M.Waugh- The connoisseur’s delight Part-2

So in this part of the article I would continue to talk about the graceful player from Australia.

So, after a successful world cup in 96 he yet again showed his class in 97 at Port Elizabith on what can be described as a very difficult wicket to bat on. The Saffers had lost the first test at wanderers on a relatively flat deck so, under pressure the groundsmen at PE spiced up the wicket. Yes,the wicket was still slow but there was lots of grass on the wicket and it was uneven too which made sure that batting on that wicket against let it be genuine quicks like Donald, dibbly dobbly medium pacers like Cronje or wrist spinners like Bevan and Warne very difficult. As expected SA and Australia did not make huge scores in that match as Australia finally required 270 to win the match and series and one has to say that considering the nature of the pitch it looked like a daunting task but as I said that Mark had the uncanny ability to come good when the conditions were difficult and there was pressure on the team to perform. Anyhow in the second innings Donald bowled quick but Mark showed great temperament and exemplary technique to handle Donald and when he would bowl short he took heavy toll on him as well as on the left arm chinaman bowler Adams. The Saffers finally dismissed him but it was too late as Aussies went onto defeat South Africa. The Wisden in its rankings rightfully recognises it as one of the best innings of all time!

In 1997 itself I also remember his fabulous shot of Vettori against NZ at Perth. He just came down the wicket and hit him with effortless ease into the stands. Till now I have not seen a six which has gone further than that one and he did it with so much ease! In that year he also played a gusty knock at Adelaide against SA to save the match. Again not many associate Mark with gusty knocks but as I said that under pressure Mark was very good!

He also played a fine knock at Madras against Kumble and co. In that knock he used his footwork beautifully against Kumble, and Harbie.

The betting scandal did affect his batting as his form got worse still he showed glimpses of what he can do again on difficult tracks like at Auckland where the track turned a lot and there was uneven bounce. Vettori almost looked unplayable in that match but of of course Mark played a delightful knock of 80 odd and helped Aussies to gain the vital lead which proved decisive in a low scoring match. It was something to see batsmen struggling at one end but on the other side Mark was using his feet brilliantly to Vettori and taking him to the cleaners.

As the time went on his form became erratic. Yes, he still had his moments like in England in 2001 but he played his final test in 2002 at Sarjah against Pakistan. I still remember that final innings of Mark when he played two glorious cover drives of Saqlain only to lose his concentration and get out to Saqlain. It was something which had become a sort of pattern with regards to his batting late in his career. It was sad to see him play his final knock in front of empty stands at Sarjah but as they say all good things have to come to an end!

I surely have to touch a bit on his fielding skills as he was an outstanding fielder. As we know that he was a great slip fielder and some of the catches he took like that of Haq at Hobart were just too good to be true! I have also seen him field at places like deep mid wicket and look as good as he did in the inner field! He even fielded at point before Ponting came on to the scene and if I remember correctly he ran out Hooper with a brilliant direct hit in a WSC game in early 90’s from that position and add to it that run out of Donald in the 99 WC.

Finally I would say that he was one of the few players I would pay to watch. He was a true match winner which SURPRISINGLY MANY OF THEM FORGET WHEN THEY JUDGE A PLAYER.

M.Waugh- The connoisseur’s delight Part-1

The player that I am going to talking about made cricket look so easy that when he played it looked like poetry was written on cricket field, one felt like a Mozart symphony making you forget all your worries, just all ease and grace. Of course I am talking about Mark Waugh the elegance personified batsman form Australia who made everything look so easy.

To describe about Mark’s early career in domestic cricket one has to look at what sometimes his biggest admirer and sometimes his biggest critique and former Australian coach Bob Simpson had to say about the classy Australian player.

“When I first saw him he was a real tearaway with quite a lot of pace. In fact, in his first season in first class cricket, in 1985-86, I had him opening the bowling for New South Wales and he could send them down as quickly as anyone in the side”.

“Mark loved to bowl bouncers and would take on any batsman regardless of his reputation”.

It is very interesting to note that at the start of his career Mark was reasonably quick as a bowler and Simpson even said that he wanted Mark to develop as a batsman in Sheffield Shield cricket as he thought that he was too much of a leg side player so, as his elder twin got selected to play test cricket Mark had to be content with playing the odd onedayer for Australia and had to wait for his chance to make his test debut. It finally arrived in 1990 against England when he replaced his twin brother Steve in the team. It must have been really tough for Steve to be replaced by his younger twin. Anyhow Mark made his debut and what a debut it was! as he made a classy 139 against England and when one sees highlights of that innings one could clearly see those trademark flicks, drive, cuts that made Mark such a graceful player. He continued to show glimpses of what he could do when he made a majestic 116 against the likes of Marshall, Ambi, Walsh, and Patterson at Antigua. The main factor to consider in those two knocks of Mark was his ability to come good when the team was in trouble as both these two centuries came when the Aussies were in some trouble and it continued to be the hallmark of his entire career!

After a good start to his career he did go through a horror period in Lanka when he could not buy a run and there was immense pressure on him when the Windies met the Aussies in 92/93 to score runs and he did respond with a fine hundred at Sydney. He had a reasonable series with the bat though the Aussies had to watch the Windies retain the trophy, especially that heart wrenching defeat at Adelaide must have been hard to digest.

So he came to England more or less having established himself as a player and throughout that tour he was consistent as a player and who can forget his sublime knock of 138 at Trent Bridge which again came when the Aussies were in trouble but Mark with his trademark flicks, drives, Pulls, and cuts turned the match on its head and Aussies were able to win.

During that time there was an interesting incident of Mark bowling just bouncers in Pakistan in 94 as he was frustrated by the flatness of the wickets in Pakistan and the number of catches that were dropped by Australia in that series. As per reports he even got to one of the deliveries to get big on Sohail and it did hit Sohail flush on his face because of which he had to retire hurt. He did come back with stitches on his face and made a fine century but it reminded me of what Simpson said about his bowling during his early days!

In 95 when the Aussies went to the Caribbean a lot was expected from Waugh twins and both of them responded in a great fashion in that unforgettable test match at Jamaica. The series was locked at 1-1 and the Windies looked to be in charge of the final test as they had taken 3 early wickets. So, Ambi and Walsh were smelling blood when Steve joined his twin in the middle but just before lunch Mark launched into both of them with some brave pulls and cuts which changed the tone of the match as after the lunch session both the twins looked in very good touch as Mark would back away a bit and play those upper cuts as well as hook Ambi for boundaries. He also took heavy on Hooper by using his feet. He just played like a true gambler in this knock and with his twin brother changed the course of the match against a good bowling attack.

In the 96 WC he started the open the batting in O.D.I’S and made a great impact in that WC as he scored lots of runs. I still remember that classy knock at Madras when he looked all at ease and who forget those delightful shots like that pull shot of Javs when with effortless ease he hit him for a six or that slog sweep of Raju and even that slog sweep did not look like a slog, he even got Tendulkar stumped by bowling a wide delivery as he saw him come down the wicket and pushed it wide to get him stumped! It was indeed a great WC for him as he yet again proved in that WC he was a match winner!

The rest of the article will be continued in part-2