England have triumphed in the one-day matches, but the Tests against the Australians are a more difficult proposition – especially with the thinking cricketer Steve Waugh in their ranks
CRICKET:Paul Weaver
STEVE and Mark Waugh are cricket’s unidentical twins. Together with Shane Warne, they are the stars of the formidable Australian party doing battle with the Enlish at the moment. The Three Ws. If you have never seen them before, don’t worry. Steve, the explorer, will have a fistful of Fodor; Mark, the gambler, whose idea of exploration is sampling a new branch of William Hill, will be clutching a betting slip.
The differences run deep, which is why you are unlikely to see the brothers socialising, or even sharing a hotel room. Steve’s face breaks into a practised smile. “We had nine months in the same womb and then 16 years in the same room. Why the hell would we want to room together now?” It is untrue to say they do not get on. They can often be found together in a group. But they are so utterly different people, with so little in common, that it comes as a surprise when Steve admits he sometimes has premonitions of Mark’s dismissals.
“In the Caribbean two years ago,” he recalls, “as Curtly [Ambrose] ran in to bowl, I just knew Mark would be caught behind that ball, which is exactly what happened. A few years before that, when I was in America and Mark was on tour in Sri Lanka, I had a dream that he made a pair, and so he did.”
If Warne, the blond tweak-master, is possibly the finest wrist-spinner the game has seen, and Mark, who somehow bats like a god while appearing as lazy as a seal in the sun, is the world’s most elegant batsman, Steve is likely to be England’s toughest opponent this summer. He is the most interesting – and interested – player on either side.
Less obviously gifted than Mark, Steve has nevertheless been the world’s leading batsman for the past two years, according to the Coopers and Lybrand ratings. In a long career he has a Test batting average of 50.63. Many great players have averaged fewer than 50 but the half-century mark entitles the owner to a fast-track to the Pantheon.
Since he was dropped in 1991, he has averaged over 80. Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, the best two players on the planet according to many judges, trail hopelessly in his prolific wake. Waugh is simply the world’s best batsman at not getting out.
It is strange, then, to hear him say: “I remember sitting down in Pakistan in 1988 and thinking `I’m not good enough for this. What am I doing here?’ I played 26 Tests without getting a hundred. I was under public scrutiny. Friends were making comments. It felt a big strain.”
What Waugh has done is remarkable. Rather like Graham Gooch he has sublimated massive natural talent in favour of a hard, pragmatic, almost risk-free game. The hook shot has been eschewed. So has much of the flamboyance which enriched the summer of 1989, when he made 177 at Leeds and 152 at Lord’s, both undefeated.
“I was a different player in those days. I played more shots and took risks I wouldn’t consider today. You learn as a player how to get the most out of your game. I realised I was not tight enough or consistent enough at this level. I just cut out my weak shots. I looked at players like Border and Boon, and Taylor at that time; looked at their temperaments and how they knew which balls to play and which to leave alone.
“I haven’t seen anyone take on the West Indies successfully with the hook. I play the shot once or twice a year, and that convinces me not to play it again. This is my living and I’m determined to maximise my potential. I do miss the old stuff. Now and again I get the feeling that I just want to go out there and throw the bat and see what happens. I still think I can give pleasure to the crowd. I’m still capable of upping the tempo and playing the occasional shot.”
It is easy to understand why Waugh is favourite to succeed Taylor as captain of his country. “Mark and I have known each other for 17 years and are good mates. We’ve played together at school level as well as for New South Wales and Australia. I would love to captain my country, although I wouldn’t appreciate all the bits and pieces that go with the job.
“I’d be the same sort of captain. Like Mark I believe in very aggressive, optimistic, never-say-die cricket. As for the bit of chatter that goes on out there, I think there is a real skill in getting under a batsman’s skin without abusing him. I also hate draws. It’s great that we’ve had results in our last 17 Tests.
“This summer, against England, may be much closer than people expect. I’ve a feeling England are about to become a pretty good side. They’ve got some talented individuals, although they still have to bond as a team. But there is only so long you can be beaten by one side before you stand up and give it a good shot, and I feel this might be the series for England.”
Waugh has always been a thinking cricketer, on and off the field. Those England players accused of insularity in Zimbabwe last year should take note. When in India for the World Cup, he visited Mother Teresa in Calcutta.
“I’m not particularly religious but it was an incredible experience. The way people dropped to their knees in tears before her told you what a special woman she was. It’s also vital to get completely away from cricket at times.”
In South Africa he went to see Nelson Mandela; in Zimbabwe he visited Victoria Falls. He has also met some legendary cricketers. “I loved talking to Bill O’Reilly; he told me I reminded him of Stan McCabe. I read Bill’s book, it helped me to remember my roots and gives me extra pride when I play for Australia.”
Pride is important to Waugh. It was his idea that the entire team should wear their green baggy caps during their first session in the field of each Test. “There’s been some great feedback from that. We all refuse to wear those floppy sunhats in the first session. I’ll probably have skin cancer when I’m 50 but it will have been worth it. I believe players should make an effort to bond as a team.”
Waugh has written four tour diaries, which he carries with him. “I use the diaries as reference on tour whenever I have a particular problem.” He also refers to his wife, Lynette. “She doesn’t give me any technical advice but is great when it comes to attitude.” They have a daughter of 10 months, Rosalie, and have fostered a child in Colombia.
Watching him stand up to Ambrose while scoring a double hundred in Jamaica; watching him curse and sledge and bat his way to the Player of the Series award in South Africa earlier this year, where he clearly won the respect of Allan Donald and Brian McMillan, it is curious to reflect that this is the quiet, thoughtful, sensitive one of the twins. Between them they have played 152 Tests, but are still only 31.
Steve generally agrees that he takes after his mother, Beverley, while Mark takes after their more extrovert father, Rodger, once a graceful tennis player. Rodger says: “I think they drag each other upwards. There has always been that bit of competition between them, even going back to when they were kids.”
Steve had played 41 times for Australia before Mark was given his chance. Until then Mark’s nickname had been “Afghan” – the forgotten Waugh. When Mark was finally selected, in the 1990-91 series against England, he visited his mother. Steve also went round.
“Well done, mate,” Steve said. “You are in.” “So who have they dropped?” asked Mark.
“Me, mate,” said Steve, whereupon their mother broke down in tears of grief and joy.