Why Klusener deserves recognition in ODI history

Like candles, some cricketers last a long time, some burn with an even and consistent flame and some burn brighter than others. The brightest flame I ever saw was produced by Lance Klusener.

He may not have been the greatest one-day player of all time, if such a man exists, but he is undeniably one of them.

His ODI career spanned almost nine years but, for the three and a half years from debut in 1996 to the end of the 1999 World Cup, he burned with the ferocity of magnesium. No cricketer could inspire more hope, in the direst situations, than Klusener.

He dominated the 1999 World Cup with four man-of-the-match awards and kept a heavily talented but spluttering South African team alive until the semi final when, having all but won the game, he ran out last man Allan Donald with just a single run required and two balls remaining.

He never recovered, professionally or emotionally.

His statistics are extraordinary. A batting average of 41.10 and no less than six five-wicket hauls tell only a part of the story. He could do anything and everything in breathtaking capacity.

But it was the inability to cope with the brightness of his own candle which added to his allure.

When the lights went out in the rest of team, he simply lit up. But when he was expected to burn, he preferred to hide. His human side, his emotional fragility, added to his appeal; as a person, if not a robotic cricketer.

Nobody aroused greater hope and expectation in South Africa than Klusener, and nobody put more bums on seats. The fact that he slumped under that weight of expectation should never be held against him.

He is comfortably the most brilliant one-day cricketer South Africa has produced. His frailties should not detract from that.

Neil works for MWP Media, South Africa's premier independent sports news agency. More details can be found at http://www.mwp.co.za/. To have your say on the greatest ODI player in history, go to www.facebook.com/iccchampionstrophy2009