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On Mark Waugh

The thing about Mark Waugh was the fact that he never looked tired. He had this air of nonchalance, a languid grace about him in whatever he did on the cricket field. He made the game look ridiculously simple.
He was probably the most freakish fielder in the entire game at his peak. Jonty they say was the best but he was forever hustling. Mark Waugh was always there and had an uncanny sense of where the ball would be. He made catching look ridiculously simple and I don't recall a single instance where I saw the ball fumble in his hands. I think all Indians will remember the catch he took to dismiss VVS Laxman in the second innings in the epic 2001 series where Laxman walked away absolutely stunned after a ferocious pull he had hit was pulled out of thin air at short mid wicket by Mark Waugh.
His numbers are not as good as they could be but some of the most extraordinary things he did on the field were never recorded. His ground fielding when he would swoop in on the ball and no matter how uneven the field would collect it in a single go without a fumble and seemingly no worry in the world, his penchant for pulling of catches when they had no right to be catches are things that cricket statistics(at least so far) have not captured.
While batting, at his best, he was a sight for the gods. Wristy and Sinuous, his flicks of the pads made him an UnAussie batsman if ever there was one. He was great on the on side but it was on the off side that he was decidedly more assured. His 138 on debut was played with such nervelessness and ease that it would put test veterans to shame. I also remember the three sublime hundreds he hit during the 1996 world cup. His batting made you doubt that Mark and Steve were brothers. Mark Waugh was as fluid as Steve was gritty.
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Nana said…
I totally agree with you Kappa, he had freakish reflexes on the field.I searched a lot to find some of his videos but somehow couldn't find many. On a funnier note, this same excuse pakis give to prove inzi >>> Sachin (his innings not recorded lol). That being said you will hardly find a "bad" Oz fielder being born athletic, most of them are/were live wires on field Taylor, Ponting, symonds to name a few, probably thats why he is underrated. Even during IPL you take out Oz players and you will get a slogfest of dull potbellied mediocre athletes. I wonder if Inzi was in Oz he could have played for them, i have never seen out of shape Oz cricketer in my life.
July 25, 2012 at 12:00 AM
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