Name:

Waugh, Stephen R

Nickname:

Steve or Tuggah

Date of Birth:

02 Jun 1965

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Canterbury, Sydney

Career:

Test: 1985 - 2004
ODI: 1986 - 2002
First Class: 1984 - 2004

Teams:

NSW (Regional)
Australia (Country)

Steve Waugh - Crash Landing in Kandy

Steve Waugh: The Iceman who made sledging a vile tactic

Born : 2 June 1965 at Canterbury, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

It is the great paradox of Waugh's leadership: his team reinvented the game with its clean-hitting approach, yet repulsed many of its followers with its boorishness. Waugh created the tactic of using sledging to win games with "mental disintegration" of the opposition.

"When I played, captains took a more dominant role in ensuring the spirit of the game wasn't broken," says Brian Booth, an Australian captain of the 1960s. "This sledging, I just think it's a cancer . . . It's unnecessary. Our kids look up to our top players: they want to be like their heroes. That concerns me more than anything. I must confess I lose a bit of interest when they behave that way."

Making his Test debut at 20, Waugh flailed at all bowling, sent down bouncers at Viv Richards, and tasted Ashes defeat. Then he helped win a World Cup in 1987 and made 393 runs before losing his wicket in England in 1989 - but admitted that he did not understand his own game, and 18 months later lost his place to his minutes-younger twin, Mark. It was his catharsis.

He succeeded Mark Taylor as Test captain in 1999, and began with a torrid 2-2 draw in the Caribbean.

Waugh led the team to 41 victories in 57 matches, boasting a winning percentage of 72%. Under his leadership, Australia achieved a then-record 16 consecutive Test wins.

He was denied the opportunity to defend the 1999 World Cup title when he was unceremoniously axed from the one-day side in 2002, like Taylor before him, following Australia's poor showing in the 2001-02 VB Series. He railed against his omission, but even he couldn't reverse it.

He finally retired at the end of the 2003-04 series against India, bowing out with 80, his last shot an untypical heave to backward square leg.

Waugh played 168 Test matches, scoring 10,927 runs at an average of 51.06, including 32 centuries and 50 half-centuries. In ODIs, he amassed 7,569 runs in 325 matches. He was instrumental in Australia’s 1987 and 1999 Cricket World Cup victories.

Honors and Recognitions

• Named Australian of the Year in 2004
• Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010
• Awarded the Order of Australia
• Included in the National Trust of Australia’s list of 100 Living Australian Treasures  

After retiring, Waugh established the Steve Waugh Foundation, supporting children with rare diseases. He is also an accomplished author, with works like “Out of My Comfort Zone” offering insights into his cricketing journey.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter