Letter of the Day

The art of 'Waugh'

I was 8 and this is my first memory of Steve Waugh. It was the 1987 World cup in India and heavily favored India took on Australia in Chepauk in the first of the two preliminary games between the two teams. The details escape me but after crumbling from a position of strength, India needed more than a run a ball in the final over. Kiran More and Manoj Prabhakar were at the crease with Maninder Singh in the pavilion. Prabhakar is run out and in walks Maninder Singh. Much to the delight of the then 'Madras' crowd, Maninder gets doubles of both the 3rd and the 4th ball. 2 balls, 2 runs to win and in the 5th ball of the over, Maninder plays all over the delivery by the Australian bowler to be bowled.

M. Singh bowled S. Waugh 4(3)

The original one-day bowler in the death, one of the earliest practitioners of the slower ball if not the inventor, the Iceman, Steve Waugh.

Metamorphosing from a one day bits and pieces cricketer to a clutch Test match batsman who thrives under pressure is a transformation that only this cricketer has undergone. If Steve Waugh stamped his authority on batsmanship in Jamaica against Curtly Ambrose and co. with a defiant double hundred, he added the final footnote to the legend by decimating South Africa in England in the World cup and added a sequel during the 5th Ashes test. The Ashes are a joke, has remained one throughout the 90's but nevertheless can occupy a corner in Waugh's cap full of feathers. The media has sung plenty of the paeans in Waugh's praise but what rankles me are the eulogies.

Sportsmen in the wane of their career often face this dilemma. In their hearts, they believe that they can still compete with the rest. In an individual sport, there is obviously more flexibility. A Pete Sampras can come back from the dead to win the US Open and prove his critics wrong with only his own reputation and credibility on the line. A Steve Waugh has to hope that the people who make the decisions have the same confidence that he has on his abilities. The validity of the Waugh's imminent exclusion is debatable. Critics in favor would argue age and..um.yeah age. Those against, have clutch performances, inspirational leadership and lack of suitable replacements going for them. But the object of this exercise is not to debate that.

The objective is to cry out in favor of Waugh staying put until the selectors tell him that he is finished. Steve Waugh has battled the odds stacked against him his entire cricketing career and this should be no different. In his heart, Steve Waugh knows he is still one of the best in the world and that's all that matters. The media perspective does not matter. The media is paid to have opinions. If Steve Waugh had not believed in any point in his cricketing career that the impossible was not only possible but also probable, he wouldn't be as revered as he is today. The same media that cried itself hoarse on his never say die attitude is asking him to throw in the towel now? Because that's what it will be. If Steve Waugh retires before he is sacked, he reneges on one of his unspoken promises, to try.

Peter Roebuck believes that " If he goes now it will be on his own terms and with the cheers of the crowds echoing in his ears." Sure, but along with that, he would lose one fan.

Sunil Srinivasan