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Journalism of Courage
MELBOURNE, JANUARY 10: Australian captain Steve Waugh, on the eve of his 300th one-day international appearance, said on Wednesday he would keep playing as long as he felt a ‘buzz’ when he walked on the field. Waugh, 35, who took over the national captaincy from the retiring Mark Taylor in February, 1999, said the key leadership role had given him a push in the right direction.
‘‘Captaincy is probably a challenge I needed in one-day cricket,’’ Waugh told a news conference in Melbourne. ‘‘Once you have played a lot of one-day games, they sometimes can become a bit repetitive,’’ added Waugh, who made his one-day international debut against New Zealand in Melbourne on January 9, 1986, at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The veteran of Australia’s World Cup-winning sides of 1987 and 1999 will become only the third player to reach the 300-match milestone behind India’s Mohammad Azharuddin (334) and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (311). Waugh, fresh from Australia’s 5-0 Test sweep of the West Indies in Australia during which he made two centuries, will lead Australia against the West Indies in Melbourne on Thursday in the first match of the triangular series which also involves Zimbabwe.
While Australia have a policy of rotating their fast bowlers through one-day series, Waugh is reluctant to rest his weary bones because the captaincy ‘‘is a position of responsibility and is a huge honour. ‘‘If there is a good reason to rest I would but more than likely I would prefer to play most of the games if not all of them,’’ said Waugh, who has not ruled out continuing for the 2003 World Cup. ‘‘When I walk out there I still get a buzz and when I don’t get that buzz any more it will be definitely time to give it up.’’
