Waugh rises from the ashes

Australia8217;s Steve Waugh hit the last ball of the day for four to complete a brilliant century after becoming only the third player to p...

Australia8217;s Steve Waugh hit the last ball of the day for four to complete a brilliant century after becoming only the third player to pass 10,000 Test runs on an emotional second day of the final Ashes match against England on Friday.

His unbeaten 102 was his 29th Test century, equalling the late Don Bradman8217;s Australian record, and helped the home side reach stumps at 237 for five.

They are still 125 behind England8217;s first innings total of 362 but far better off than when skipper Waugh came to the crease with his side on the ropes at 45-3.

In one of the most amazing finishes to a day8217;s cricket, Waugh smashed spinner Richard Dawson through extra cover to go from 98 to 102 and whip the capacity Sydney Cricket Ground into a frenzy.

8220;I don8217;t think it gets any better than that, scoring a hundred off the last ball in front of your home crowd and playing the way I did today,8221; Waugh said. 8220;I felt it was my day and it was just meant to happen. 8220;The adrenaline was almost overwhelming and overpowering but I felt I had to get the hundred tonight.8221;

Australia8217;s cricket-loving Prime Minister John Howard was among the spectators at the ground to witness Waugh8217;s achievement.

8220;It was a fairytale day for Australian cricket, for Steve and for his family,8221; Howard said.

Story continues below this ad

nbsp;

Test Cricket8217;s Top 10

nbsp;

Sunil Gavaskar Ind 8212; 34 038; 125
Sachin Tendulkar Ind 8212; 31 038; 105
Don Bradman Aus 8212; 29 038; 52
Steve Waugh Aus 8212; 29 038; 156
Allan Border Aus 8212; 27 038; 156
Gary Sobers WI 8212; 26 038; 93
Greg Chappell Aus 8212; 24 038; 87
Viv Richards WI 8212; 24 038; 121
Javed Miandad Pak 8212; 23 038; 124
Wally Hammond Eng 8212; 22 038; 85

Tabulate as Centuries 038; Tests Played

8220;I congratulated him personally on a magnificent innings and I know that millions of cricket lovers around Australia would share my feelings.8221;

Waugh8217;s last-ball boundary meant he equalled Bradman8217;s Australian centuries record that had stood since 1948 and put him joint third on the on the all-comers8217; list headed by Indians Sunil Gavaskar 34 and Sachin Tendulkar 31. Bradman8217;s son John was also among the first to pay tribute to Waugh.

8220;My dad watched Steve8217;s career with great admiration and I know he would want me to congratulate him on this wonderful achievement,8221; he said in a statement.

Story continues below this ad

nbsp;

SCOREBOARD

nbsp;

England 1st Innings: M.Trescothick c Gilchrist b Bichel 19; M.Vaughan c Gilchrist b Lee 0; M.Butcher b Lee 124; N.Hussain c Gilchrist b Gillespie 75; R.Key lbw Waugh 3; J.Crawley not out 35; A.Stewart b Bichel 71; R.Dawson c Gilchrist b Bichel 2; A.Caddick b MacGill 7; M.Hoggard st Gilchrist b MacGill 0; S.Harmison run out 4; Extras b6, lb3, nb13: 22; Total: 362
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-32, 3-198, 4-210, 5-240, 6-332, 7-337, 8-348, 9-350
Bowling: Gillespie 27-10-62-1, Lee 31-9-97-2, Bichel 21-5-86-3, MacGill 44-8-106-2, Waugh 4-3-2-1.

Australia 1st Innings: J.Langer c Hoggard b Caddick 25; M.Hayden lbw Caddick 15; R.Ponting c Stewart b Caddick 7; D.Martyn c Caddick b Harmison 26; S.Waugh batting 102; M.Love c Trescothick b Harmison 0; A.Gilchrist batting 45; Extras b2, lb5, w2, nb8: 17; Total : for 5 wkts 237
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-45, 3-56, 4-146, 5-150
Bowling: Hoggard 13-2-65-0, Caddick 16-3-88-3, Harmison 13-4-44-2, Dawson 9-0-33-0

When he reached 69, Waugh, who is already making his world record-equalling 156th Test appearance, joined fellow Australian Allan Border 11,174 and former Indian captain Gavaskar 10,122 as the only players in Test history to reach 10,000 runs. 8220;People have been writing him off but today he showed what he8217;s been showing for 17 years and he8217;s a cricketing legend in my opinion,8221; England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart said. 8220;To do it on his home ground was perfect. The script was written for him.8221;

Waugh, who was left out of Australia8217;s side for the upcoming World Cup, produced possibly the finest innings of his 17-year test career to silence his critics once and for all, smashing 18 fours in an innings spanning 176 minutes and 130 balls. Reuters