Test of Will by Glenn McGrath

Author:Glenn McGrath
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2015-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

MARK WAUGH

I can remember my first cricket match when I was seven, probably because I got a duck that day. My first really strong memory of watching Test cricket is the Lillee/Thomson/ Walters/Chappell era. I can recall watching Doug Walters hit Bob Willis for six at the WACA off the last ball of the day to bring up his hundred. I liked the way Walters played.

—’JUNIOR’ ON CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Full name: Mark Edward Waugh

Nickname: Junior

Birthdate: 2 June 1965

Birthplace: Canterbury, New South Wales

Major teams: Australia, New South Wales, Essex

Role: Batsman

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bowling style: Right-arm medium, right-arm off break

Cricket relatives: Brothers Steve Waugh (NSW & Australia), Dean Waugh (NSW & SA), Daniel Waugh (NSW under-17s)

TESTS: 128

Test debut: v England at Adelaide, 25–29 January 1991

Last Test: v Pakistan at Sharjah, 19–22 October 2002

Test runs: 8029

Highest score: 153*

Average: 41.81

Strike rate: 52.27

Test centuries: 20

Catches: 181

Test wickets: 59

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS: 244

Runs: 8500

Highest score: 173

Average: 39.35

Strike rate: 76.90

ODI centuries: 18

Catches: 108

ODI wickets: 85

I rank Junior as perhaps the most naturally gifted batsman I ever saw. Through his flicks, cuts and drives he added an artistic expression to the game, and as a No. 11 who treated every run like a lottery win, I was envious of the way in which Mark Waugh did it all so easily. He was a very elegant player and one who was blessed with all of the shots, but what I’ve realised I admired most about Mark was he kept it all very simple—when he was out he’d fallen to either a good ball or poor shot. With Junior it was never a case of his being out of form or failing because of mental issues, he was a batsman who just played the game and you could tell he loved every moment. He was pure class and I think it says a lot about his approach to the game that when he was once asked to name the batsmen he enjoyed watching, he answered Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist—as batsmen they were brothers to different mothers.

Junior was made to wait so long for his baggy green cap he was nicknamed ‘Afghan’, as in the so-called ‘forgotten war’ in the 1980s. However, he declared his intent as a batsman during his Test debut against England at Adelaide Oval in 1991 when he was selected at 25 years of age to replace his older brother Steve (older by four minutes). He was sent to the crease with Australia lurching at 4–104 and he peeled off an elegant century, becoming the 15th Aussie player to score a century upon debut. Later on, Junior would reveal he went into the game unaware of the pressure involved in Test cricket and that was what probably allowed for him to ‘breathe’. He finished at stumps on what was described as a ‘glorious’ 116 not out. I think Junior summed up his confidence when, after Allan Border congratulated him on a job well done when he returned to the dressing room, Junior said, ‘You should have picked me years ago.

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