Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger Waugh, AO (born 2 June 1965) is a former Australian cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. Born in New South Wales, with whom he began his first class cricket career in 1984, he captained the Australian Test cricket team from 1999 to 2004, and was the most capped Test cricket player in history, with 168 appearances, until Sachin Tendulkar of India broke this record in 2010. Thought of in the early stages of his career as only a “moderately talented” player, at one point losing his Test place to his brother Mark, he went on to become one of the leading batsmen of his time. He is one of only 12 players to have scored over 10,000 Test runs, led Australia to fifteen of their record sixteen consecutive Test wins, and to victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. He was named Australian of the Year in 2004 for his philanthropic work, and inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in front of his home fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2010. Waugh has been included in a list of one hundred Australian Living Treasures by the National Trust of Australia, awarded the Order of Australia and the Australian Sports Medal. Known as an attacking and sometimes ruthlessly efficient captain, Waugh rebuffed criticism over “manipulation of the points system” during the Cricket World Cup to ensure his team’s progression, and was often critical of the media. Described in 2003 as a “cold-blooded, scientific” leader, cricket columnist of The Times Simon Barnes noted that “Waugh wants to defeat you personally.” At the end of his final Test match, Waugh was carried by his teammates in a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground.
ODI captain:
Waugh took over the captaincy of the one-day side in 199798, after captain Mark Taylor and vice-captain Ian Healy, the two oldest players in the team were dropped following Australia’s failure to qualify for the Australian tri-nations tournament in the 199697 season. Planning began for a more modern team for the 1999 Cricket World Cup, with the batting prowess of new wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist to prove critical. The new team made a difficult start, losing all four of its preliminary matches against South Africa as Michael di Venuto, Tom Moody and Stuart Law were all tried as Mark Waugh’s new opening partner. Waugh himself struggled, scoring only 12 runs, including three ducks in his first six innings before scoring 45* in the last round-robin match to ensure Australia qualified for the finals ahead of New Zealand.
Career best performances:
Batting Score
Test: 200
ODI: 120*
Honours:
On 3 February 2009 Steve Waugh became the 30th cricketer inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
Waugh was awarded the Australian Sports Medal on 14 July 2000.
He was awarded the Australian of the Year award in 2004, for his cricketing feats also for his work with charities, most noticeably, Udayan Home in Barrackpore, India, helping children suffering with leprosy.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of 2003, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), “for service to cricket as a leading player, and to the community, particularly through the Udayan children’s home”.
He is an Australian Living Treasure.
