Steven "Iceman" Waugh

Steve Waugh was the man who transformed the Australian cricket team from one of the strongest in the world to the most dominating unit in cricket history. I always believe that statistics are not the only criteria to decide a player’s calibre, but it matters the most for some. With 18,496 international runs & 287 international wickets, one clearly gets an idea about Steve Waugh’s calibre. But for me, he was much much more than what stats show. He was not only a prolific run scorer and useful medium pacer for his side, but also a courageous leader who brought glory to the Aussies on numerous occassions.

As the title suggests, Steve Waugh was as cool as a cucumber and never got bogged down, irrespective of the situation. In his early days, he lost his test spot to his brother Mark, but never lost his self-confidence and made a blazing comeback thereafter. Now, we could proudly say that he may not have been one of the greatest batsman in the world, but surely one of the best leaders ever.

One thing that stands out about Steve Waugh was his ability to understand not only the strengths and weaknesses of his opposition, but also the strengths and weaknesses of his own team. Waugh was part of two World Cup winning Aussie teams in 1987 and 1999, and was the captain the second time around as well. He is the second most-capped test cricketer in history with 168 tests, second only to Sachin Tendulkar. Steve Waugh scored 32 test centuries; a landmark to prove his greatness.

Waugh was a decent medium pacer and a technically sound batsman, who started his career at 20 as an all-rounder. People say that in 80′s and 90′s there were four great allrounders (Imran, Hadlee, Kapil & Botham), but they forget that Steve Waugh was also a part of that group. The reason for that may be the back injury which forced him to give up bowling. A quality which he had similar to Imran Khan was that he not only performed himself, but also made his team world beaters, and made them believe that a game is not lost till the last ball. Making the opponent fight for each victory, even if it looked an easy task, was his special talent. A great cricketer, a good human being and an incredible fighter.

His captaincy skills and typical Aussie attitude clearly overshadowed his technical stats as a batsman or as an effective bowler. Like almost every other Aussie cricketer, Steve too possessed that typical Aussie attitude, but somehow managed to be different in that respect too, a reason being the calmness which only he could blend into his personality.

For him, winning a war did not imply killing his opponent ruthlessly, but defeating them respectfully.

In a crisis he was the best batsman of his era, who mastered the worst pitches and performed brilliantly in all conditions. He possessed the temperament of an iceberg and had more mental tenacity than any player of his age.

His century against SA in the 1999 World Cup is one of the best innings I have ever watched in my entire life. Many would remember his famous words to Herschelle Gibbs when the latter dropped him: “Mate you have just dropped the World Cup.” With Steve Waugh at the crease, you could never say that the match is over, no matter how many runs were required to win. He was an expert at shepherding the tail, a skill not many cricketers are good at. The only other cricketer that comes to mind is probably VVS Laxman.

His efforts on the field made him a hero in the cricket world, & his contribution to the society made him an even bigger hero off the field when he started his very own Steve Waugh Foundation for the treatment and cure of rare diseases among children. Hats off to Steve Waugh! Truly a legend of the game.