On 13 June 1999 at Headingley, South Africa appeared to have one foot in the semi-finals and Australia on the brink of elimination. Chasing 272 in a crucial Super Six clash, Australia had slumped to 48 for three when Steve Waugh walked to the crease.
Then came the moment that would live forever.
With Waugh on 56, he lofted a delivery towards midwicket where Herschelle Gibbs settled underneath the catch. Believing he had completed the dismissal, Gibbs began celebrating before securing the ball. As he threw it into the air prematurely, it slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
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That famous ‘dropped’ catch
‘How does it feel to drop the World Cup, Herschell’ – Steve Waugh to Gibbs#OnThisDay in 1999 at Headingley.
Steve Waugh later disowns the comment & said the line was something closer to “That’s going to cost your team today, Hersch”
Waugh smashed… pic.twitter.com/DYyZMdcrKT
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) June 13, 2026
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The chance was gone.
What followed became the stuff of cricketing folklore. Waugh made South Africa pay in the harshest possible fashion, compiling a magnificent unbeaten 120 and guiding Australia to a dramatic five wicket victory.
Gibbs himself had earlier played a key role in South Africa’s innings, contributing an important 101 that helped set the platform for a competitive total.
Adding another layer to the story is the famous line Waugh is said to have delivered to Gibbs afterwards: “You have just dropped the World Cup.”
Whether those were his exact words has been debated over the years, but the sentiment proved prophetic.
Australia’s victory moved them above South Africa in the Super Six standings. At the time it seemed a minor detail, but it would carry enormous consequences just four days later when the two teams met again in one of the greatest World Cup matches ever played.
The semi-final at Edgbaston ended in a tie. Australia progressed to the final as they had finished higher in the Super Six table, while South Africa’s campaign ended in heartbreak.
Australia went on to lift the trophy and began an era of World Cup dominance, winning three consecutive titles between 1999 and 2007.
For South Africa, meanwhile, the dropped catch became one of the defining images of their long and often agonising relationship with ICC tournaments. More than two decades later, the incident remains a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change at the highest level.
One dropped catch. One innings of brilliance. One moment that helped define cricket history.
Photo: Adrian Murrell /Allsport
