I wrote this in the year 2000 on Steve Waugh, reproducing in this blog. He retired in 2004.
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‘Waah’
STEVE
In the
first Test of the 1999 Australia-Sri Lanka series the Australian captain Steven
Waugh had his nose broken in four places when he collided with teammate Jason
Gillispie while going for a catch. Against the doctors’ advice he came back
leading the team in the second test. This was not the first time Steve Waugh
has towered above adversity, rather it is second nature for him.
He is quite easily the toughest guy mentally in the international
circuit. The greater the challenge , the greater he becomes. Remember once
Jimmy Connors was down 4-6,4-6,0-4 at Wimbledon still came back to win. This
when he was aged 36 or so. Nearing 40 he reached the US Open semi-final. No
wonder John McEnroe calls him the ‘Last Dinosour’ of Tennis. It would be apt to
call Steve Waugh ‘The Jimmy Connors Of Cricket’.
In the crises that Cricket is going through in the aftermath of the ‘match-fixing’ scandal he is one of the few top players who is unscathed. He lives by the old time virtues of hard-work and dedication.
He can be backed to deliver when it matters the most. He has done it
countless times now. In the Super Six clash between Australia and South Africa
in the ’99 World Cup Aussies were down in the dumps in a match they just had to
win .Enter ‘Captain Courageous’ Steve Waugh , does his ‘valley of death’
routine with an amazing knock of 126 to take them home.
That inning spurred them on to win the World Cup. This is nothing new. Look
at Australia’s greatest triumphs in the last 13 years and you would invariably
find that Steve has been one of the chief architects. Be it the ’87 and ’99 World Cup wins, the last three Ashes
triumphs, beating West Indies in West Indies ‘95,beating South Africa in South
Africa ‘97,beating Pakistan in Pakistan ‘98.His
latest ‘avataar’ as Captain has seen Australia reach pinnacles of glory. He has led them to unbeaten
streaks of 15 One Day wins and 15 Test Match victories. Both these feats are
unprecedented in the annals of the game. Now his team is being compared to Don
Bradman’s team of 1948 . High praise indeed !
He faces now perhaps the greatest challenge of his career , beating
India in India.
Only time will tell whether this will be an Australian summer in
India.
(** In retrospect this series actually proved to be an 'Indian Summer' with India halting Australia's winning streak. We remember this series for the great Test Match in Kolkata with Laxman and Dravid batting the whole day, Laxman getting 281 and India winning after following-on!)
(** In retrospect this series actually proved to be an 'Indian Summer' with India halting Australia's winning streak. We remember this series for the great Test Match in Kolkata with Laxman and Dravid batting the whole day, Laxman getting 281 and India winning after following-on!)
Lets look at the ‘cold’ statistics of his career. He has scored more
than 8600 runs in Tests at an average of 51 and nearly 7000 in One Dayers. Also
taken 80 odd wickets in Tests and nearly
200 in One Day matches. These are formidable figures indeed. On top of this his
runs have generally come in crunch situations which have mostly decided the
fate of the match. He has also bowled at the death in many One Dayers and taken
Australia to some miraculous wins.
His best innings without doubt is the 200 he made against the
Windies in 1995.This along with Mark Waugh’s 126 was instrumental in taking
Australia to a historic series win. That innings was a grand display of grit
and determination. He took countless blows but stood firm to grind the bowling
to dust.
Steve Waugh , the batsman took some time to flower. He scored his
first hundred after nearly four years of
Test Cricket. From 1993 onwards his batting has really blossomed and he has
become one of the best in business. Considering all this it is strange that his
twin brother Mark and Shane Warne generally walk away with most of the
accolades. Also whenever there is a debate on the best batsmen in contemporary
cricket the names which come up are Tendulkar,
Brian Lara , Mark Waugh and even Aravinda De Silva. His name is conspicuous by
its absence most of the times. Why is it so ?
Firstly
he has not got such a great batting
record in One day cricket for the simple reason that he comes down the order at
number 5-6.Due to a proliferation of One
Day Cricket the merits of a player are judged a great deal on how he performs
in this version of the game. Secondly he is neither a destroyer of bowling in the mould of a Tendulkar or
Aravinda nor has got the silken elegance of a Lara or Mark Waugh. These are
factors for which Steve can do very little. If
effectiveness, consistency and results are considered then he is up
there with the very best, He has hardly failed at test level in the last 7
years. That is remarkable.
Mark
and Steve are twins but their methods at the crease are as different as chalk
and cheese. Mark is certainly more talented. He is superbly well balanced,
always seems in control and has got a silken touch. His batsmanship is smooth
and refined. He is a sight for sore eyes. But as is the wont with talented
people (remember a certain David Gower !!) he is also akin to playing a
careless shot once in a while.
Steve’s
approach is more grim. He is best when the chips are down. He thrives on
pressure. He takes minimum risks and accumulates his runs without much
flourish. Temperamentally he is streets ahead of Mark. He can score quickly too
as he has shown many times. He has stood firm in the face of hostile pace bowling. He has never flinched
against the likes of Ambrose , Walsh, Donald, Pollock, Akram , Younus or Shoaib
Akhtar.He has invariably won the battle of nerves against the fast men. This
has paved the way for others.
He
has been criticized for being cold and ruthless on the field. He has also
resorted to gamesmanship on occasions. He likes to rub it in . Remember when
Herschelle Gibbs dropped him in that crucial World Cup Super Six clash he told him “Mate, you just dropped the World
Cup”. Admittedly these are less than desirable
traits but they show how much winning matters to him. He loves seeing
the opposition go down and then makes sure that they stay down. He absolutely
hates coming second best whatever the situation.
He
may be tough and uncompromising on the
field , off it he is gentle and humane. His efforts in setting up a home for
the children of lepers in Calcutta has touched everyone’s heart. He has taken
up their cause with as much zeal as one sees in his cricket.
Hats off to Steven Waugh , great Cricketer , remarkable man.
*************************************************************************** ** This article was written in 2000
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