Steve Waugh

Stephen Rodger Waugh is a former Australian cricketer who captained the Australian Test cricket team. He is the most capped Test player in history with 168 appearances. He is a right handed batsman. He is well known for his cool of mind during batting. He is also an occasional right arm medium pace bowler and quiet successful in taking wickets.

In 1984-85 Waugh made his debut in first class cricket for New South Wales and batted at number nine and bowled medium pace bowling. In the same season in the Sheffield Shield final he could score 71 runs while batting at the tail end to lead the team to victory.

In the 1985-86 season while playing against India he made his Test debut. His first test series started off disappointingly but soon he improved on his performance. In the second Test at Christchurch he had a good all round match where he scored 74 runs and took 4 wickets for 56 runs however for the entire series he scored only 86 runs at a batting average of just 17.40.

In the initial part of his international career Waugh was an unrestrained and natural strokeplayer who drove off his back foot. Although he could score quickly at the Test level he was inconsistent. The turning point of Waugh’s career was the 1987 World Cup that was played on the Indian subcontinent. In the first match against India during the closing overs Waugh bowled tightly and dismissed Maninder Singh in the last over due to Australia won by a single run.

Waugh started the 1995–96 Australian season ranked as the world’s leading Test batsman. He made an unbeaten 112 as Australia defeated Pakistan in the First Test at Brisbane and scored 200 runs at 50.00 for the series. During the 1996 Cricket World Cup on the subcontinent, Waugh scored 82 and featured in a 207run partnership with his brother Mark Waugh during Australia’s first match against Kenya: an Australian record partnership at the World Cup.

Waugh took over the captaincy of the one day side in 1997–98. Planning began for a more modern team for the 1999 Cricket World Cup, with new wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist chosen primarily on his batting skill. Australia then had a slow start to the 1999 World Cup in England. Somehow they managed to get through to the super six. After defeating Bangladesh the team made it to the semi finals. Having beaten India and Zimbabwe in their first two Super Six matches, Waugh saved his best for two must win games against South Africa: he scored an unbeaten 120 against South Africa in the "Super Six" phase and 56 in the semifinal. The latter match was tied and Australia progressed to the final, where they crushed Pakistan by eight wickets to win the trophy.

In 2001 Waugh's team regrouped and won a 4–1 series victory over England during the Ashes tour. In his final Test innings on English soil at The Oval, he combined with Brother Mark in a partnership of 197, and scored 157 not out. Waugh scored 321 runs at 107.00 during the series.

The 2003 Cricket World Cup came and Waugh's desire to return for a fifth World Cup was denied. A chance for a last minute reprieve came when all rounder Shane Watson was injured before the tournament. This was the last world cup of Waugh’s career which he was once again victorious. The Australian winter of 2003 saw Waugh score consecutive centuries of 100 and 156 as Australia took a 2–0 sweep over Bangladesh with innings victories. After scoring 78 and 61 in the two Tests against Zimbabwe, Waugh announced that the 2003–04 series against India would be his last.
In 2004 he officially retired from international cricket. He is regarded as one of the most successful cricketers in the history of cricket.

Major achievements

He was awarded the Australian Sports Medal on 14 July 2000
He was awarded the Australian of the Year award in 2004, for his cricketing feats also for his work with charities, most noticably, Udayan Home in Barrackpore, India, helping children suffring with leprosy.