Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman and a medium-pace bowler, Waugh is considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time. Waugh was a part of the Australian team that won their first world title during the 1987 Cricket World Cup. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australia to fifteen of their record sixteen consecutive Test wins, and to victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Waugh is considered the most successful Test captain in history with 41 victories and a winning ratio of 72%.
Born in New South Wales, where he began his first-class cricket career in 1984, he captained the Australian Test cricket team from 1999 to 2004, and was the most capped Test cricket player in history, with 168 appearances, until Sachin Tendulkar of India broke this record in 2010. Waugh was the world number 1 all-rounder in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket until back issues forced him to give up bowling. He concentrated only on batting and went on to become one of the leading batsmen of his time. He is one of only fourteen players to have scored more than 10,000 Test runs.
He was named Australian of the Year in 2004 for his philanthropic work, and inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in front of his home fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2010.
Waugh has been included in a list of one hundred Australian Living Treasures by the National Trust of Australia, awarded the Order of Australia and the Australian Sports Medal. Known as an attacking and sometimes ruthlessly efficient captain, Described in 2003 as a "cold-blooded, scientific" leader, cricket columnist of The Times Simon Barnes noted that "Waugh wants to defeat you personally." At the end of his final Test match, Waugh was carried by his teammates in a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground. In a fan poll conducted by the CA in 2017, he was named in the country's best Ashes XI in the last 40 years.
Early and personal life
Born at Canterbury Hospital in Campsie, a suburb in South-Western Sydney on 2 June 1965, Waugh was one of twin boys born to Rodger and Beverley Waugh. He arrived four minutes before Mark, who went on to play cricket for Australia alongside him. Their father was a bank official and his mother was a teacher within the New South Wales Department of Education. The family settled in the South-Western Sydney suburb of Panania. The twins were later joined by two more brothers, Dean (who also went on to play first-class cricket in Australia) and Danny (who played first grade cricket for Sydney University Cricket Club). From an early age, the parents introduced their children to sport. By the age of six, the twins were playing organised soccer, tennis and cricket. In their first cricket match, the brothers were both dismissed for ducks.
The twins came from a sporting family. Their paternal grandfather Edward was a greyhound trainer. Raised in the North Coast town of Bangalow, Edward earned selection for the New South Wales Country team in rugby league. He was about to join Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League, but had to give up his career due to family reasons. Rodger was Edward's only son and was promising tennis player, who was ranked eighth in Australia in his junior years and was the state champion at under-14 level. In 1976, the twins were the youngest ever to be selected in the New South Wales Primary Schools' soccer team. Playing for Panania Primary School, the twins swept their school to win the Umbro International Shield, a statewide knockout soccer competition, scoring all of their team's three goals in the final. They were a key part of their school's consecutive state cricket championships, In his final year, Steve was the vice-captain of the cricket team and captained the state soccer team.
Aged 13, the twins were invited by their uncle Bourne, then the captain of Bankstown's first grade team, to trial for the club's under-16 team for the Green Shield, and both were selected. Aged fourteen, both made their senior grade cricket debut in 1979–1980, playing in the Fourth XI. The twins broke into East Hills Boys First XI in the same season, and achieved the same level in soccer. In 1980–81 the brothers were elevated to the Third XI mid-season.
The brothers often formed a two-man team—in one match taking 16/85 between them. At the end of 1980, the twins were selected in the state under-16 team for the national carnival. The pair changed soccer teams to play in the reserve grade for Sydney Croatia in the state league being paid small amounts in the professional league. However, they quickly left as their cricket careers increasingly demanded more time.
The brothers were promoted to Bankstown's Second XI, He was regarded as an aggressive player, something that characterised his early international career. In 1983–84, both were members of New South Wales Combined High Schools and the state under-19 team. Waugh made 170 against Great Public Schools. Waugh scored 187 in the Third Test at Melbourne as Australia won 1–0. He made his maiden First XI century during the season with tons against Sydney University and Waverley.
At the end of the season, the twins signed a contract to spend the Australian winter to play for Egerton Cricket Club in the Bolton League in Lancashire. Each club was allowed to have one professional; Steve was officially designated as such but would split the earnings with Mark. The twins were billeted with a local family.
However, during the year, an Australian rebel tour to South Africa was staged, breaking the boycott against the apartheid regime. Some players defected from the Australian Test team to play in South Africa. This resulted in Dave Gilbert being promoted to the national squad, forcing him to forfeit his Esso scholarship, which allowed him to play Second XI cricket in the County Championship. Steve was selected to replace Gilbert with Essex, leaving Mark as the lone professional.
In December 2017, his son, Austin Waugh, was named in Australia's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Domestic career
Waugh made his first-class debut for New South Wales (NSW) in 1984–85, In the Sheffield Shield final that season, he scored 71 he made his Test debut against India in the 1985–86 season, in the Second Test at Melbourne. He scored 13 and 5 and took 2/36 in the first innings. Waugh played in all of Australia's 13 ODIs for the home season, scoring 372 runs at 37.20 with two half-centuries and taking 21 wickets at 21.80. and seemed better suited to ODI cricket. In the shorter game, he often accelerated the scoring in the later overs of the innings. As a bowler, he was known for his astute change of pace and was the pioneer in inventing a carefully disguised slower ball bowled from the back of the hand, He ended with 2/36.
In the second round robin rotation, Waugh took 1/59 and scored 42 in a 56-run loss to India, before taking 2/37 in a 17-run win over New Zealand. In Australia's final group match, Waugh scored 10* before taking 1/9 from four overs in a 70-run win over Zimbabwe. Australia qualified for the semi-finals and faced co-hosts Pakistan on their home soil in Lahore. Batting first, Waugh hit 16 from the final over of the innings in a cameo of 32*,</blockquote>
Waugh continued to perform strongly in the ODIs, scoring 270 runs as 38.57 and taking seven wickets at 49.42. His highest score and best bowling analysis occurred in the same match, taking 3/57 before scoring 54 against West Indies in Melbourne. Despite this, Australia still lost the match. In the three-match ODI series that preceded the Tests, Waugh scored 113 runs at 37.66 and took three wickets at 54.00. He scored 88 runs at 22.00 and did not bowl a ball.
However, Waugh remained a regular in the ODI team, playing in all ten ODIs, scoring 141 runs at 35.25 and taking seven wickets at 49.42. He continued to be a fixture in the ODI team, playing in all ten matches and scoring 213 runs at 23.66 with one half-century and taking nine wickets at 39.22. He also scored half-centuries in the First and Fifth Tests and ended with 416 at 83.2 from limited opportunities – he played nine innings, only five of which were completed. Australia's top order batting dominated the English attack, and the tourists retained the Ashes 4–1.
New approach
Returning to Australia, he solidified his position by scoring an unbeaten 147 against New Zealand in an innings victory in the Third Test at Brisbane, ending the series with 216 runs once dismissed. He scored a 160 and took 4/26 as Australia won the Test and levelled the series. Waugh took 2/48 in the final match as Australia levelled the series by one run. He ended with 291 runs at 48.50 and five wickets at 56.40.
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The new leadership took the team to Sri Lanka for the Singer World Series ODI tournament and then on a Test-playing tour of Pakistan. A shoulder injury forced him out of the final Test, which Australia drew and therefore lost the series. Waugh scored 153 runs at 38.25 with two half-centuries and took two wickets at 72.00 as Australia won the ODI tournament. In the second instance, his brother Mark was run out after a mix-up while running for the injured Craig McDermott. It was an uneven series performance, scoring 94* and 26* in the Second Test and 99* and 80 in the Fifth, but not passing 20 in the six innings of the other three Tests. He ended the series with 345 at 49.28 and did not bowl for the entire series. and had not lost a Test series to Australia at home since 1973. The Tests were preceded by an ODI series that was lost 1–4. Waugh scored 164 runs at 32.80 and took three wickets at 41.00. Following his dismissal, the West Indies' batting collapsed, and Australia went on to win by ten wickets. Waugh later faced accusations of dishonesty and cheating over the incident. In the first innings, he scored an unbeaten 63 of Australia's 128 and had a mid-pitch confrontation with Curtly Ambrose. After Waugh had evaded a bouncer from Ambrose, the pair exchanged glares. Waugh swore and told Ambrose to return to his bowling mark. An angry Ambrose had to be physically dragged away by his captain: a photograph of this moment has become one of the iconic images of cricket in the 1990s. It symbolised the point when Australia was no longer intimidated by the West Indies. Waugh "showed he was prepared to put it all on the line", said Justin Langer, "in the toughest conditions [...] against probably the best fast bowler of our time. To stand up to him [Ambrose] and go toe to toe [...] gave us a huge boost." He compiled a long partnership of 231 runs with his brother Mark, who was eventually out for 126. Waugh was the last man to go, out for 200 after nine hours of batting. "Steve had made up his mind to bat and bat", wrote Paul Reiffel, "to stay out there and anchor the proceedings. [... H]e copped a lot of blows on his arms, chest and ribs. When he came back to the dressing room at the end of day two, we could see the spots and bruises on his body [...]. I remember when I walked in [...] he didn't say anything to me, but then he didn't need to. We all pretty much knew that we just had to support him."
"He was in a trance-like state. [... I]n the wee hours of the second morning, a security guard was found rifling through Steve's kit bag. That incident [...] didn't affect his concentration. It all [...] just went to show how strong a character he was."
After some post-win wassailing, Waugh retired to bed in his cricket whites, socks and baggy green. "[Y]ou could say that Steve's legacy gained a lot of momentum from his efforts at Jamaica", wrote Reiffel. He made an unbeaten 112 as Australia defeated Pakistan in the First Test at Brisbane and scored 200 runs at 50.00 for the series. Waugh returned during the latter stages of the triangular tournament, playing in the last four matches after missing the first six. The Australians started the new era with two ODI tournaments in Sri Lanka and India. Waugh replaced him as Mark Taylor's deputy. ||57||41||9||7||0||–||71.93%
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|ODI ||106||67||35||0||3||1||65.23%
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|colspan=2|Date last Updated:
|colspan=8|2 September 2015
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ODI captain
Waugh took over the captaincy of the one-day team in 1997–98, after captain Mark Taylor and vice-captain Ian Healy, the two oldest players in the team were dropped following Australia's failure to qualify for the Australian tri-nations tournament in the 1996–97 season. Planning began for a more modern team for the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Waugh himself struggled, scoring only 12 runs, including three ducks in his first six innings before scoring 45* in the last round-robin match to ensure Australia qualified for the finals ahead of New Zealand. Waugh scored 53 and 71 in his two innings, and ended the series with 181 runs at 22.63. He bowled only four overs and took a solitary wicket in the series, which was his first ODI wicket in over a year.
Waugh began the Ashes series with centuries in the First Test at Brisbane (112) and the Third Test at Melbourne but was criticised for taking singles off the first ball of the over, and exposing the tail-end batsmen to the strike. Stuart MacGill and Glenn McGrath fell to Darren Gough after one such instance as Australia collapsed in the second innings whilst chasing a small target. This criticism could be considered more than a little unfair, however, given his strong record overall of batting well with lower order batsman such as Merv Hughes, Jason Gillespie, Ian Healy, Shane Warne and even Glenn McGrath precisely by putting his faith in them. In the Fifth Test of the season, Waugh was involved in a century partnership with brother Mark for the second consecutive year. Again however, he fell within sight of triple figures for 96, while his brother reached his century. Australia won the Test and the series 3–1.
Struggles in the Caribbean
Mark Taylor retired at the end of the 1998–99 season and Waugh replaced him as Test captain, beginning with a tour of the Caribbean. Australia was expected to win as the West Indies had just been whitewashed 5–0 by South Africa. After easily winning the First Test, Australia was stymied by West Indies skipper Brian Lara, who batted with Jimmy Adams for the entire second day of the Second Test. This led to a victory for the home team, and in the Third Test, Lara batted for the entire final day to secure an unlikely win by one wicket. This result placed Waugh under immense pressure and he made a controversial decision to drop Shane Warne from the team for the final Fourth Test. Australia won the final Test despite a third consecutive century from Lara, and retained the Frank Worrell Trophy 2–2.
The subsequent ODI series between the two teams was drawn 3–3. The series was notable for two incidents. In the fifth match at Georgetown, Guyana, Waugh was facing the bowling of Keith Arthurton with his team needing four runs from the final over to win. He struck the last ball of the match into the outfield, and attempted three runs to tie the match. After defeating Bangladesh, Waugh and Michael Bevan were criticised for deliberately batting slowly in order to minimise damage to the net run rate of the West Indies. This would enhance Australia's chances: if the West Indies' run rate remained high, they would qualify ahead of New Zealand. Since the Australians had lost to New Zealand, it would be the Kiwis that carried two points through to the next phase if the West Indies was eliminated. If the West Indies proceeded, then Australia would carry over two points from the win.
When questioned about the ethics of this manipulation at a press conference, Waugh retorted, "We're not here to win friends mate". Having beaten India and Zimbabwe in their first two Super Six matches, Waugh saved his best for two must-win games against South Africa: he scored an unbeaten 120 against South Africa in the "Super Six" phase and 56 in the semi-final. where they crushed Pakistan by eight wickets to win the trophy.
The World Cup victory did not immediately turn around Waugh's fortunes in the Test arena. The following tour to Sri Lanka continued the difficulties, when Australia lost the First Test in Kandy, Although Waugh returned for the following match, After the team's return home, John Buchanan replaced Geoff Marsh as team coach.
World record of 16 consecutive Test victories
The 1999–2000 Test season, his first as captain in a home series, saw further change as Gilchrist ousted Healy from the wicket-keeper's position. Waugh had a lean stretch during the Pakistan series, scoring 58 runs at 14.50, They then swept the Tests against New Zealand 3–0 in early 2000, taking the Tests by 62 runs, six wickets and six wickets respectively. Waugh missed the Third Test with injury and Gilchrist led the team in his absence and kept the winning streak alive.
Failure in India
The only significant result that Australia had failed to achieve during Waugh's international career was victory in a Test series in India. Waugh began calling this the "Final Frontier" as Australia had not won there since 1969–70. Australia easily won the First Test at Mumbai by ten wickets to extend the winning sequence to 16. India, looked set for defeat in the Second Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata after conceding a first innings lead of 274. Starting the final Test well, Australia's batting collapsed on the second morning, losing 6/26 after Waugh became the sixth batsman to be given out handled the ball—he pushed a ball from Harbhajan away from the stumps after being hit on the pads. Waugh's pair of 47s was not enough as Harbhajan finished with 15 wickets in the match to lead India to a two-wicket win in another thrilling finish.
Waugh's team regrouped and won a 4–1 series victory over England during the 2001 Ashes tour. He scored 105 in the First Test at Edgbaston as the Australians started the series with an innings victory. Waugh did not pass 50 in the next two Tests, In his final Test innings on English soil at The Oval, he combined with brother Mark (120) in a partnership of 197, and scored 157 not out. Waugh failed to pass double figures until scoring 67 in the second innings of the final Test, finishing the series with 78 runs at 19.50. The team's performance caused a reaction similar that of 1997. With an eye toward the next World Cup, the selectors dropped the Waugh brothers and handed the captaincy to Ricky Ponting. Waugh made his displeasure at the decision public and stated a desire to regain his place in the team.
Continuing as Test captain, Waugh led the team to a 2–1 victory in South Africa to retain Australia's ranking as the number one team. Australia crushed the hosts in the First Test by an innings and 360 runs, won the Second Test by four wickets, before losing the last. with 95 runs at 19.00. The matches were hosted in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, due to security concerns following a bomb blast inside Pakistan. Australia had a crushing 3–0 win, winning the two latter matches by an innings,
Despite his team being well on top, Waugh struggled in the early part of the Ashes series and he scored only 106 runs in four innings in the first three Tests. Asked before the final Test to nominate the defining moment of a career likely to soon be over, Waugh made a prediction rather than reflecting, stating: "It might be yet to come". On the second day of the match he then fulfilled this prophecy, scoring a chanceless century – bringing up three figures with a cover driven boundary from the last ball of the day (bowled by off-spinner Richard Dawson). Waugh left the ground to a standing ovation, having equalled Sir Donald Bradman's then Australian record of 29 Test centuries, He holds the record of having scored over 150 runs in one innings against each Test playing nation at the time.
- He holds the record for scoring the most career centuries in test history when batting at number 5 position (24)
Career best performances
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!|
! colspan="4"|Batting
|-
!Format
!Score
!Fixture
!Venue
!Season
|-
|Test
|200
|Australia v West Indies
|Sabina Park, Kingston
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
|-
|ODI
|120 not out
|Australia v South Africa
|Headingley, Leeds
| style="text-align:center;"|1999
|-
|First-class
|216 not out
|New South Wales v Western Australia
|WACA, Perth
| style="text-align:center;"|1990
|-
|List A
|140 not out
|Somerset v Middlesex
|Lord's, London
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
|}
Playing style
A shot that Waugh gradually developed (during the 1998 Commonwealth Games specifically) against spin bowling, the "slog sweep" is theoretically technically unsound, but has proven highly effective against the spinners and even against faster bowlers at times. What was also noticeable about Waugh (particularly in the Test arena) on his return to the team was his reluctance (and eventual refusal) to play, what he viewed as, the 'risky' hook shot, rather simply to either play defensively on the back foot, sway or duck out of the way. With this shot removed from Waugh's repertoire his batting developed a safer more reliable look and his Test match batting average steadily rose to around 50 for the remainder of his Test career.
Waugh's ability to continue to play despite a back injury that largely prevented him bowling further enhanced his reputation. He contributed to many one day victories but, often batting in the middle order, his first one-day hundred did not come until his 187th match, for Australia against Sri Lanka at Melbourne in 1995–96.
As a bowler and all-rounder early in his career, he had a great leg cutter that is full length and aims at off stump that tempts batsmen to hit over mid-wicket or right down the ground against middle order batsmen, or aiming outside off to tempt lower-order batsmen to drive into the infielders.
Outside cricket
Waugh helps to raise funds for a leper children's colony, Udayan, in Kolkata. He reportedly also encouraged his players to learn about and enjoy the countries they visited and played in.
Waugh is a keen photographer and has produced several "tour diaries" which feature his images. In his latter years as a cricketer, he wrote for a number of newspapers. He insists on writing them himself rather than with the assistance of professional journalists. He is a prolific author and has written numerous tour diaries, leadership and self-help books such as Never Say Die and The Meaning of Luck. as well as an autobiography, Out of my Comfort Zone.
Waugh was named Australian of the Year in 2004, in recognition of both his sporting achievements and charity work. Waugh is married to Lynette with three children and was named Australian Father of the Year in 2005. Following retirement, Waugh established the Steve Waugh Foundation. The foundation is aimed at children who have a disease, an illness or an affliction that does not meet the set criteria of other charitable organisations.
Waugh has stated that he has declined "a number of" approaches by the Australian Labor Party to run for political office, expressing the view that he is not suited to politics.
Honours
- He was named as the captain in Australia's "greatest ever ODI team."
- On 3 February 2009 Steve Waugh became the 30th cricketer inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
- Waugh was awarded the Australian Sports Medal on 14 July 2000.
- He was awarded the Allan Border Medal by the CA in 2001.
- Waugh was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2003 Birthday Honours "for service to cricket as a leading player, and to the community, particularly through the Udayan children's home."
- He was awarded the Australian of the Year award in 2004, for his cricketing feats also for his work with charities, most noticeably, Udayan Home in Barrackpore, India, helping children suffering with leprosy.
References
Sources
External links
- Steve Waugh Foundation website
- Waugh Global