Steve Waugh 32 Test Centuries

Lore & Background

Waugh was a part of the Australian team that won their first world title during the 1987 Cricket World Cup. As Australian captain from 1999 to 2004, he captained the team during fifteen of their record sixteen consecutive Test wins (the streak began under Mark Taylor), and led them to victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Waugh is considered the most successful Test captain in history with 41 victories and a winning ratio of 72%. He was the most capped Test cricket player in history, with 168 appearances, until Sachin Tendulkar of India broke this record in 2010. Waugh was ranked world number 1 in Test all-rounder rankings at times, but he did not hold the top spot in both Test and ODI cricket simultaneously for a sustained period; back issues eventually forced him to reduce his bowling. He is one of more than a dozen players to have scored more than 10,000 Test runs.

In Their Own Story

The Sydney Cricket Ground hummed with tension on a humid January afternoon. Waugh adjusted his white pads, the leather creaking softly against the silence of his focus. The crowd held its breath as he faced the final delivery of the innings. He did not smile; he simply tightened his grip on the handle. This was not just another run; it was the sealing of a legacy that would outlast the season.

Reader's Guide

Waugh made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 1984–85. He made his Test debut against India in the 1985–86 season. He scored his final Test century against England at The Oval in August 2001. He was named Australian of the Year in 2004 and inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in January 2010.

Did You Know?

• Waugh was born at Canterbury Hospital in Campsie, a suburb in South-Western Sydney, on 2 June 1965, four minutes before his twin brother Mark.
• He was named Australian of the Year in 2004 for his philanthropic work.
• Waugh was carried by his teammates in a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground at the end of his final Test match.
• In a fan poll conducted by the CA in 2017, he was named in the country's best Ashes XI in the last 40 years.