The South African left-handed batsman and right-arm fast medium bowler is the tournament's leading all-rounder, and the value of his deeds is reflected in four man-of-the-match award in six games.

Klusener's decisive 46 not out off 41 deliveries in his team's three-wicket victory over Pakistan at Trent Bridge on Saturday earned the latest award, thrusting him again under the media microscope and into the public eye.

His thunderous hitting has heightened his appeal to crowds around the country as well as helping South Africa win matches when they are up against it, as he did in characteristically forthright style at Trent Bridge.

When Klusener appeared at Saturday's news conference after his heroics against Pakistan, his captain Hansie Cronje caused laughter by saying with mock seriousness: ``We're making it harder and harder for Lance, we're seeinghow far we can push him.''

Klusener meets a crisis fearlessly, and reputations count for nothing, but he is also a thinking cricketer as he showed when batting with Jacques Kallis during the run chase against the Pakistanis.

``I said to Jacques we must try to do it with an over to spare,'' Klusener said, ``because we will then still have six balls if we don't get it quite right.''

Well might he add: ``It worked out perfectly.'' South Africa reached their target of 221 with exactly one over left.

Klusener has now scored 210 runs from six innings in the tournament without being dismissed, giving him a world record sequence for One-Day Internationals of 396 runs without losing his wicket. Pakistan's Javed Miandad held the previous mark of 395. A telling statistic is Klusener's strike rate, third best in this World Cup, of 111.7 runs per 100 balls.

The South African is fifth in the list of tournament leading run-scorers, led by Indian Rahul Dravid on 371, and second among the bowlers with 14 wickets,four behind New Zealander Geoff Allott.

Nicknamed Zulu because he can speak the African language he learned in his formative years in Natal, Klusener appears to relish the big occasion.

He captured eight for 64 against India in Calcutta in the second innings of his Test debut at the end of 1996 and blasted a century off 100 deliveries in his fourth Test, also against India, at Cape Town in early 1997.

Klusener's exploits in limited overs cricket have included hitting the last ball of the match for six to beat New Zealand in Napier last March.

That result levelled the series, which South Africa went on to win 3-2.

Cronje draws a parallel with his team's subsequent change of fortunes on that occasion and their situation now, bouncing back to beat Pakistan after suffering a stunning defeat by Zimbabwe in their last group match.

``We turned the corner when Lance hit a six off the last ball in New Zealand,'' Cronje said, ``and this is also the same sort of feeling I get. We can really excel after it.''

World Cup opponents, you have been warned.