Aussie skipper enjoying life at the top (15 March 1999)

15 March 1999

Aussie skipper enjoying life at the top

Tym Glaser

Next to the Prime Minister, the captain of the Australian cricket team is probably the most scrutinised national figure in the island continent.

That onerous responsibility has now settled upon the shoulders of 33-year-old New South Welshman Steve Waugh.

Waugh made his Test debut in 1985 against India at the MCG; a time when Australian cricket was at a nadir. Greats Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh and Dennis Lillee had retired the previous southern summer and the side was still feeling the after-effects of the Packer cricket split.

Along with the likes of Allan Border, David Boon and Geoff Marsh, 'Tugga' Waugh became a mainstay of a side that worked its way back to respectability in the late '80s.

Now, 10 years on, Waugh, the remaining survivor of that vanguard movement, leads the top Test side in the world. He boasts an average of more than 50 and is one of the best batsmen of this era.

One on One caught up with Waugh before the second Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park.

Q: What would you rate as your career highlights to date?

Steve Waugh: Winning the 1987 World Cup, the 1989 Ashes series and the tour to the Caribbean in 1995. They are my three biggest moments. Obviously, getting 200 here has got to be right up there as well.

Q: What are your interests outside of cricket?

SW: I like photography, I like writing. I do some charity work for leprosy (in India) and I am building a home there for girls - a rehabilitation centre. That's a big interest for me. I also have a daughter and that takes up a lot of my time.

Q: What sports do you play other than cricket?

SW: I played Australian schoolboys soccer. I play a lot of tennis and I love watching any sport, particularly when Australia are playing.

Q: Who would you say is the best Test bowler you have faced?

SW: That's very hard to say. (Curtly) Ambrose or (Wasim) Akram, Richard Hadlee. Obviously, Malcolm Marshall would be up there but I caught him at the end of his career.

Q: What do you think created the turnaround in Australian cricket? From being in the doldrums in the mid-80s to being on top now?

SW: I think the selectors identified players who were going to play for Australia and had the right attitude. Players that wanted to be there and wanted to do the tough work; that was back in about '85. Winning the World Cup (1987) was a turnaround because we believed we could beat the best teams in the world. There's no substitute for hard work and believing in yourself and a good coaching set up. Bob Simpson (former Australian coach) has to take a lot of credit for that.

Q: You are widely regarded as one of the three best batsmen in the world with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, do you rate yourself in the top three?

SW: I think for consistency and getting runs in tough situations, I'd have to say yes but there's always different opinions and I definitely don't play the game to be rated No. 1. I really want to be consistent for myself and my team and over the past four or five years I'd have to say I deserve to be up there.

Q: What is your relationship like with Lara and Tendulkar?

SW: I get along with Brian quite well. I've got to know him over the past seven or eight years or so and respect him as a player. He plays it tough out on the field. Tendulkar likewise. To be the best at whatever you are doing you have to have that little extra determination and you play it hard out there. You are probably not going to win that many friends because you are determined to be at the top.

Q: If you could pick one player to bat for your life, who would it be?

SW: Allan Border. Even though he's not playing now.

Q: How much longer do you plan to keep going in the game?

SW: I really don't know. You really have to just look to the next game. You can't look too far ahead and take anything for granted, particularly in the Australian side where we have a lot of depth and you have to look at the job at hand. If you don't do well, somebody is going to jump into your position.

Q: Which team do you enjoy beating the most?

SW: I enjoy beating any team but I would say beating the West Indies is the sweetest victory for us. Particularly for me personally because I was there when they were the dominant force and we were basically making up the numbers in my first couple of Tests against those guys and we didn't expect to win. To turn that around has been great for me. I respected them so much.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)