Mark Waugh
Encyclopedia
Mark Edward Waugh AM
(born 2 June 1965) is a former Australia
n cricket
er, who represented Australia
in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as he is younger than his twin brother Steve
by a few minutes. Dean Waugh
, another of Mark's brothers, is also a cricketer, having played first-class
and list A cricket in Australia.
bowler, who changed to an off-spin bowler after back injuries restricted him. He is regarded as one of the best slip fielders
ever to play cricket, and held the world record for most Test catches by a non-wicketkeeper until Rahul Dravid
broke it in 2009.
He began as an all-rounder
in the Australian ODI team, but he later focussed on batting and progressed to opening the batting, where he excelled and became Australia's leading one day runscorer. His three centuries at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
made him the only batsman to ever achieve this feat, and a fourth century in the 1999 tournament made him the only Australian to score more than 1000 runs in World Cup competition and to score four centuries. He became the leading Australian run-scorer and century maker in ODIs during the 1999 tournament.
Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game, and his stylish strokeplay was likened to that of Stan McCabe
, Alan Kippax
, Victor Trumper
, Charlie Macartney and Greg Chappell
.
Following his debut Test century, Australian coach Bob Simpson
compared Waugh's elegance to that of Archie Jackson
. Mark Taylor called Waugh the "best-looking leg-side player I've seen in my time. . . . Anything drifting into his pads is hit beautifully.
He was regularly in the top 10 rated batsman from the mid 1990s to 21st century. He was well-known for his general mastery of batting when facing spin bowling
. However, his facile grace also lead to accusations that he was a "lazy" batsman who was vulnerable to soft dismissals.
Waugh is the younger fraternal twin brother http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/224522.html of Steve Waugh
, with whom he played for most of his career and also under his captaincy. They hold the record for the most Test and ODI matches in which siblings appeared together.
in Campsie, New South Wales
on 2 June 1965, Waugh was one of twin boys born to Rodger and Beverley Waugh. He arrived four minutes after Steve
. His father was a bank official and his mother was a teacher within the New South Wales Department of Education. The family settled in the western Sydney
suburb of Panania
. The twins were later joined by two more brothers, Dean
and Danny. 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 northern coastal 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. On the maternal side, Bev was a tennis player who won the under-14 singles at the South Australian Championships. Her eldest brother Dion Bourne was an opening batsman who played for Bankstown in Sydney Grade Cricket
and remains the leading runscorer in the club's history.
The twins made their first representative cricket team when they were selected the Bankstown District under-10s at the age of eight. 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, and were part of school tennis team that came second in the state in their final year. In their final year, Mark was the captain of the state primary school cricket and tennis teams, both of which won the national championships. The twins were instrumental in New South Wales winning the cricket carnival without a defeat.
By this time, the increasing time demands led to conflicts between the sports, and were in one case delisted from a team due to a conflict of commitments. The twins progressed to East Hills Boys Technology High School
, which had a history of producing Australian international representatives in a number of sports. 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. Mark's performance in the Green Shield saw him selected in Bankstown's under-21 team, still aged 15. The brothers often won formed a two man team—in one match, Mark scored a century and then the brothers took 16/85 between them. At the end of 1980, the twins were selected in the state under-16 team for the national carnival, with Mark as vice-captain.
When Mark was 16, he grew around one foot in one year. It was a relief, because he had been diagnosed by the repetitive stress injury Osgood-Schlatter disease
at 15, and told that he would not grow any further than his then height of 152 cm. The pair changed soccer teams to play in the reserve grade for Sydney Croatia
in the state league and the pair were 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, before being selected for the First XI in the 1982–83 season, aged 17, both making their debut against Western Suburbs, with Mark making 97 on debut, ending the season with 427 runs at 30.50. This placed him second in his team's aggregates and he contributed 14 wickets at 10.71. By this time, his coaches had already identified the traits by which Mark was to be characterised in his international career, those of apparent laziness and reliable catching.
The twins finished high school at the end of 1983. In 1983–84, both were members of New South Wales Combined High Schools and the state under-19 team. Mark was named as the player of the series after scoring two centuries. The brothers were then selected for Australia for the first time. They had been named in the national under-19 team to play a Test and ODI series against the touring Sri Lankan counterparts. The under-19 series pitted several future international players against one another. Mark scored 123 in the Second Test at the Adelaide Oval
.
Waugh did not contemplate going to university and both became sports equipment salesmen. He made his maiden First XI century during the season; scoring 108 against Mosman.
At the start of the 1984–85 season, the brothers were included in the New South Wales
state squad.
in northern England. 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. Waugh struggled at first, but recovered to score six centuries for the season. As a reward for scoring more than 800 runs and taking more than 50 wickets, Waugh's captain, who was a dentist, gave him free service. Waugh eventually finished the season with 1460 runs and 75 wickets, breaking the club runscoring record by more than 200 runs.
Waugh returned to Australia for the 1985–86 season, looking to make his first-class debut. He scored 177 against Petersham in just five hours and was selected for the state Second XI. Then, an opportunity arose with further ramifications of the rebel tours of South Africa. A two-year ban on playing state cricket was imposed on the players. This meant that New South Wales was looking for two new opening batsmen, as both Steve Smith and John Dyson
had defected and been banned. Waugh and Taylor were selected to make their Sheffield Shield debut.
at Hobart
's TCA Ground
. New South Wales were sent into bat and Waugh was dismissed for 13 and New South Wales fell to 3/60 in the first innings. He scored 28 in the second innings, but the drawn match was more notable for an incident on the third morning, when the new opening pair overslept on Taylor's 21st birthday. They were punished by coach Bob Simpson
with fielding driils, forcing the pair to take hundreds of catches. His took his first catch, that of Roger Woolley
on debut. Waugh fell on tough times, being dismissed for a duck and four by Test bowler Merv Hughes
in the next match against Victoria
and then 17 and a run out
for another duck against the touring New Zealand
. With a first-class average of 10.33, Waugh was dropped for the next five matches. However, for the final four matches of the season, Waugh was recalled to the team as a front-line fast bowler and middle order batsman. He took 4/130 in the first innings against Queensland
in his first match in the role. They were his first-class wickets. His bowling was characterised by his liberal use of short-pitched bowling. In the next match against Tasmania, Waugh opened the bowling with Mike Whitney
, due to injuries to other bowlers, taking 2/31 in the first innings. Waugh then took 3/49 in the final round robin match against Queensland, before the teams met again for the Sheffield Shielf final at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. Whitney and Waugh were New South Wales' only pacemen, and Waugh bowled 27 overs to take 1/71. Batting at No. 7, Waugh was involved in a century stand with Greg Dyer
to help avoid the follow on with 41. Waugh made only 24 in the second innings as the home team hung on for a draw to secure the Shield. Waugh had scored 167 runs at 15.18 and took 11 wickets at 32.00 for the season. He played in one limited-overs match, scoring 13 and taking 1/28 against Victoria.
At this stage of his career, Waugh lived in the shadow of his brother Steve, who was promoted to the Australian team at the age of 20. As a result, Mark was sometimes called Afghan, a reference to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, sometimes dubbed the "forgotten war". Building up an impressive record at first-class level, Waugh spent two seasons with English county Essex as the team's successor to Allan Border
as overseas professional. In 1987–88 and 1989–90, he was voted the Sheffield Shield player of the year. Making his ODI debut in the 1988–89 World Series Cup
, he played seven matches in the tournament as a specialist batsman, but failed to pass 50.
In mid-1988, Waugh was signed to replace Australian captain Allan Border
for a six-week stint as the overseas professional at Essex County Cricket Club
in England, after just one full season of Sheffield Shield. Border had to leave before the end of the season because of the Australian tour of Pakistan and had recommended Waugh, who arrived with high expectations. Essex were one of the strongest teams in England and Border had scored six centuries that season. Waugh's debut came in August in a limited-overs match against Nottinghamshire
at Colchester
. After struggling at the start of his innings, Waugh found his rhythm and reached 103 from only 94 balls, accumulating his second 50 in just 28 balls. He ended with 15 fours and a six and then took 2/16 with the ball. Waugh played in three first-class matches, scoring 178 runs at 44.50. His performances were enough to prompt Essex officials to invite him to return for the 1989 season. Waugh accepted, subject to him not being selected for the 1989 Ashes tour of England
with the national side.
Waugh was seeking to force his way into the Australian team at the start of the 1988–89 season. He started poorly, with a duck and 18 against Queensland and not taking a wicket. In the next match he made a duck and appeared to be in control in the second innings when he was run out for 46. He then faced the touring West Indies, Waugh was dismissed for nine in the first innings. In the second innings, Waugh bounced back to score an unbeaten 103 from 163 balls against the undisputed world champions, earning praise from their captain Viv Richards
. In the following match against Tasmania, Waugh was immediately out for a duck attempting a cut shot, but made 100 not out in the second innings. He then scored 69 and 39 against Western Australia. Waugh was overlooked for Test selection, but was selected in the ODI squad for the start of the triangular tournament against the West Indies and Pakistan. It was to be the first time that twins played international cricket for Australia.
Waugh made his ODI debut against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval
on December, but did not bat or bowl as Australia took a nine-wicket victory. Two days later against the West Indies at the SCG, Waugh took his first ODI catch when he caught Gordon Greenidge
from Peter Taylor
. He batted for the first time, partnering his brother during a run chase, scoring 18 from 19 balls. Steve was run out, something that was to occur multiple times while they batted together. Australia lost by one run. Waugh made 32 in the next match against the West Indies, and again Steve was run out while they were batting together. Waugh was omitted for the next three ODIs but returned to make 12 against Pakistan before scoring 42 from 53 in the final round-robin match against the West Indies. Waugh was omitted for the first final, which Australia won by two runs, before replacing Simon O'Donnell
in the second match. He took two catches in the second match and scored 22 and five as Australia lost both to concede the series. Waugh ended his first international series with 131 runs at 21.83.
In the longer form, Waugh continued to be overlooked, and was criticised for his apparently casual attitude. Simpson, now the Australia coach, criticised Waugh, believing that he was not fully exploiting his talent. He scored only one half-century in the remainder of the first-class season, ending the season with 727 first-class runs at 40.39. He did not take a wicket for the season. He was overlooked for the 1989 Ashes tour.
In 1989, Waugh returned to Essex for his first full season as the overseas professional. He began slowly with a 77 against Derbyshire
being his only score beyond 50 in his first six innings. He then scored 92 and took 3/23 against Cambridge University
and then three fifties in the next six innings, including 89 not out against Leicestershire
. Waugh then broke through for his first first-class county century, scoring 109 at Ilford
in late June against Hampshire
, whose pace attack was led by Malcolm Marshall
. He then scored 112 not out against Glamorgan
in a one-dayer, but had another lean run in the County Championship, failing to pass 30 in nine consecutive innings. Waugh returned to form with 110 against Middlesex
, before scoring an unbeaten century against Australia in a tour match. He scored 100 from 165 deliveries, while Steve rached his century in 101 balls for Australia. Waugh finished his season with 165 against Leicester. He had scored 1537 runs at 43.91. He took 31 catches in 24 matches, and took 14 wickets at 29.62. Essex finished second in the County Championship, six points behind Worcestershire
. . They would have won were it not for the 25-point penalty that was incurred for pitch-doctoring. Essex paid Waugh and his teammates championship-winning bonuses, indicating their belief that they were the rightful champions. Essex reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup against Nottinghamshire. Waugh made 41 from 58 balls before his team lost after conceding the winning runs from the last ball of the match.
Waugh returned to Australia in preparation for the 1989–90 season, having been overlooked for the ODI squad for the Nehru Cup in India. At the start of the season, the Australian selectors wanted Waugh to tighten up before he could be selected for Tests. In the first Sheffield Shield match of the season, Waugh scored 172 from 301 balls, his highest first-class score to date. He hit 20 boundaries. He then struck 42 and took three wickets against Sri Lanka, but was overlooked for the Test against New Zealand
. He scored 46 and 18 and took 1/31 and 2/34 against Queensland, before striking and unbeaten 100 against Victoria. Despite this Waugh was not selected for the opening phase of the season's ODI tournament. At the start of 1990, he went three innings without passing 30, before striking another unbeaten century against Victoria. New South Wales was then sent in at the SCG and Waugh struck 137 from 185 runs on the first day, including a six from Peter Sleep
that narrowly missed the clock tower. The Sydney Morning Herald opined that "Waugh would imperiously render them [the fielders] obsolete, going over, between and sometimes through them". He was then selected for his only ODI season, scoring 14 in the second final as Australia won the series, and was overlooked of the New Zealand tour in March 1990. Waugh returned to state duty and New South Wales needed to beat Tasmania in their last match to qualify for the final. They were struggling at 3/33 in reply to Tasmania's 117 when Waugh came to the crease and made 198 not out from 390 balls. New South Wales won by an innings to reach the Shield final against Queensland. Waugh scored an unbeaten 78 in the second innings as his team won the title. Waugh ended the Sheffield Shield as the top-scorer, with 967 runs at 80.85, prompting the ABC to select him as its Player of the Year. It noted that Waugh's "characteristic blend of dash and elegance . . .seemed to be reinforced now by extra application and determination."
In 1990, Waugh and his brother combined in an unbeaten partnership of 464 in 407 minutes for NSW against Western Australia
(WA) at the WACA Ground
, setting a world first-class record for the fifth wicket. Both teams were at full strength and WA's attack included Test bowlers Terry Alderman
, Bruce Reid
and Chris Matthews. The twins ended unbeaten with 216 and 229 respectively.
, Waugh came to the crease in the first innings on the first day with Australia in trouble at 4/104. The situation deteriorated when Australia fell to 5/126 and Greg Matthews
joined Waugh at the crease. The pair batted until the end of the day and Waugh brought up his century with a square drive late on the first day. This made him the fifteenth Australian to make a century on debut. Phil Wilkins of The Sydney Morning Herald
wrote that "Such a maiden Test century could hardly have been surpassed for commanding presence". Waugh was widely lauded for the style and elegance of his innings. Waugh ended the day at 116 not out and was bowled early on the second morning for 138 by paceman Devon Malcolm
to end a 171-run stand with Matthews. His innings had taken only 188 deliveries and featured heavy scoring through leg-side flicks. Waugh made 23 in the second innings and took his first Test catch, Mike Atherton
, caught from the bowling of Bruce Reid
. The match was drawn and Waugh experienced his first Test victory when he scored 26 in the Fifth Test at Perth as Australia sealed the series 3–0. His performances saw him selected for the early 1991 tour of the West Indies, to play in five Tests and five ODIs against the world's most powerful team. Australia had not won a Test series in the Caribbean for 18 years against a team known for their physically intimidating fast bowlers.
In the first tour match against Jamaica, Waugh was felled by a bouncer
from Courtney Walsh
, but recovered to score a century despite the presence of his teammate's spilt blood on the pitch. Waugh scored 67 from 66 balls in the first ODI at Sabina Park
in Kingston, Jamaica
as Australia took a 1–0 lead. The ODI series was interrupted by the First Test, also at Sabina Park. Waugh scored 39 in a rain-affected draw, later admitting to having felt out of his depth against the hostile fast bowling—blood was spilt on both sides. The ODI series resumed and after consecutive matches without passing 20, Waugh played a large part in victory in the fourth match that gave Australia the series win. He scored 49 from only 37 balls and then took 3/34 to seal a 37-run win. He ended the series with 156 runs at 31.20 and eight wickets at 18.25. The Test series resumed and Waugh scored 71 in the
Second Test as Australia lost by ten wickets.
The brothers played their first Test match together in the Third Test at Queens Park Oval, Trinidad
, the first time that twins had played in the same Test match. Waugh top-scored with 64 in the first innings of another rain-affected draw, before taking his first Test wicket, Curtly Ambrose
. He admitted that he was pleased that the weather prevented him from having to spend more time facing the West Indian pacemen. He did not pass 20 in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, as the West Indies retained the Frank Worrell Trophy
2–0 with a 343-run victory. He was the most successful bowler in the second innings, taking 4/80, including the wicket of Viv Richards
. His bowling included short-pitched bowling, reasoning that the Australians were going to be bounced anyway.
In the Fifth Test of the series at St. John's, Antigua, Waugh made 139 not out from 188 balls. Devising a different strategy of combating the short-pitched bowling, Waugh backed away from the stumps and sliced the bowlers over the slips cordon. Shielding the tailenders from the West Indies fast bowlers, he still managed to score a century between tea and stumps. He reached his century in 133 minutes and was unbeaten at the end of the innings with 11 fours and three sixes. Australia made 403 in the first day and went on to win the match. Waugh ended the Test series with 367 runs at 61.17, the best among the Australians, in addition to taking eight wickets at 22.83.
for the Fifth Test against India at Perth
. Following his recall to the ODI in place of the injured Bruce Reid
, Waugh scored only 20 runs at 6.67.
He was part of the team that failed to make the semi-finals of the World Cup
, but did not play the entire tournament due to his poor form. After scoring two in the opening match against New Zealand
at Eden Park
, he was dropped for three games, then played in the last four matches. His best effort was an unbeaten 66 from 39 balls against Zimbabwe
at Bellerive Oval
. On the tour of Sri Lanka
that followed, Waugh returned to the Test team and scored five and 56 in the First Test but followed it with four consecutive ducks.
A score of 112 at the MCG
in the Second Test of 1992–93 helped set up an Australian victory and a 1–0 lead in the Frank Worrell Trophy
series against the West Indies. During that season's World Series Cup, he scored a half-century and took 5/24 as Australia successfully defended a small total.
. In the ODI series, Australian opted for a new strategy, and promoted Waugh to open the batting. He scored 60 and 57 in the first two matches to help set up an Australian victory, then scored his maiden ODI century, 108 at Hamilton
. A score of 83 in the final match made him the leading batsman of the series with 308 runs at 61.60.
On the following tour of England, Waugh scored 174 against Surrey
and reclaimed his Test position from Martyn. He scored an ODI and a Test century in matches at Edgbaston
.
In the Second Test at Lord's—the spiritual home of cricket— Waugh started on six one the second morning scored quickly to reach 99. He was looking for his century during an over by Phil Tufnell
. Tufnell was employing his customary defensive approach of pitching the ball outside the leg stump with a leg side field. The first ball was a half-volley and Waugh hit it straight from the middle of the bat. However, the ball hit the short leg fielder in the shins. Later in the over, another leg side ball hit his pads, rolled between his legs and onto the stumps, meaning that Waugh missed out on his century.
Tufnell dismissed him more than ten times in Test matches utilising this tactic. A century against New Zealand in Hobart
brought Waugh's total to 987 Test runs for the calendar year.
and he then scored a century against the same opponents in the drawn Third Test at Durban
. Later in the year, Waugh claimed that Pakistan captain Saleem Malik
had offered him (along with Tim May
and Shane Warne
) money to perform poorly during a match on the tour of Pakistan. Waugh's performances were beyond reproach: he scored three half-centuries in the Tests and an ODI century during the match in question.
In the First Test of 1994–95, Waugh hit his highest score yet, 140 against England at Brisbane
. In the second innings, Australia was seeking quick runs to set up a declaration. Waugh's old sparring partner Tufnell was bowling defensive to a packed leg side field. Waugh attempted a reverse sweep for the first time in his career, attempting to collect runs in the sparsely patrolled off side, but only managed to hit the ball onto his stumps and was bowled for 15. Australia went on to win the Test, and Waugh contributed 71 and 29 in another win in Melbourne.
Waugh failed to pass 25 in the rain-affected draw in the Third Test at Sydney, before claiming career-best bowling figures of 5/40 in a losing team during the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide
. In the Fifth Test at the WACA, Waugh scored 88 in the first innings before returning as a runner
for the injured Craig McDermott
. He was run out in a mix-up with his brother while looking for the single that would have given Steve his century. This left his brother on 99 not out with Australia all out. Waugh contributed a further three wickets as Australia completed a 3–1 series win.
On the subsequent tour of the West Indies, Waugh scored what Paul Reiffel
described as a "nonchalantly [...] beautiful" 126 and combined with his brother for a 231-run partnership in the deciding Fourth Test at Jamaica
. This set up victory and Australia's first series win over the West Indies since 1975–76.
Waugh had a productive and consistent 1995–96 Australian summer, scoring two centuries and four half-centuries in six Tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He passed 50 in each Test. The series against Pakistan started amidst a new development in the bribery claims against Malik. A Pakistan Cricket Board
inquiry cleared Malik and speculated that Waugh and the Australians had concocted the claims. At the start of the season, back injuries forced him to convert to bowling off-spin a during the season. During the First Test at Brisbane, Waugh scored 59 as Australia took an innings victory. He also took his first Test wicket as a spin bowler, that of Inzamam-Ul-Haq
. Waugh scored 88 in the Second Test win at Hobart, and the teams moved to Sydney where Australia sought a clean sweep. He had a poor Test record on his home ground, having accumulated only 126 runs in seven innings at the ground. Waugh's 116 from 206 balls was highlighted by his battle against the spinners Mushtaq Ahmed
and Saqlain Mushtaq
and was the mainstay of Australia's first innings of 257. Australia were set 247 for victory and were well placed at 2/117, with Waugh having scored 34 from only 46 deliveries. He was given out caught behind, although the ball only flicked his pad. Australia subsequently collapsed to be all out for 172, losing the Test. Despite the loss, Waugh had compiled 300 runs at 60.00 for the series.
The series against Sri Lanka had started in Perth with speculation regarding Waugh's four consecutive Test ducks. After four hours, Waugh reached his century and ended with 111 to end his run of ducks. On reaching his century, he gestured to a section of the crowd who had been heckling him. Australia won by an innings and Waugh then scored 61 in another innings victory in the Second Test at Melbourne. He was batting when off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan
was repeatedly no-balled for throwing
by Darrell Hair
, before being bowled by the spinner. Waugh scored 71 in the Third Test and ended with 255 runs at 63.75 in a series clean sweep.
During the triangular ODI tournament, Waugh was the man-of-the-match in the opening game against the West Indies at Adelaide Oval, scoring 53 and conceding only 26 runs in 10 overs. Later in the tournament, Waugh returned to the opening position after the omission of Michael Slater
, a position he retained until his retirement. In his first match in the role, Waugh scored 130 from 144 balls against Sri Lanka at the WACA ground. At the time, the innings was the third-highest ODI score by an Australian, and the opening partnership of 189 with Taylor was the seventh-highest of all time. In the second final, Waugh made 73 in a 135-run partnership with Taylor and then in an unorthodox tactic, he opened the bowling with his off-spin, taking 1/31. Waugh ended the summer with 357 runs at 35.70 and took six wickets.
on the Indian subcontinent
. Opening the batting, he scored 130 from 130 balls in Australia's opening game against Kenya
in Visakhapatnam
,. He combined in a 207-run partnership with his brother, the first double-century stand in World Cup history. He followed this up with 126 from 135 balls against India
at Bombay, frequently hitting through cover and midwicket. The innings made him the first player to score consecutive centuries in World Cup competition. Waugh and then dismissed Sachin Tendulkar
for 90 when he looked likely to win the game for India. Tendulkar charged down the pitch to Waugh's off spin, who responded by bowling a wide, resulting in the Indian's stumping. Waugh was named man of the match on both occasions. He made an unbeaten 76 against Zimbabwe in a nine-wicket win at Nagpur
. He scored only 30 from 63 balls, but took 3/38 in the final group game against the West Indies at Jaipur
, which Australia loss. Australia progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced New Zealand at Madras, he scored his third century (110) to guide a successful Australian run chase, again winning the man of the match. The innings took Waugh's tournament tally to 472 runs, the record for a single tournament. Although he managed only 0 and 12 in the semi-final and final, Waugh finished the tournament with 484 runs at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of 85.36, second only to Tendulkar. He contributed five wickets with the ball.
After a four-month break, Waugh returned to international duty with a short tour of the subcontinent. In two tournaments, he scored 207 runs at 25.88 in eight matches, scoring exactly 50 in two matches, and taking eight wickets at 36.00. The Australians then lost a one-off Test against Delhi at Feroz Shah Kotla
in Delhi
, with Waugh scoring 26 and 23. He took his best first-class career bowling figures of 6/68 in the tour match against the Indian Board President's XI at Patiala that preceded the Test.
Waugh had a consistent series despite failing to score a century in the five Tests against the West Indies during the 1996–97 home season, He scored four half-centuries, only failing to pass 50 in the Third Test, ending the series with 370 runs at 41.11. During the second innings of the Second Test at the SCG, Waugh was collided with batting partner Matthew Elliott, causing Elliott to be taken from the ground on a stretcher due to a knee injury. The Fifth Test in Perth marked the 44th time that the Waugh brothers had played together in Tests, surpassing the world record set by Ian
and Greg Chappell
in the 1970s. In the limited overs format, Waugh was Australia's leading runscorer in the triangular ODI tournament with 358 runs at 59.66, making 102 against the West Indies at Brisbane. He had scored 1059 ODI runs in the 1996 calendar year. However, the team performance was poor and Australia missed the finals for the first time in 17 years. His batting partner Taylor particularly struggled, with only 143 runs at 17.87, attracting substantial media criticism.
The Australian summer was followed by a tour of South Africa. Waugh made 26 in the opening Test, which Australia won by an innings. In the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, Australia were skittled in the first innings for 108 and were forced to chase 270 for victory on a seaming wicket. Waugh came to the crease with Australia at 2/30 on the third afternoon. After a hard-fought afternoon, Australia reached the close of play at 3/154 with Waugh on 54. The next morning he continued to his century, before he was bowled for 116, leaving Australia at 6/258. Australia lost two more qickets, but stumbled to victory with two wickets in hand. The five and half hour innings is often regarded as his finest Test performance. Waugh ended the series with 209 runs at 41.80.
In the ODI series, he hit an unbeaten 115 to steer at a successful run chase in the second match at Port Elizabeth, hitting consecutive sixes to reach his century. He missed several matches due to injury—the first match due to a back problem and then two further matches when he split his hand webbing while failing to take a catch in the third match. Apart from the century, he scored only three further runs at ended with 118 runs at 59.00 for the series.
Waugh proceeded to England for his second Ashes
tour in 1997, and gained attention upon his arrival for questioning the hunger and toughness of the home team. He scored 131 runs at 43.66 as Australia lost all three ODIs, with a top-score of 95 in the final match at The Oval
. In the First Test at Edgbaston, Waugh made 5 and 1 as Australia suffered a nine-wicket loss. The English media and public reminded Waugh of his pre-series comments about the English. To make matters worse, he was hospitalised for two days in the middle of the match with suspected appendicitis. The condition was eventually diagnosed as a severe viral infection. Waugh made only 209 runs at 20.90 for the series, with only one half-century. He hit two centuries in the tour matches, including one against Middlesex
at Lord's. In the Sixth Test, he was dismissed in both innings by his old sparring partner Tufnell, who he had criticised at the start of the series as a "fairly weak sort of player".
Waugh's performances in England had stirred questions about his position in the team. The scrutiny increased after Waugh failed to pass 20 in the First Test against New Zealand in Brisbane and dropped a catch. Waugh made a turnaround in the Second Test in Perth, taking a horizontal airborne catch of Chris Cairns at full stretch. He proceeded to score 86, including a lofted drive from Daniel Vettori
onto the roof of the Lillee-Marsh Stand. The ball travelled approximately 130 m, one of the longest sixes in history. Australia went on to win the match and Waugh made 81 in the Third Test and ended the series with 196 runs at 39.20, enough to save his position in the team.
to set up an Australian victory. This came during a 116-run partnership with his brother, noted for a particularly menacing spell by Allan Donald
with the second new ball, repeatedly hitting the twins. He batted out the entire fifth day for an unbeaten 115 in the Third Test at the Adelaide Oval
to deny the South Africans a victory, and win the series for Australia. Having scored 63 in the first innings, Waugh came the crease late on the fourth day with Australia at 2/17 and attempting to survive for a draw. He was dropped early and was 11 at stumps. Waugh continued to resist on the following day and brought up his century. Struck by a bouncer from Shaun Pollock
late on the final day, Waugh broke the stumps with his bat while walking away, so South Africa appealed for hit wicket, which was denied. South African skipper Hansie Cronje
later speared a stump
through the umpires' dressing room in anger at the decision. It was only the second time in his career that he had scored consecutive centuries. Waugh took satisfaction in the fact that his century was responsible for saving the Test. He finished the series with 279 runs at 69.75.
The 1997–98 Australian season marked a change in Waugh's ODI career. The Australian selectors changed their policy and picked Test and ODI teams separately, with specialists chosen accordingly in either form of the game. Waugh's captain and opening partner Taylor was dropped. Australia had trouble finding a suitable partner for Waugh, with Michael di Venuto
, Tom Moody
and Stuart Law
all trialled as his opening partner. Despite the instability, Waugh compiled 104 to help Australia successfully chase a target against New Zealand in a round-robin match at the Adelaide Oval. He finished the series as Australia's leading run-scorer with 320 runs at 35.55, and took seven wickets at 25.43. During the finals series, new wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist
was elevated to the opening position. The new combination got off to a poor start, with Waugh run out for three in a mix-up in the first final, but the pair went on to become Australia's long term opening pair. After losing all four group matches to South Africa, Australia won the finals series 2–1. The partnership with Gilchrist marked a shift in Waugh' role in ODIs. Waugh had previously been more aggressive while Taylor was his partner, but with the naturally aggressive Gilchrist as his partner, Waugh tended to anchor the innings.
Waugh's strong start to the year continued in two brief ODI series in New Zealand and India, in which he scored 374 runs at 41.56 respectively, with three half-centuries. Australia lost the first two Tests in India, with Waugh scoring 66 in the first innings in the First Test in Chennai but otherwise failing to pass 20. In the Third Test in Bangalore
, Waugh scored his highest Test score of 153 not out while suffering nausea, vomiting and fever. He was 58 at stumps on the second day before being taken ill and requiring overnight injections. It was the first time that he had batted without his helmet, instead using a floppy hat due to the heat and fever. He claimed that he could not recall much of the innings and was batting on "automatic pilot". Waugh was the only Australian to aggregate more than 200 runs for the series, finishing with 280 runs at 70.00. Australia played nine more ODIs for the year in Asia, spread across three series. Waugh scored 266 runs at 23.25. Waugh was also a part of the limited overs team that won a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia, losing the final to South Africa. The matches were not accredited by the ICC as ODIs.
Australia toured Pakistan in late 1998. In the First Test in Rawalpindi
, Waugh scored a duck as Australia won by an innings, its first Test win in Pakistan in 39 years. His tour was disrupted by an appearance at a judicial hearing to give evidence relating to allegations of match-fixing he made against Saleem Malik
. After making 42 and 43 in the high-scoring Second Test at Peshawar
, Waugh scored 117 in the second innings of the Third Test at Karachi
to end the series with 228 runs at 45.60.
had accepted money from an Indian bookmaker in exchange for pitch and weather information. The Australian Cricket Board has secretly fined both players for their actions. The ACB's suppression of the case and the actions of the two players were widely condemned.
Waugh was booed when he went out to bat in the first innings, and apparently rattled by the hostile reception, he batted scratchily for 36 minutes before being dismissed for seven. He regarded it as the most difficult day of his career. In the second innings, he scored an unbeaten 51 and was given a standing ovation by some parts of the crowd in contrast to other hostile sections. He took three catches in England' second innings as Australia won the match to retain the Ashes. Waugh scored 36 and 43 in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, which saw him pass 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year.
Waugh started 1999 as he did the previous year, with a century in the New Year's Test at the SCG. After being dropped before he had scored, Waugh scored 121 in five hours on the first day, sharing a partnership of 190 with his brother. He became the fifth Australian to take 100 Test catches when he caught Nasser Hussain
in the first innings from the bowling of Colin Miller
. Australia won the Test and Waugh ended the series with 393 runs at 56.14, placing him second in the batting averages. In the ODI series, he scored six consecutive half-centuries in a consistent run that augured well for the upcoming World Cup. His tally of 542 runs at 49.27 was the highest for the tournament. For the majority of the ODI tournament, Waugh acted as vice-captain to Warne as his brother Steve was sidelined by a hamstring strain.
.
Waugh started the tournament with a man-of-the-match 67 against Scotland at Worcester
as Australia unconvincingly won by four wickets in its first match. He then scored two and 41 as Australia lost ot New Zealand and Pakistan respectively, leaving them needing to avoid defeat in all of their remaining matches to win the World Cup. Waugh scored only 33 and three as Australia defeated Bangladesh and the West Indies to progress to the Super Six phase. Needing to win all their matches, Waugh top-scored with 83 against India at The Oval
in a win. He then scored 104 from 120 balls against Zimbabwe
at Lord's in another victory. In the process, he passed Allan Border
's Australian record of 6,524 ODI career runs and became the first person to score four centuries in World Cup competition. He dedicated to his dying grandfather. He was then run out for five in the final Super Six match against South Africa. In the semi-final against same team, he was dismissed without scoring. Waugh participated in the final play of the match. With the scores tied in the last over of South Africa's run chase and with one wicket remaining, he fielded the ball as Lance Klusener
and Allan Donald
attempted the winning run. The South Africans had a mix-up and a run out resulted in a tie. The Australians progressed to the final as they had won their previous meeting.
In the final against Pakistan at Lord's, he set the tone of the match with a sideways diving catch to dismiss Wajahatullah Wasti
. Pakistan were bowled out for 132. Waugh was 37 not out when Darren Lehmann
struck the winning runs. He finished the tournament with 375 runs at 41.67, making him Australia's second highest runscorer for the tournament.
In late 1999, Australia toured Sri Lanka. Waugh continued to perform in the ODIs, with 174 runs at 34.80, but his Test troubles continued with 29 runs at 7.25. In six Tests on the island nation, he had managed 90 runs at an average of 9.00. Australia proceeded to Zimbabwe, where Waugh scored 90 in a ten-wicket win. Had he reached his century, Waugh would have become the first player to record centuries against the eight other Test-playing nations. Waugh then scored 106 from 97 balls in the first ODI before scoring 54* in the second match. That ended his ODI year, with a total of 1468 runs at 44.48.
in the Second Test at Bellerive Oval
, Hobart
, although he only scored five and a duck. However, after a duck in the Third Test in Perth
, he gave a poor display in the First Test against India at the Adelaide Oval
which led to calls for his axing. After being dismissed for five in the first innings, he came out to bat in the second innings late on the third day, and was protected from the strike by Greg Blewett
, who refused to take singles hit into the outfield. After being jeered, he was eventually dismissed the next day for eight, after batting almost an hour. Waugh made only one and 25 in an interstate match following the Test but was retained for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. He managed a survivalist 41 in the first innings and an unbeaten 51 against the backdrop of a supportive crowd. He was then on a hat-trick in the second innings as Australia won the Test. Waugh was retained and made his 100th Test appearance in the 2000 New Year's Test in Sydney, where he scored 32 in his only innings.
Further poor displays in the early phase of the subsequent ODI tournament, including an innings of 3 from 30 balls, lead to repeated calls for his omission, until he scored a 116 at Adelaide Oval
on Australia Day
against India to lay the foundation for Australia's largest ever total on home soil of 5/329. Waugh ended the series with 305 tuns at 30.50 and was retained for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored a respectable 206 runs at 41.20 in the abbreviated form of the game including two half-centuries. He then scored an unbeaten 72 in the First Test at Eden Park
to set up a victory in a low-scoring game—only one other player passed 20. Waugh ended the series with 190 runs at 47.50 as Australia won 3–0. However, a run of seven ODIs during the 2000 Australian winter including two series against South Africa in which he tallied only 84 runs at 12.00 again saw further media speculation of impending demise.
After the being close to omission the previous season, Waugh made a good start to the 2000–01 season, scoring 119 against the West Indies in the Second Test in Perth. He added two further half-centuries to total 339 runs at 48.4 as the Windies were defeated 5–0. His productive summer continued in the limited-overs format when he went on to score an Australian ODI record of 173 in the second tri-series final against the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
. It was one of three ODI centuries he scored in that tournament, the others being a 112 and 102, both not out, against the West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively. In total he scored 540 runs in the series at an average of 108.00. As the leading run-scorer by far in the tournament, he was expected to be named Player of the Series, resulting in widespread crowd jeering when it was instead awarded to Brian Lara
. Waugh was also tipped to win the Allan Border Medal
due to his prolific runscoring that year. However, despite leading the player votes with 32, the umpire and media thought otherwise, awarding Steve Waugh 37 votes to his 32, making Steve the winner 65–64.
The 2001 tour of India saw Australia's 16 Test winning streak come to an end when India claimed the series 2–1. Waugh scored 70 and 57 in the Third Test in Chennai
to finish with 149 runs at 29.80 in a difficult series. Waugh continued his fine ODI form with another century, an unbeaten 133 against India in the second ODI, but was forced to return home after his finger was fractured by a Javagal Srinath
delivery.
's world record of 157 Test catches. Waugh was unable to maintain this form in the 2001–02 Australian summer: he totalled 269 (at 33.6) in six Tests against New Zealand and South Africa, without a century. Media scrutiny of his inability to combat short-pitched bowling increased and led to speculation about his long-term future in the team.
Nevertheless, he passed two major milestones: the Test at Adelaide marked the 100th Test in which both Waughs played, while the following game was his 100th consecutive Test match. Waugh and fellow ODI opener Adam Gilchrist both hit a batting slump during the VB series, with Waugh averaging 26 for the series and Gilchrist less. Frequent poor starts to the innings resulted in Australia's failure to qualify for the final of the tri-series for the first time in five years. Later in the year, the selectors reacted by dropping Steve and Mark Waugh, the oldest members of the team, in favour of younger players.
.
Waugh retired as Australia's highest run-scorer and century-maker (18) in ODI cricket, these records have since been broken by Ricky Ponting. His world record of 181 Test catches was broken by India's Rahul Dravid
in 2009.
. He would also field at mid-wicket or short mid-wicket when he was not required in a close catching position, and also during ODIs.
. A report by the Central Bureau of Investigation
in 2000 implicated Prabhakar for acting as a conduit for bookmakers involved in illegal cricket betting, which resulted in Prabhakar receiving a five-year suspension from the game. The report also documented allegations by Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta that Prabhakar had introduced him to Waugh during the tournament and that Waugh was paid A$20,000 for insider information about the Australian team, pitch conditions and weather information.
When the allegations were made public by the report in November 2000, Waugh immediately pledged to co-operate with any inquiry. In January 2001, the International Cricket Council
's anti-corruption unit and the ACB's special investigator Greg Melick requested an interview with Waugh, which his management "presently declined". Waugh received legal advice to seek further clarification of the scope of the investigation. After condemnation from the ACB and media, and the possibility of losing his contract with the ACB, Waugh agreed to the interview. He was cleared in August 2001.
During the Singer World Series tournament, played in Sri Lanka
during September 1994, Waugh made a decision which came back to affect his career four years later. He was approached in Colombo
by an Indian named "John
", a bookmaker who asked him for general pitch and weather information as well as insider team information. In return, Waugh received US$4,000. The arrangement continued during the 1994–95 Australian summer, but he refused to divulge inside team information. Waugh introduced "John" to Shane Warne
.
On the 1994 tour of Pakistan, Waugh claimed that along with Warne and Tim May
, he was offered A$200,000 to underperform by Pakistan captain Saleem Malik
. The offer was in regard to an ODI played at Rawalpindi
on 22 October. Waugh says he rejected the bribe, and went on to score 121* from 134 deliveries in the match. The trio signed a statement in early 1995 stating their claims, which were forwarded to the ICC. In October 1995, a Pakistan Cricket Board
inquiry led by former Pakistan Supreme Court judge Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
ruled that the allegations, "are not worthy of any credence and must be rejected as unfounded". Further, he stated that they "appear to have been concocted".
However, during the 1998 tour of Pakistan, the issue was again raised, as the Government of Pakistan
had initiated a separate judicial inquiry into general issues regarding the performance of the Pakistani team and allegations of illegal betting by past and former players. Waugh, along with his captain Mark Taylor
and ACB CEO Malcolm Speed
, were summoned to Lahore
by PCB CEO Majid Khan to appear before an inquiry led by Justice Malik Mohammed Qayyum.
In December 1998, prior to the Adelaide
Test match against England, news broke that Waugh and Warne were involved with "John" four years earlier and had been fined by the ACB. Both players were required to make public statements acknowledging that they had been, "naive and stupid" and reasserting that they were not involved in corruption. The players were widely condemned by the media and public, with Prime Minister of Australia
John Howard
stating that he felt an, "intense feeling of disappointment". Former Test player Neil Harvey
called for both players to be banned. In May 2000, the PCB banned Malik for life, after a recommendation from the Qayyum investigation, which concluded that Malik had attempted to bribe Waugh, Warne and May.
(AM).
He now works as a sports journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, and has also worked for Fox Sports
, Channel Seven
show Sportsworld
and as a Tour Guide for Australian Sports Tours.
He married on 9 April 2005 to Sydney Cup-winning thoroughbred trainer Kim Waugh
(née Moore).
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 2 June 1965) is a former Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who represented Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as he is younger than his twin brother Steve
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
by a few minutes. Dean Waugh
Dean Waugh
Dean Parma Waugh is a former Australian first-class cricketer who played a match for New South Wales and also represented South Australia at List A level....
, another of Mark's brothers, is also a cricketer, having played first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
and list A cricket in Australia.
Key achievements
Waugh was primarily a right-handed batsman, batting in the No.4 position in Test matches, and was also a handy medium paceSeam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
bowler, who changed to an off-spin bowler after back injuries restricted him. He is regarded as one of the best slip fielders
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
ever to play cricket, and held the world record for most Test catches by a non-wicketkeeper until Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
broke it in 2009.
He began as an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
in the Australian ODI team, but he later focussed on batting and progressed to opening the batting, where he excelled and became Australia's leading one day runscorer. His three centuries at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
made him the only batsman to ever achieve this feat, and a fourth century in the 1999 tournament made him the only Australian to score more than 1000 runs in World Cup competition and to score four centuries. He became the leading Australian run-scorer and century maker in ODIs during the 1999 tournament.
Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game, and his stylish strokeplay was likened to that of Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
, Alan Kippax
Alan Kippax
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and...
, Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
, Charlie Macartney and Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
.
Following his debut Test century, Australian coach Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
compared Waugh's elegance to that of Archie Jackson
Archie Jackson
Archibald "Archie" Jackson , occasionally known as Archibald Alexander Jackson, was an Australian cricketer who played eight Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1929 and 1931. A teenage prodigy, he played first grade cricket at only 15 years of age and was selected for New South Wales at 17...
. Mark Taylor called Waugh the "best-looking leg-side player I've seen in my time. . . . Anything drifting into his pads is hit beautifully.
He was regularly in the top 10 rated batsman from the mid 1990s to 21st century. He was well-known for his general mastery of batting when facing spin bowling
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
. However, his facile grace also lead to accusations that he was a "lazy" batsman who was vulnerable to soft dismissals.
Waugh is the younger fraternal twin brother http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/224522.html of Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
, with whom he played for most of his career and also under his captaincy. They hold the record for the most Test and ODI matches in which siblings appeared together.
Early years
Born at Canterbury HospitalCanterbury Hospital
Canterbury Hospital is a metropolitan hospital in Campsie, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Canterbury Hospital is committed to providing a quality service to our multicultural community, which promotes, protects and improves their level of health and well...
in Campsie, New South Wales
Campsie, New South Wales
Campsie is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campsie is located 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the southern bank of the Cooks River. Campsie is the commercial and administrative centre of the City of...
on 2 June 1965, Waugh was one of twin boys born to Rodger and Beverley Waugh. He arrived four minutes after Steve
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
. His father was a bank official and his mother was a teacher within the New South Wales Department of Education. The family settled in the western Sydney
Western Sydney
Western Sydney is a major region of Sydney, Australia. It has a number of different definitions but one consistently used is the region composed of the 11 councils which until recently were all members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils:* Auburn Council* Bankstown City Council*...
suburb of Panania
Panania, New South Wales
Panania, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres inner south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region...
. The twins were later joined by two more brothers, Dean
Dean Waugh
Dean Parma Waugh is a former Australian first-class cricketer who played a match for New South Wales and also represented South Australia at List A level....
and Danny. From an early age, the parents introduced their children to sport. By the age of six, the twins were playing organised soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, tennis and cricket. In their first cricket match, the brothers were both dismissed for ducks
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
.
The twins came from a sporting family. Their paternal grandfather Edward was a greyhound
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
trainer. Raised in the northern coastal town of Bangalow, Edward earned selection for the New South Wales Country team in rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. He was about to join Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
, but had to give up his career due to family reasons. Rodger was Edward's only son and was promising tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player, who was ranked eighth in Australia in his junior years and was the state champion at under-14 level. On the maternal side, Bev was a tennis player who won the under-14 singles at the South Australian Championships. Her eldest brother Dion Bourne was an opening batsman who played for Bankstown in Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs, which had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis, voted to create a formal competition structure....
and remains the leading runscorer in the club's history.
The twins made their first representative cricket team when they were selected the Bankstown District under-10s at the age of eight. 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, and were part of school tennis team that came second in the state in their final year. In their final year, Mark was the captain of the state primary school cricket and tennis teams, both of which won the national championships. The twins were instrumental in New South Wales winning the cricket carnival without a defeat.
By this time, the increasing time demands led to conflicts between the sports, and were in one case delisted from a team due to a conflict of commitments. The twins progressed to East Hills Boys Technology High School
East Hills Boys Technology High School
East Hills Boys High School is a boys only public secondary school run by the New South Wales Department of Education, located in Panania, New South Wales, a suburb in south-western Sydney....
, which had a history of producing Australian international representatives in a number of sports. 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. Mark's performance in the Green Shield saw him selected in Bankstown's under-21 team, still aged 15. The brothers often won formed a two man team—in one match, Mark scored a century and then the brothers took 16/85 between them. At the end of 1980, the twins were selected in the state under-16 team for the national carnival, with Mark as vice-captain.
When Mark was 16, he grew around one foot in one year. It was a relief, because he had been diagnosed by the repetitive stress injury Osgood-Schlatter disease
Osgood-Schlatter disease
Osgood–Schlatter disease and or syndrome is an irritation of the patellar tendon at the tibial tuberosity....
at 15, and told that he would not grow any further than his then height of 152 cm. The pair changed soccer teams to play in the reserve grade for Sydney Croatia
Sydney United
Sydney United Football Club are an Australian football club from Sydney, Australia, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area...
in the state league and the pair were 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, before being selected for the First XI in the 1982–83 season, aged 17, both making their debut against Western Suburbs, with Mark making 97 on debut, ending the season with 427 runs at 30.50. This placed him second in his team's aggregates and he contributed 14 wickets at 10.71. By this time, his coaches had already identified the traits by which Mark was to be characterised in his international career, those of apparent laziness and reliable catching.
The twins finished high school at the end of 1983. In 1983–84, both were members of New South Wales Combined High Schools and the state under-19 team. Mark was named as the player of the series after scoring two centuries. The brothers were then selected for Australia for the first time. They had been named in the national under-19 team to play a Test and ODI series against the touring Sri Lankan counterparts. The under-19 series pitted several future international players against one another. Mark scored 123 in the Second Test at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
.
Waugh did not contemplate going to university and both became sports equipment salesmen. He made his maiden First XI century during the season; scoring 108 against Mosman.
At the start of the 1984–85 season, the brothers were included in the New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
state squad.
Formative professional career
At the end of the season, the Waugh twins signed a contract to spend the Australian winter to play for Egerton in the Bolton League in LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in northern England. 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
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
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
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. Steve was selected to replace Gilbert with Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
, leaving Mark as the lone professional. Waugh struggled at first, but recovered to score six centuries for the season. As a reward for scoring more than 800 runs and taking more than 50 wickets, Waugh's captain, who was a dentist, gave him free service. Waugh eventually finished the season with 1460 runs and 75 wickets, breaking the club runscoring record by more than 200 runs.
Waugh returned to Australia for the 1985–86 season, looking to make his first-class debut. He scored 177 against Petersham in just five hours and was selected for the state Second XI. Then, an opportunity arose with further ramifications of the rebel tours of South Africa. A two-year ban on playing state cricket was imposed on the players. This meant that New South Wales was looking for two new opening batsmen, as both Steve Smith and John Dyson
John Dyson
John Dyson is a former international cricketer who is now a cricket coach, most recently in charge of the West Indies....
had defected and been banned. Waugh and Taylor were selected to make their Sheffield Shield debut.
First-class career
Waugh and Taylor opened on debut against TasmaniaTasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
at Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
's TCA Ground
TCA Ground
The TCA Ground, or Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground, is one of two First Class standard cricket grounds in Hobart, Tasmania in Australia...
. New South Wales were sent into bat and Waugh was dismissed for 13 and New South Wales fell to 3/60 in the first innings. He scored 28 in the second innings, but the drawn match was more notable for an incident on the third morning, when the new opening pair overslept on Taylor's 21st birthday. They were punished by coach Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
with fielding driils, forcing the pair to take hundreds of catches. His took his first catch, that of Roger Woolley
Roger Woolley
Roger Douglas Woolley is a former Australian cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 4 ODIs from 1983 to 1984. He was a wicket-keeper, and was the third Tasmanian born Test cricketer...
on debut. Waugh fell on tough times, being dismissed for a duck and four by Test bowler Merv Hughes
Merv Hughes
Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
in the next match against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
and then 17 and a run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
for another duck against the touring New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
. With a first-class average of 10.33, Waugh was dropped for the next five matches. However, for the final four matches of the season, Waugh was recalled to the team as a front-line fast bowler and middle order batsman. He took 4/130 in the first innings against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
in his first match in the role. They were his first-class wickets. His bowling was characterised by his liberal use of short-pitched bowling. In the next match against Tasmania, Waugh opened the bowling with Mike Whitney
Mike Whitney
Michael Roy Whitney is an Australian television personality and former cricketer, who played in 12 Tests and 38 ODIs from 1981 to 1993....
, due to injuries to other bowlers, taking 2/31 in the first innings. Waugh then took 3/49 in the final round robin match against Queensland, before the teams met again for the Sheffield Shielf final at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. Whitney and Waugh were New South Wales' only pacemen, and Waugh bowled 27 overs to take 1/71. Batting at No. 7, Waugh was involved in a century stand with Greg Dyer
Greg Dyer
Gregory Charles Dyer is a former New South Wales and Australian wicketkeeper. Dyer played in 6 Tests and 23 ODIs from 1986 to 1988, including playing in the victorious 1987 World Cup Final....
to help avoid the follow on with 41. Waugh made only 24 in the second innings as the home team hung on for a draw to secure the Shield. Waugh had scored 167 runs at 15.18 and took 11 wickets at 32.00 for the season. He played in one limited-overs match, scoring 13 and taking 1/28 against Victoria.
At this stage of his career, Waugh lived in the shadow of his brother Steve, who was promoted to the Australian team at the age of 20. As a result, Mark was sometimes called Afghan, a reference to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, sometimes dubbed the "forgotten war". Building up an impressive record at first-class level, Waugh spent two seasons with English county Essex as the team's successor to Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
as overseas professional. In 1987–88 and 1989–90, he was voted the Sheffield Shield player of the year. Making his ODI debut in the 1988–89 World Series Cup
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
, he played seven matches in the tournament as a specialist batsman, but failed to pass 50.
In mid-1988, Waugh was signed to replace Australian captain Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
for a six-week stint as the overseas professional at Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in England, after just one full season of Sheffield Shield. Border had to leave before the end of the season because of the Australian tour of Pakistan and had recommended Waugh, who arrived with high expectations. Essex were one of the strongest teams in England and Border had scored six centuries that season. Waugh's debut came in August in a limited-overs match against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
at Colchester
Castle Park Cricket Ground
Castle Park Cricket Ground is an English First-class cricket ground in Colchester. The ground is in Lower Castle Park, part of the land surrounding Colchester Castle. It is used by Essex County Cricket Club for some of their First-class cricket matches. Essex played both County Championship and...
. After struggling at the start of his innings, Waugh found his rhythm and reached 103 from only 94 balls, accumulating his second 50 in just 28 balls. He ended with 15 fours and a six and then took 2/16 with the ball. Waugh played in three first-class matches, scoring 178 runs at 44.50. His performances were enough to prompt Essex officials to invite him to return for the 1989 season. Waugh accepted, subject to him not being selected for the 1989 Ashes tour of England
Australian cricket team in England in 1989
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1989 season to play a six-match Test series against England. The tour also included matches in Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands and Denmark.Australia won the series 4-0 with two matches drawn...
with the national side.
Waugh was seeking to force his way into the Australian team at the start of the 1988–89 season. He started poorly, with a duck and 18 against Queensland and not taking a wicket. In the next match he made a duck and appeared to be in control in the second innings when he was run out for 46. He then faced the touring West Indies, Waugh was dismissed for nine in the first innings. In the second innings, Waugh bounced back to score an unbeaten 103 from 163 balls against the undisputed world champions, earning praise from their captain Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
. In the following match against Tasmania, Waugh was immediately out for a duck attempting a cut shot, but made 100 not out in the second innings. He then scored 69 and 39 against Western Australia. Waugh was overlooked for Test selection, but was selected in the ODI squad for the start of the triangular tournament against the West Indies and Pakistan. It was to be the first time that twins played international cricket for Australia.
Waugh made his ODI debut against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
on December, but did not bat or bowl as Australia took a nine-wicket victory. Two days later against the West Indies at the SCG, Waugh took his first ODI catch when he caught Gordon Greenidge
Gordon Greenidge
Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge MBE is a former member of the West Indies cricket team.Greenidge was an opening batsman for the West Indies. He began his Test career against India at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in 1974 and continued playing internationally until 1991. He was half of the West...
from Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (cricketer)
For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.Peter Laurence Taylor is a former Australian cricketer who played in 13 Tests and 83 ODIs from 1987 to 1992....
. He batted for the first time, partnering his brother during a run chase, scoring 18 from 19 balls. Steve was run out, something that was to occur multiple times while they batted together. Australia lost by one run. Waugh made 32 in the next match against the West Indies, and again Steve was run out while they were batting together. Waugh was omitted for the next three ODIs but returned to make 12 against Pakistan before scoring 42 from 53 in the final round-robin match against the West Indies. Waugh was omitted for the first final, which Australia won by two runs, before replacing Simon O'Donnell
Simon O'Donnell
Simon Patrick O'Donnell is a former Australian cricketer and VFL footballer, currently a horse racing and cricket commentator.-Cricket:...
in the second match. He took two catches in the second match and scored 22 and five as Australia lost both to concede the series. Waugh ended his first international series with 131 runs at 21.83.
In the longer form, Waugh continued to be overlooked, and was criticised for his apparently casual attitude. Simpson, now the Australia coach, criticised Waugh, believing that he was not fully exploiting his talent. He scored only one half-century in the remainder of the first-class season, ending the season with 727 first-class runs at 40.39. He did not take a wicket for the season. He was overlooked for the 1989 Ashes tour.
In 1989, Waugh returned to Essex for his first full season as the overseas professional. He began slowly with a 77 against Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
being his only score beyond 50 in his first six innings. He then scored 92 and took 3/23 against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
and then three fifties in the next six innings, including 89 not out against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
. Waugh then broke through for his first first-class county century, scoring 109 at Ilford
Valentines Park
Valentines Park is, at , the largest green space in the London Borough of Redbridge, between Ilford and Gants Hill. It was acquired in various purchases and gifts of land, starting in 1898 and culminating in the 1920s...
in late June against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
, whose pace attack was led by Malcolm Marshall
Malcolm Marshall
By 1984 Marshall was seen as one of the finest bowlers in the world, and he demoralised England that summer, especially at Headingley, where he ran through the order in the second innings to finish with 7-53, despite having broken his thumb whilst fielding in the first innings...
. He then scored 112 not out against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
in a one-dayer, but had another lean run in the County Championship, failing to pass 30 in nine consecutive innings. Waugh returned to form with 110 against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, before scoring an unbeaten century against Australia in a tour match. He scored 100 from 165 deliveries, while Steve rached his century in 101 balls for Australia. Waugh finished his season with 165 against Leicester. He had scored 1537 runs at 43.91. He took 31 catches in 24 matches, and took 14 wickets at 29.62. Essex finished second in the County Championship, six points behind Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
. . They would have won were it not for the 25-point penalty that was incurred for pitch-doctoring. Essex paid Waugh and his teammates championship-winning bonuses, indicating their belief that they were the rightful champions. Essex reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup against Nottinghamshire. Waugh made 41 from 58 balls before his team lost after conceding the winning runs from the last ball of the match.
Waugh returned to Australia in preparation for the 1989–90 season, having been overlooked for the ODI squad for the Nehru Cup in India. At the start of the season, the Australian selectors wanted Waugh to tighten up before he could be selected for Tests. In the first Sheffield Shield match of the season, Waugh scored 172 from 301 balls, his highest first-class score to date. He hit 20 boundaries. He then struck 42 and took three wickets against Sri Lanka, but was overlooked for the Test against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
. He scored 46 and 18 and took 1/31 and 2/34 against Queensland, before striking and unbeaten 100 against Victoria. Despite this Waugh was not selected for the opening phase of the season's ODI tournament. At the start of 1990, he went three innings without passing 30, before striking another unbeaten century against Victoria. New South Wales was then sent in at the SCG and Waugh struck 137 from 185 runs on the first day, including a six from Peter Sleep
Peter Sleep
Peter Raymond Sleep is a former Australian cricketer who played 14 Tests for Australia between 1979 and 1990...
that narrowly missed the clock tower. The Sydney Morning Herald opined that "Waugh would imperiously render them [the fielders] obsolete, going over, between and sometimes through them". He was then selected for his only ODI season, scoring 14 in the second final as Australia won the series, and was overlooked of the New Zealand tour in March 1990. Waugh returned to state duty and New South Wales needed to beat Tasmania in their last match to qualify for the final. They were struggling at 3/33 in reply to Tasmania's 117 when Waugh came to the crease and made 198 not out from 390 balls. New South Wales won by an innings to reach the Shield final against Queensland. Waugh scored an unbeaten 78 in the second innings as his team won the title. Waugh ended the Sheffield Shield as the top-scorer, with 967 runs at 80.85, prompting the ABC to select him as its Player of the Year. It noted that Waugh's "characteristic blend of dash and elegance . . .seemed to be reinforced now by extra application and determination."
In 1990, Waugh and his brother combined in an unbeaten partnership of 464 in 407 minutes for NSW against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
(WA) at the WACA Ground
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
, setting a world first-class record for the fifth wicket. Both teams were at full strength and WA's attack included Test bowlers Terry Alderman
Terry Alderman
Terence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
, Bruce Reid
Bruce Reid
Bruce Anthony Reid is an Australian cricketer and bowling coach of the Indian national cricket team on their 2003-04 tour to Australia....
and Chris Matthews. The twins ended unbeaten with 216 and 229 respectively.
Test century on debut
At the age of 25, he was finally picked for his Test debut in 1990–91, which resulted in mixed emotions: his place in the team game came at the expense of his out-of-form brother, who had only scored 82 runs at 20.50 for the series. Playing against England in the Fourth Test at the Adelaide OvalAdelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
, Waugh came to the crease in the first innings on the first day with Australia in trouble at 4/104. The situation deteriorated when Australia fell to 5/126 and Greg Matthews
Greg Matthews
Gregory Richard John "Mo" Matthews is a former New South Wales and Australian cricketer who is now a television cricket commentator....
joined Waugh at the crease. The pair batted until the end of the day and Waugh brought up his century with a square drive late on the first day. This made him the fifteenth Australian to make a century on debut. Phil Wilkins of The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
wrote that "Such a maiden Test century could hardly have been surpassed for commanding presence". Waugh was widely lauded for the style and elegance of his innings. Waugh ended the day at 116 not out and was bowled early on the second morning for 138 by paceman Devon Malcolm
Devon Malcolm
Devon Malcolm is a former English cricketer.Malcolm was one of England's few genuinely fast bowlers of the 1990s. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he settled in England, making his first-class debut for Derbyshire in 1984, and qualifying to play for England in 1987...
to end a 171-run stand with Matthews. His innings had taken only 188 deliveries and featured heavy scoring through leg-side flicks. Waugh made 23 in the second innings and took his first Test catch, Mike Atherton
Mike Atherton
Michael Andrew Atherton OBE is a broadcaster, journalist and retired England international cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England,and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the captaincy of England at the age of 25 and led the side in a record 54 Test matches...
, caught from the bowling of Bruce Reid
Bruce Reid
Bruce Anthony Reid is an Australian cricketer and bowling coach of the Indian national cricket team on their 2003-04 tour to Australia....
. The match was drawn and Waugh experienced his first Test victory when he scored 26 in the Fifth Test at Perth as Australia sealed the series 3–0. His performances saw him selected for the early 1991 tour of the West Indies, to play in five Tests and five ODIs against the world's most powerful team. Australia had not won a Test series in the Caribbean for 18 years against a team known for their physically intimidating fast bowlers.
In the first tour match against Jamaica, Waugh was felled by a bouncer
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
from Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Andrew Walsh is a former international cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches...
, but recovered to score a century despite the presence of his teammate's spilt blood on the pitch. Waugh scored 67 from 66 balls in the first ODI at Sabina Park
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
as Australia took a 1–0 lead. The ODI series was interrupted by the First Test, also at Sabina Park. Waugh scored 39 in a rain-affected draw, later admitting to having felt out of his depth against the hostile fast bowling—blood was spilt on both sides. The ODI series resumed and after consecutive matches without passing 20, Waugh played a large part in victory in the fourth match that gave Australia the series win. He scored 49 from only 37 balls and then took 3/34 to seal a 37-run win. He ended the series with 156 runs at 31.20 and eight wickets at 18.25. The Test series resumed and Waugh scored 71 in the
Second Test as Australia lost by ten wickets.
The brothers played their first Test match together in the Third Test at Queens Park Oval, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, the first time that twins had played in the same Test match. Waugh top-scored with 64 in the first innings of another rain-affected draw, before taking his first Test wicket, Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
. He admitted that he was pleased that the weather prevented him from having to spend more time facing the West Indian pacemen. He did not pass 20 in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, as the West Indies retained the Frank Worrell Trophy
Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
2–0 with a 343-run victory. He was the most successful bowler in the second innings, taking 4/80, including the wicket of Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
. His bowling included short-pitched bowling, reasoning that the Australians were going to be bounced anyway.
In the Fifth Test of the series at St. John's, Antigua, Waugh made 139 not out from 188 balls. Devising a different strategy of combating the short-pitched bowling, Waugh backed away from the stumps and sliced the bowlers over the slips cordon. Shielding the tailenders from the West Indies fast bowlers, he still managed to score a century between tea and stumps. He reached his century in 133 minutes and was unbeaten at the end of the innings with 11 fours and three sixes. Australia made 403 in the first day and went on to win the match. Waugh ended the Test series with 367 runs at 61.17, the best among the Australians, in addition to taking eight wickets at 22.83.
Run of bad form
During the 1991–92 Australian summer, Waugh hit a patch of bad form. He was dropped from the ODI team in the early part of the season, then omitted from the Test team in favour of Tom MoodyTom Moody
Thomas Masson Moody is a former Australian cricketer and coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team. Today he is the coach for the IPL team Kings XI Punjab...
for the Fifth Test against India at Perth
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
. Following his recall to the ODI in place of the injured Bruce Reid
Bruce Reid
Bruce Anthony Reid is an Australian cricketer and bowling coach of the Indian national cricket team on their 2003-04 tour to Australia....
, Waugh scored only 20 runs at 6.67.
He was part of the team that failed to make the semi-finals of the World Cup
1992 Cricket World Cup
-New Zealand:-Round Robin Stage:Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They...
, but did not play the entire tournament due to his poor form. After scoring two in the opening match against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
, he was dropped for three games, then played in the last four matches. His best effort was an unbeaten 66 from 39 balls against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
at Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
. On the tour of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
that followed, Waugh returned to the Test team and scored five and 56 in the First Test but followed it with four consecutive ducks.
A score of 112 at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in the Second Test of 1992–93 helped set up an Australian victory and a 1–0 lead in the Frank Worrell Trophy
Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
series against the West Indies. During that season's World Series Cup, he scored a half-century and took 5/24 as Australia successfully defended a small total.
ODI opener
After two unproductive Tests on the 1993 New Zealand tour, Waugh was dropped for the Third Test, this time in favour of the younger Damien MartynDamien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
. In the ODI series, Australian opted for a new strategy, and promoted Waugh to open the batting. He scored 60 and 57 in the first two matches to help set up an Australian victory, then scored his maiden ODI century, 108 at Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
. A score of 83 in the final match made him the leading batsman of the series with 308 runs at 61.60.
On the following tour of England, Waugh scored 174 against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and reclaimed his Test position from Martyn. He scored an ODI and a Test century in matches at Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
.
In the Second Test at Lord's—the spiritual home of cricket— Waugh started on six one the second morning scored quickly to reach 99. He was looking for his century during an over by Phil Tufnell
Phil Tufnell
Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, "Tuffers" as he was known played 42 Tests and 20 One Day International matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002...
. Tufnell was employing his customary defensive approach of pitching the ball outside the leg stump with a leg side field. The first ball was a half-volley and Waugh hit it straight from the middle of the bat. However, the ball hit the short leg fielder in the shins. Later in the over, another leg side ball hit his pads, rolled between his legs and onto the stumps, meaning that Waugh missed out on his century.
Tufnell dismissed him more than ten times in Test matches utilising this tactic. A century against New Zealand in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
brought Waugh's total to 987 Test runs for the calendar year.
Bribery claims
Starting 1994 well, Waugh was named Player of the Finals against South Africa in the World Series CupWorld Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
and he then scored a century against the same opponents in the drawn Third Test at Durban
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead
Kingsmead is a cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It operates under the sponsorship-based name of Sahara Stadium Kingsmead where Sahara is the trademark of a sponsor from the IT industry. Its stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area....
. Later in the year, Waugh claimed that Pakistan captain Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective...
had offered him (along with Tim May
Tim May
Timothy Brian Alexander May is a former cricketer for South Australia and Australia, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations...
and Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
) money to perform poorly during a match on the tour of Pakistan. Waugh's performances were beyond reproach: he scored three half-centuries in the Tests and an ODI century during the match in question.
In the First Test of 1994–95, Waugh hit his highest score yet, 140 against England at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. In the second innings, Australia was seeking quick runs to set up a declaration. Waugh's old sparring partner Tufnell was bowling defensive to a packed leg side field. Waugh attempted a reverse sweep for the first time in his career, attempting to collect runs in the sparsely patrolled off side, but only managed to hit the ball onto his stumps and was bowled for 15. Australia went on to win the Test, and Waugh contributed 71 and 29 in another win in Melbourne.
Waugh failed to pass 25 in the rain-affected draw in the Third Test at Sydney, before claiming career-best bowling figures of 5/40 in a losing team during the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. In the Fifth Test at the WACA, Waugh scored 88 in the first innings before returning as a runner
Runner (cricket)
In cricket, a runner is a team member who runs between the wickets for an injured batsman.When a runner is used, the batsman stands in position and plays shots as normal, but does not attempt to run between the wickets: the runner runs for him...
for the injured Craig McDermott
Craig McDermott
Craig John McDermott is a former Australian cricketer. He is currently the bowling coach for the Australian cricket team....
. He was run out in a mix-up with his brother while looking for the single that would have given Steve his century. This left his brother on 99 not out with Australia all out. Waugh contributed a further three wickets as Australia completed a 3–1 series win.
On the subsequent tour of the West Indies, Waugh scored what Paul Reiffel
Paul Reiffel
Paul Ronald Reiffel is a former Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests and 92 ODIs from 1992 to 1999. He was part of Australia's victorious 1999 World Cup team. After retirement he became a First Class cricket umpire.-Playing career:Reiffel's career best bowling figures of 6-71 came at...
described as a "nonchalantly [...] beautiful" 126 and combined with his brother for a 231-run partnership in the deciding Fourth Test at Jamaica
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
. This set up victory and Australia's first series win over the West Indies since 1975–76.
Waugh had a productive and consistent 1995–96 Australian summer, scoring two centuries and four half-centuries in six Tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He passed 50 in each Test. The series against Pakistan started amidst a new development in the bribery claims against Malik. A Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
inquiry cleared Malik and speculated that Waugh and the Australians had concocted the claims. At the start of the season, back injuries forced him to convert to bowling off-spin a during the season. During the First Test at Brisbane, Waugh scored 59 as Australia took an innings victory. He also took his first Test wicket as a spin bowler, that of Inzamam-Ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era...
. Waugh scored 88 in the Second Test win at Hobart, and the teams moved to Sydney where Australia sought a clean sweep. He had a poor Test record on his home ground, having accumulated only 126 runs in seven innings at the ground. Waugh's 116 from 206 balls was highlighted by his battle against the spinners Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specialised as a leg spin bowler. He was known for his hard-to-pick googly. He memorably trapped Graeme Hick in front with one during the 1992 World Cup final. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997...
and Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest off spin bowlers of all time.He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", which he employed to great effect during his career...
and was the mainstay of Australia's first innings of 257. Australia were set 247 for victory and were well placed at 2/117, with Waugh having scored 34 from only 46 deliveries. He was given out caught behind, although the ball only flicked his pad. Australia subsequently collapsed to be all out for 172, losing the Test. Despite the loss, Waugh had compiled 300 runs at 60.00 for the series.
The series against Sri Lanka had started in Perth with speculation regarding Waugh's four consecutive Test ducks. After four hours, Waugh reached his century and ended with 111 to end his run of ducks. On reaching his century, he gestured to a section of the crowd who had been heckling him. Australia won by an innings and Waugh then scored 61 in another innings victory in the Second Test at Melbourne. He was batting when off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
was repeatedly no-balled for throwing
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
by Darrell Hair
Darrell Hair
Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel...
, before being bowled by the spinner. Waugh scored 71 in the Third Test and ended with 255 runs at 63.75 in a series clean sweep.
During the triangular ODI tournament, Waugh was the man-of-the-match in the opening game against the West Indies at Adelaide Oval, scoring 53 and conceding only 26 runs in 10 overs. Later in the tournament, Waugh returned to the opening position after the omission of Michael Slater
Michael Slater
Michael Jonathon Slater is a former Australian cricketer who played in 74 Tests and 42 ODIs for the Australian cricket team from 1993 to 2001...
, a position he retained until his retirement. In his first match in the role, Waugh scored 130 from 144 balls against Sri Lanka at the WACA ground. At the time, the innings was the third-highest ODI score by an Australian, and the opening partnership of 189 with Taylor was the seventh-highest of all time. In the second final, Waugh made 73 in a 135-run partnership with Taylor and then in an unorthodox tactic, he opened the bowling with his off-spin, taking 1/31. Waugh ended the summer with 357 runs at 35.70 and took six wickets.
1996 World Cup
Waugh was one of the leading players at the 1996 Cricket World Cup1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
on the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Opening the batting, he scored 130 from 130 balls in Australia's opening game against Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
,. He combined in a 207-run partnership with his brother, the first double-century stand in World Cup history. He followed this up with 126 from 135 balls against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
at Bombay, frequently hitting through cover and midwicket. The innings made him the first player to score consecutive centuries in World Cup competition. Waugh and then dismissed Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
for 90 when he looked likely to win the game for India. Tendulkar charged down the pitch to Waugh's off spin, who responded by bowling a wide, resulting in the Indian's stumping. Waugh was named man of the match on both occasions. He made an unbeaten 76 against Zimbabwe in a nine-wicket win at Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
. He scored only 30 from 63 balls, but took 3/38 in the final group game against the West Indies at Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
, which Australia loss. Australia progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced New Zealand at Madras, he scored his third century (110) to guide a successful Australian run chase, again winning the man of the match. The innings took Waugh's tournament tally to 472 runs, the record for a single tournament. Although he managed only 0 and 12 in the semi-final and final, Waugh finished the tournament with 484 runs at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of 85.36, second only to Tendulkar. He contributed five wickets with the ball.
After a four-month break, Waugh returned to international duty with a short tour of the subcontinent. In two tournaments, he scored 207 runs at 25.88 in eight matches, scoring exactly 50 in two matches, and taking eight wickets at 36.00. The Australians then lost a one-off Test against Delhi at Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, with Waugh scoring 26 and 23. He took his best first-class career bowling figures of 6/68 in the tour match against the Indian Board President's XI at Patiala that preceded the Test.
Waugh had a consistent series despite failing to score a century in the five Tests against the West Indies during the 1996–97 home season, He scored four half-centuries, only failing to pass 50 in the Third Test, ending the series with 370 runs at 41.11. During the second innings of the Second Test at the SCG, Waugh was collided with batting partner Matthew Elliott, causing Elliott to be taken from the ground on a stretcher due to a knee injury. The Fifth Test in Perth marked the 44th time that the Waugh brothers had played together in Tests, surpassing the world record set by Ian
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation...
and Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
in the 1970s. In the limited overs format, Waugh was Australia's leading runscorer in the triangular ODI tournament with 358 runs at 59.66, making 102 against the West Indies at Brisbane. He had scored 1059 ODI runs in the 1996 calendar year. However, the team performance was poor and Australia missed the finals for the first time in 17 years. His batting partner Taylor particularly struggled, with only 143 runs at 17.87, attracting substantial media criticism.
The Australian summer was followed by a tour of South Africa. Waugh made 26 in the opening Test, which Australia won by an innings. In the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, Australia were skittled in the first innings for 108 and were forced to chase 270 for victory on a seaming wicket. Waugh came to the crease with Australia at 2/30 on the third afternoon. After a hard-fought afternoon, Australia reached the close of play at 3/154 with Waugh on 54. The next morning he continued to his century, before he was bowled for 116, leaving Australia at 6/258. Australia lost two more qickets, but stumbled to victory with two wickets in hand. The five and half hour innings is often regarded as his finest Test performance. Waugh ended the series with 209 runs at 41.80.
In the ODI series, he hit an unbeaten 115 to steer at a successful run chase in the second match at Port Elizabeth, hitting consecutive sixes to reach his century. He missed several matches due to injury—the first match due to a back problem and then two further matches when he split his hand webbing while failing to take a catch in the third match. Apart from the century, he scored only three further runs at ended with 118 runs at 59.00 for the series.
Waugh proceeded to England for his second Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
tour in 1997, and gained attention upon his arrival for questioning the hunger and toughness of the home team. He scored 131 runs at 43.66 as Australia lost all three ODIs, with a top-score of 95 in the final match at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
. In the First Test at Edgbaston, Waugh made 5 and 1 as Australia suffered a nine-wicket loss. The English media and public reminded Waugh of his pre-series comments about the English. To make matters worse, he was hospitalised for two days in the middle of the match with suspected appendicitis. The condition was eventually diagnosed as a severe viral infection. Waugh made only 209 runs at 20.90 for the series, with only one half-century. He hit two centuries in the tour matches, including one against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
at Lord's. In the Sixth Test, he was dismissed in both innings by his old sparring partner Tufnell, who he had criticised at the start of the series as a "fairly weak sort of player".
Waugh's performances in England had stirred questions about his position in the team. The scrutiny increased after Waugh failed to pass 20 in the First Test against New Zealand in Brisbane and dropped a catch. Waugh made a turnaround in the Second Test in Perth, taking a horizontal airborne catch of Chris Cairns at full stretch. He proceeded to score 86, including a lofted drive from Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori
Daniel Luca Vettori ONZM is a cricketer for the New Zealand cricket team. He is the eighth player in Test history to take 300 wickets and score 3,000 runs. He is the youngest player to have represented New Zealand in Test cricket, having made his debut in 1996–97 at the age of 18...
onto the roof of the Lillee-Marsh Stand. The ball travelled approximately 130 m, one of the longest sixes in history. Australia went on to win the match and Waugh made 81 in the Third Test and ended the series with 196 runs at 39.20, enough to save his position in the team.
Consecutive centuries
In the 1997–98 Test series against South Africa, Waugh finished the year with 0 and 1 against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test match at Melbourne. Waugh scored 100 in the New Year's Test at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
to set up an Australian victory. This came during a 116-run partnership with his brother, noted for a particularly menacing spell by Allan Donald
Allan Donald
Allan Anthony Donald is a former South African cricketer and one of their most successful pace bowlers.In his prime, he was one of the best fast bowlers ever seen in Test cricket, reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings in 1998 and peaked with a top ICC ranking of 895 points the next year, the...
with the second new ball, repeatedly hitting the twins. He batted out the entire fifth day for an unbeaten 115 in the Third Test at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
to deny the South Africans a victory, and win the series for Australia. Having scored 63 in the first innings, Waugh came the crease late on the fourth day with Australia at 2/17 and attempting to survive for a draw. He was dropped early and was 11 at stumps. Waugh continued to resist on the following day and brought up his century. Struck by a bouncer from Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
late on the final day, Waugh broke the stumps with his bat while walking away, so South Africa appealed for hit wicket, which was denied. South African skipper Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
later speared a stump
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
through the umpires' dressing room in anger at the decision. It was only the second time in his career that he had scored consecutive centuries. Waugh took satisfaction in the fact that his century was responsible for saving the Test. He finished the series with 279 runs at 69.75.
The 1997–98 Australian season marked a change in Waugh's ODI career. The Australian selectors changed their policy and picked Test and ODI teams separately, with specialists chosen accordingly in either form of the game. Waugh's captain and opening partner Taylor was dropped. Australia had trouble finding a suitable partner for Waugh, with Michael di Venuto
Michael Di Venuto
Michael James Di Venuto is a former Australian cricketer of Italian descent who played first-class cricket for Tasmanian Tigers and One Day Internationals for Australia. Although he has retired from representative cricket in Australia, he currently continues to play for Durham CCC. He has also...
, Tom Moody
Tom Moody
Thomas Masson Moody is a former Australian cricketer and coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team. Today he is the coach for the IPL team Kings XI Punjab...
and Stuart Law
Stuart Law
Stuart Grant Law OAM is an Australian-born cricketer. He is also the head coach of Bangladesh national cricket team, as from July, he succeeded fellow Aussie Jamie Siddons, who left shortly after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
all trialled as his opening partner. Despite the instability, Waugh compiled 104 to help Australia successfully chase a target against New Zealand in a round-robin match at the Adelaide Oval. He finished the series as Australia's leading run-scorer with 320 runs at 35.55, and took seven wickets at 25.43. During the finals series, new wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
was elevated to the opening position. The new combination got off to a poor start, with Waugh run out for three in a mix-up in the first final, but the pair went on to become Australia's long term opening pair. After losing all four group matches to South Africa, Australia won the finals series 2–1. The partnership with Gilchrist marked a shift in Waugh' role in ODIs. Waugh had previously been more aggressive while Taylor was his partner, but with the naturally aggressive Gilchrist as his partner, Waugh tended to anchor the innings.
Waugh's strong start to the year continued in two brief ODI series in New Zealand and India, in which he scored 374 runs at 41.56 respectively, with three half-centuries. Australia lost the first two Tests in India, with Waugh scoring 66 in the first innings in the First Test in Chennai but otherwise failing to pass 20. In the Third Test in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Waugh scored his highest Test score of 153 not out while suffering nausea, vomiting and fever. He was 58 at stumps on the second day before being taken ill and requiring overnight injections. It was the first time that he had batted without his helmet, instead using a floppy hat due to the heat and fever. He claimed that he could not recall much of the innings and was batting on "automatic pilot". Waugh was the only Australian to aggregate more than 200 runs for the series, finishing with 280 runs at 70.00. Australia played nine more ODIs for the year in Asia, spread across three series. Waugh scored 266 runs at 23.25. Waugh was also a part of the limited overs team that won a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia, losing the final to South Africa. The matches were not accredited by the ICC as ODIs.
Australia toured Pakistan in late 1998. In the First Test in Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Waugh scored a duck as Australia won by an innings, its first Test win in Pakistan in 39 years. His tour was disrupted by an appearance at a judicial hearing to give evidence relating to allegations of match-fixing he made against Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective...
. After making 42 and 43 in the high-scoring Second Test at Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Waugh scored 117 in the second innings of the Third Test at Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to end the series with 228 runs at 45.60.
Bribery scandal re-emerges
Waugh made starts in all four innings of the first two Ashes Tests in Australia in 1998–99, scoring 31, 27*, 36 and 17* as the first two matches were drawn and won respectively. In the build-up to the Third Test in Adelaide, news broke that in 1994–95 Waugh and Shane WarneShane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
had accepted money from an Indian bookmaker in exchange for pitch and weather information. The Australian Cricket Board has secretly fined both players for their actions. The ACB's suppression of the case and the actions of the two players were widely condemned.
Waugh was booed when he went out to bat in the first innings, and apparently rattled by the hostile reception, he batted scratchily for 36 minutes before being dismissed for seven. He regarded it as the most difficult day of his career. In the second innings, he scored an unbeaten 51 and was given a standing ovation by some parts of the crowd in contrast to other hostile sections. He took three catches in England' second innings as Australia won the match to retain the Ashes. Waugh scored 36 and 43 in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, which saw him pass 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year.
Waugh started 1999 as he did the previous year, with a century in the New Year's Test at the SCG. After being dropped before he had scored, Waugh scored 121 in five hours on the first day, sharing a partnership of 190 with his brother. He became the fifth Australian to take 100 Test catches when he caught Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
in the first innings from the bowling of Colin Miller
Colin Miller (cricketer)
Colin Reid Miller is a former Australian cricketer. Known for his ever-changing hair colour; he played with blue hair in a test match against the West Indies in 2001. His hair apparently made West Indies captain Courtney Walsh laugh.Miller began as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but changed to...
. Australia won the Test and Waugh ended the series with 393 runs at 56.14, placing him second in the batting averages. In the ODI series, he scored six consecutive half-centuries in a consistent run that augured well for the upcoming World Cup. His tally of 542 runs at 49.27 was the highest for the tournament. For the majority of the ODI tournament, Waugh acted as vice-captain to Warne as his brother Steve was sidelined by a hamstring strain.
1999 World Cup
Taylor retired after the Australian summer and Waugh's brother became the Test captain and the first assignment was a tour of the Caribbean. Waugh had a modest Test series, finishing with 202 runs at 25.25 as Australia retained the Frank Worrell Trophy 2–2. His best score was 67 in the first innings of Second Test, which was terminated when he was bowled by a ball that scooted along the ground. Speculation about his future began to simmer again. He then made 217 runs at 31.00 in the ODIs, Australia's second highest runscorer, before the team headed to England for the 1999 World Cup1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
.
Waugh started the tournament with a man-of-the-match 67 against Scotland at Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
as Australia unconvincingly won by four wickets in its first match. He then scored two and 41 as Australia lost ot New Zealand and Pakistan respectively, leaving them needing to avoid defeat in all of their remaining matches to win the World Cup. Waugh scored only 33 and three as Australia defeated Bangladesh and the West Indies to progress to the Super Six phase. Needing to win all their matches, Waugh top-scored with 83 against India at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in a win. He then scored 104 from 120 balls against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
at Lord's in another victory. In the process, he passed Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
's Australian record of 6,524 ODI career runs and became the first person to score four centuries in World Cup competition. He dedicated to his dying grandfather. He was then run out for five in the final Super Six match against South Africa. In the semi-final against same team, he was dismissed without scoring. Waugh participated in the final play of the match. With the scores tied in the last over of South Africa's run chase and with one wicket remaining, he fielded the ball as Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener is a South African cricketer, more specifically an all-rounder. He is known for his aggressive batting and his fast-medium swing bowling. He is nicknamed "Zulu" because of his fluency in that language. Following his exploits at the 1999 World Cup, he topped the ICC ODI Batting...
and Allan Donald
Allan Donald
Allan Anthony Donald is a former South African cricketer and one of their most successful pace bowlers.In his prime, he was one of the best fast bowlers ever seen in Test cricket, reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings in 1998 and peaked with a top ICC ranking of 895 points the next year, the...
attempted the winning run. The South Africans had a mix-up and a run out resulted in a tie. The Australians progressed to the final as they had won their previous meeting.
In the final against Pakistan at Lord's, he set the tone of the match with a sideways diving catch to dismiss Wajahatullah Wasti
Wajahatullah Wasti
Wajahatullah Wasti is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler....
. Pakistan were bowled out for 132. Waugh was 37 not out when Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
struck the winning runs. He finished the tournament with 375 runs at 41.67, making him Australia's second highest runscorer for the tournament.
In late 1999, Australia toured Sri Lanka. Waugh continued to perform in the ODIs, with 174 runs at 34.80, but his Test troubles continued with 29 runs at 7.25. In six Tests on the island nation, he had managed 90 runs at an average of 9.00. Australia proceeded to Zimbabwe, where Waugh scored 90 in a ten-wicket win. Had he reached his century, Waugh would have become the first player to record centuries against the eight other Test-playing nations. Waugh then scored 106 from 97 balls in the first ODI before scoring 54* in the second match. That ended his ODI year, with a total of 1468 runs at 44.48.
Close to omission and 100th Test match
He made a strong start to the 1999–2000 Australian summer, scoring 100 in the First Test against Pakistan in Brisbane, and then taking a reflex catch to dismiss Inzamam-Ul-HaqInzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era...
in the Second Test at Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, although he only scored five and a duck. However, after a duck in the Third Test in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, he gave a poor display in the First Test against India at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
which led to calls for his axing. After being dismissed for five in the first innings, he came out to bat in the second innings late on the third day, and was protected from the strike by Greg Blewett
Greg Blewett
Gregory Scott Blewett is a former Australian right handed batsman and a right arm medium fast bowler in cricket who represented the Australian national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches from 1995 to 2000....
, who refused to take singles hit into the outfield. After being jeered, he was eventually dismissed the next day for eight, after batting almost an hour. Waugh made only one and 25 in an interstate match following the Test but was retained for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. He managed a survivalist 41 in the first innings and an unbeaten 51 against the backdrop of a supportive crowd. He was then on a hat-trick in the second innings as Australia won the Test. Waugh was retained and made his 100th Test appearance in the 2000 New Year's Test in Sydney, where he scored 32 in his only innings.
Further poor displays in the early phase of the subsequent ODI tournament, including an innings of 3 from 30 balls, lead to repeated calls for his omission, until he scored a 116 at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
against India to lay the foundation for Australia's largest ever total on home soil of 5/329. Waugh ended the series with 305 tuns at 30.50 and was retained for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored a respectable 206 runs at 41.20 in the abbreviated form of the game including two half-centuries. He then scored an unbeaten 72 in the First Test at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
to set up a victory in a low-scoring game—only one other player passed 20. Waugh ended the series with 190 runs at 47.50 as Australia won 3–0. However, a run of seven ODIs during the 2000 Australian winter including two series against South Africa in which he tallied only 84 runs at 12.00 again saw further media speculation of impending demise.
Return to form
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. It was one of three ODI centuries he scored in that tournament, the others being a 112 and 102, both not out, against the West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively. In total he scored 540 runs in the series at an average of 108.00. As the leading run-scorer by far in the tournament, he was expected to be named Player of the Series, resulting in widespread crowd jeering when it was instead awarded to Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
. Waugh was also tipped to win the Allan Border Medal
Allan Border Medal
The Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
due to his prolific runscoring that year. However, despite leading the player votes with 32, the umpire and media thought otherwise, awarding Steve Waugh 37 votes to his 32, making Steve the winner 65–64.
The 2001 tour of India saw Australia's 16 Test winning streak come to an end when India claimed the series 2–1. Waugh scored 70 and 57 in the Third Test in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
to finish with 149 runs at 29.80 in a difficult series. Waugh continued his fine ODI form with another century, an unbeaten 133 against India in the second ODI, but was forced to return home after his finger was fractured by a Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
delivery.
Catching world record
During the 2001 Ashes series, Waugh topped the aggregates with 430 runs, scoring Test centuries at Lord's (108) and The Oval (120). He broke Mark TaylorMark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
's world record of 157 Test catches. Waugh was unable to maintain this form in the 2001–02 Australian summer: he totalled 269 (at 33.6) in six Tests against New Zealand and South Africa, without a century. Media scrutiny of his inability to combat short-pitched bowling increased and led to speculation about his long-term future in the team.
Nevertheless, he passed two major milestones: the Test at Adelaide marked the 100th Test in which both Waughs played, while the following game was his 100th consecutive Test match. Waugh and fellow ODI opener Adam Gilchrist both hit a batting slump during the VB series, with Waugh averaging 26 for the series and Gilchrist less. Frequent poor starts to the innings resulted in Australia's failure to qualify for the final of the tri-series for the first time in five years. Later in the year, the selectors reacted by dropping Steve and Mark Waugh, the oldest members of the team, in favour of younger players.
Final series
Maintaining his place in the Test team, Waugh toured South Africa in early 2002. Although he passed 15 in each of his innings, he managed only one half-century in his 169 runs at 33.8. In an attempt to regain form, he had a brief stint with Essex in the English county championship. In the subsequent three-Test series against Pakistan, played on neutral grounds in Sri Lanka and the UAE due to security reasons, he made only 80 runs at 20. Waugh retired from international cricket in late 2002 after being omitted for the upcoming Test series against England in favour of Darren LehmannDarren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
.
Waugh retired as Australia's highest run-scorer and century-maker (18) in ODI cricket, these records have since been broken by Ricky Ponting. His world record of 181 Test catches was broken by India's Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
in 2009.
Fielding
Waugh took a record 181 catches in Test matches, the second highest for a non wicket-keeper. He primarily fielded in the second slip position whilst a fast bowler was operating. He would field at silly point whilst a spin bowler was operating, and then at first slip for a spinner following the retirement of Mark TaylorMark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
. He would also field at mid-wicket or short mid-wicket when he was not required in a close catching position, and also during ODIs.
Involvement with bookmakers
In 1993, Waugh was a member of the Australian team competing in the Hong Kong Sixes; one of the Indian team was Test all-rounder Manoj PrabhakarManoj Prabhakar
Manoj Prabhakar is a former Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a lower-order batsman who also opened the innings sometimes for the Indian cricket team until his retirement in 1995–96. He was banned by the BCCI for his involvement in match fixing scandals...
. A report by the Central Bureau of Investigation
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
in 2000 implicated Prabhakar for acting as a conduit for bookmakers involved in illegal cricket betting, which resulted in Prabhakar receiving a five-year suspension from the game. The report also documented allegations by Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta that Prabhakar had introduced him to Waugh during the tournament and that Waugh was paid A$20,000 for insider information about the Australian team, pitch conditions and weather information.
When the allegations were made public by the report in November 2000, Waugh immediately pledged to co-operate with any inquiry. In January 2001, the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
's anti-corruption unit and the ACB's special investigator Greg Melick requested an interview with Waugh, which his management "presently declined". Waugh received legal advice to seek further clarification of the scope of the investigation. After condemnation from the ACB and media, and the possibility of losing his contract with the ACB, Waugh agreed to the interview. He was cleared in August 2001.
During the Singer World Series tournament, played in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
during September 1994, Waugh made a decision which came back to affect his career four years later. He was approached in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
by an Indian named "John
John (bookmaker)
"John" or "John the bookmaker" is the name given to an Indian bookmaker who in 1994–95 gave money to Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, in return for pitch and weather information. However, according to the players, they refused to divulge more strategic material, such as team...
", a bookmaker who asked him for general pitch and weather information as well as insider team information. In return, Waugh received US$4,000. The arrangement continued during the 1994–95 Australian summer, but he refused to divulge inside team information. Waugh introduced "John" to Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
.
On the 1994 tour of Pakistan, Waugh claimed that along with Warne and Tim May
Tim May
Timothy Brian Alexander May is a former cricketer for South Australia and Australia, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations...
, he was offered A$200,000 to underperform by Pakistan captain Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective...
. The offer was in regard to an ODI played at Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
on 22 October. Waugh says he rejected the bribe, and went on to score 121* from 134 deliveries in the match. The trio signed a statement in early 1995 stating their claims, which were forwarded to the ICC. In October 1995, a Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
inquiry led by former Pakistan Supreme Court judge Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
The Honourable Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim , TI, is a retired Pakistani Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Senior Advocate Supreme Court, and peace activist. Ebrahim also served as the interim Law Minister from 18 July 1993 till 19 October 1993, and interim Justice Minister 5...
ruled that the allegations, "are not worthy of any credence and must be rejected as unfounded". Further, he stated that they "appear to have been concocted".
However, during the 1998 tour of Pakistan, the issue was again raised, as the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
had initiated a separate judicial inquiry into general issues regarding the performance of the Pakistani team and allegations of illegal betting by past and former players. Waugh, along with his captain Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
and ACB CEO Malcolm Speed
Malcolm Speed
Malcolm Walter Speed is an Australian businessman and the former CEO of the International Cricket Council.Before he entered the world of cricket, he was a barrister in Melbourne. He was originally the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Cricket Board from 1997 until in 2001, he took up the...
, were summoned to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
by PCB CEO Majid Khan to appear before an inquiry led by Justice Malik Mohammed Qayyum.
In December 1998, prior to the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
Test match against England, news broke that Waugh and Warne were involved with "John" four years earlier and had been fined by the ACB. Both players were required to make public statements acknowledging that they had been, "naive and stupid" and reasserting that they were not involved in corruption. The players were widely condemned by the media and public, with Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
stating that he felt an, "intense feeling of disappointment". Former Test player Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
called for both players to be banned. In May 2000, the PCB banned Malik for life, after a recommendation from the Qayyum investigation, which concluded that Malik had attempted to bribe Waugh, Warne and May.
After cricket
In 2005 Waugh was acknowledged for his services to cricket when he was appointed a Member of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AM).
He now works as a sports journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, and has also worked for Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
, Channel Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
show Sportsworld
Sportsworld
Sportsworld was an Australian Sunday morning sports information program shown on Seven Network. The program was broadcast from 9.00am - 11.00am following Weekend Sunrise on a Sunday morning, from Seven's Martin Place streetfront studios in Sydney....
and as a Tour Guide for Australian Sports Tours.
He married on 9 April 2005 to Sydney Cup-winning thoroughbred trainer Kim Waugh
Kim Waugh
Kim Waugh is an Australian horse trainer.Her most notable achievement in Thoroughbred racing has been winning the Sydney Cup with the stayer Mahtoum.She is married to former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh....
(née Moore).