b Fleming 39 36 2/2
Lance Klusener c Warne b Fleming 36 21 4/1
Shaun Pollock b Fleming 3 4 0/0
Mark Boucher not out 0 0 0/0
Extras: (lb7, w8, nb6) 21
Total: (7 wickets, 50 overs)271
Fall of wickets: 1-45 (Kirsten, 12.4 overs), 2-140 (Cullinan, 32.3), 3-141 (Cronje, 32.5), 4-219 (Gibbs, 44.2), 5-250 (Rhodes, 47.5), 6-271 (Klusener, 49.5), 7-271 (Pollock, 49.6)
Bowling: McGrath 10-0-49-1; Fleming 10-0-57-3; Reiffel 9-0-47-1; Moody 8-1-56-0; Warne 10-1-33-2; Bevan 3-0-22-0
AUSTRALIA

ME Waugh run out (Boje/Boucher) 5 9 0/0
AC Gilchrist b Elworthy 5 7 1/0 RT Ponting c Donald b Klusener 69 110 5/2
DR Martyn c Boje b Elworthy 11 20 1/0
SR Waugh not out 120 110 10/2
MG Bevan c Cullinan b Cronje 27 33 2/0
TM Moody not out 15 16 2/0
Extras: (lb6, w7, nb7) 20
Total: (5 wickets, 49.4 overs) 272
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Gilchrist, 1.4 ov), 2-20 (M Waugh, 5.2 ov), 3-48 (Martyn, 11.3 ov), 4-174 (Ponting, 34.1 ov), 5-247 (Bevan, 45.4 ov).
Bowling: Pollock 9.4-0-45-0 (3nb, 1w), Elworthy 10-1-46-2 (2nb), Donald 10-0-42-0 (1nb, 2w), Klusener 10-0-54-1 (1w), Cronje 7-0-50-1 (1w), Boje 3-0-29-0 (1nb, 2w).
Result: Australia won by five wickets.
Manof the match: Steve Waugh