For Australia’s cricket hero Steve Waugh his final day as a Test cricketer was as good as it gets.
Waugh thrilled his legions of fans in Australia and around the cricket world with a pugnacious innings of 80 to help his team see off the threat of series defeat against India in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old Test warrior repulsed the Indian attack and with the lure of a fairytale century in his 168th and last Test he was caught on the boundary to fall 20 runs short.
That touched off a prolonged standing ovation as he strode back to the team dressing room, his 18-year Test career over.
After Simon Katich (77) and Jason Gillespie (4) safely got Australia to the draw at 6.30pm (7.30am GMT), teammates chaired Waugh around the cricket ground in a lap of honour as he was feted by his adoring fans in the most emotional public send-off of a sportsman seen in that country.
”The whole game was an amazing experience for me. Every time I went near the ball or walked on the field there was massive applause and I can’t thank the spectators enough, it really did make it a special occasion for me,” Waugh said at his post-match conference.
”Getting a lap of honour around the ground on your teammates’ shoulders, that’s as good as it gets as a sportsperson … that is something I will never forget.”
Waugh said he had only a little sadness at playing his last match in the baggy green cap.
”It hasn’t really sunk in yet that it’s the last time I will be playing for Australia, but no doubt tomorrow morning I’ll realise this is it, but I don’t feel sad, I feel very happy,” Waugh said.
”I’ve been lucky, everything’s gone really well, even today was a great day for Australian cricket. To end the Test match with India placing guys on the boundary means that we got the ascendancy towards the end, so I’m proud of that fact.”
Waugh, the most successful Test captain in cricket history with 41 wins from 57 Tests, said he was proud of his team’s performance on the final day of a Test that had been dominated by India’s record first innings of 705 for seven declared.
”All day we were behind the eight-ball and it needed some special innings and Simon Katich threatened to do that, but it was a dangerous position all day if we lost one more wicket at times we would have been in trouble,” he said.
”It was a line-ball decision whether to go after the win. It was a massive score [434 to win]. We struggled for the runs at times and I was really proud of the blokes that we got so close.”
Asked why he was retiring even though he was still scoring runs for Australia, Waugh said: ” That’s the exact reason why I’m going. I can’t imagine how it can get any better than this.
”I look on last year when I was under a lot of pressure, things weren’t going that well, and if I bowed out last year it wouldn’t have been the ideal way to do it. It couldn’t be any better than today.
”This Australian side is a great side. They will continue to play very well without me, they’ll survive, and in some ways the legacy I leave them is I hope the side will continue on and do well.”
Waugh said coming back from adversity was the trait needed for longevity in the game. Waugh bowed out with 10 927 Test career runs at an average of 51,06. — Sapa-AFP