Mark Edward Waugh AM also known as Mark Waugh is the twin brother of the famous Australian cricketer Steve Waugh. He is regarded as one of the most gifted and remarkable strokemakers as he could loft, pull, cut and drive the ball very effortlessly. Before playing international cricket he continued in the shadow of Steve for several seasons.
This former cricketer played his first Test match against England from 25 to 29 January 1991 at Adelaide. His final Test was against Pakistan from 19 to 22 October 2002 at Sharjah. In this period he participated in 128 Tests during which he scored 8029 runs at an average of 41.81 top scoring with 153 not out. These runs were inclusive of 20 centuries and 47 half centuries and he has hit 844 boundaries and 41 sixes. He has also taken 181 catches and 59 wickets.
Mark’s one day debut was against Pakistan on 11 December 1988 at Adelaide. Overall he could play in 236 one dayers and pile up 8500 runs which were comprised of 18 centuries and 50 half centuries top scoring with 173. He has taken 108 catches and has hit 57 sixes and 651 fours. As a bowler he could take 85 wickets at an average of 34.56 and economy rate 4.78. His last one dayer was on 3rd February 2002 at Perth versus South Africa.
Mark started his career as an all-rounder in the team of Australia however later concentrated only on batting and surged ahead to become an opener where he performed very well and progressed to become the leading one day scorer for his team. During the 1999 World Cup he became the only Australian to score four centuries and more than 1000 runs in World Cup competition. In the same tournament he also became the leading run scorer and century maker for Australia in one dayers.
The stylish strokeplay of Mark makes him comparable with Greg Chappell, Charlie Macartney and Victor Trumper. After he scored his debut Test century Bob Simpson the coach of the Australian team compared him with Archie Jackson. From the mid 1990s to the 21st century Mark regularly featured amongst the top 10 ranked batsmen in the world. Additionally Mark is looked upon as one of the best fielders as he is the holder of the world record for maximum catches in Tests by a non-wicketkeeper.
The 2001 Ashes series is remembered for the centuries scored by Mark at Lord’s and The Oval. He scored 430 runs in this series which was more than any other player in the series and overcame the world record of 157 catches of Mark Taylor.
Mark was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 as recognition of his services to cricket. Till now he has worked for Channel Seven show Sportsworld, Fox Sports and for the Sydney Morning Herald as a sports journalist.
Career Highlights
During Test debut Mark scored an impressive 138. In the 1996 World Cup tournament he scored 3 remarkable centuries as an opener. In 1995, while playing in the Frank Worrell Trophy he scored 126 runs.