Steve Waugh, this is the name my friends, that is familiar to all the cricket fans around the globe. This gritty aussie has indeed redefined the art of batting in all circumstances and on all types of tracks ranging from the fast, bouncy, lively and green tracks of Australia, South Africa and the West Indies to the slow, dry and turning tracks of the sub-continent.
This man led the Australian team to the world cup triumph in 1999 and played one of the all time great innings in one day cricket when he scored 120 against the proteas at headingley to ensure that Australia do qualify for the semis and one of the most important fact regarding the aussie triumph ias that they were nearly down and out of the competition when they had lost to Pakistan in one of the league matches but it was because of the fighting nature of the elder Waugh that Australia emerged champions.
And if that was not enough he led his all conquering Australian team to 15 consecutive test wins, the record that I presume will be difficult for anyone to break, and in each of those test matches he had an important role to play as a batsman or as a captain.
Steve Waugh, as a batsman, had a small flaw of not getting a test hundred in India but this milestone was not also too far away as he scored his first test hundred in India at Kolkata, the innings that I reckon would have been thoroughly applauded all around the globe.
But all good things must come to an end and it certainly did for steve Waugh, as a captain. He came to India, naming this tour as the final frontier, with the hope of beating India in their own backyard, the feat that have been achieved only by a few. He started off well winning the first test in Mumbai and looked all set for winning the second test test at Kolkata but all his hopes were shattered by Laxman and the turbanator. And after that what happened in the series would be regarded by steve as only one blemish in his entire career when he hangs up his boots.