"The more you help people the more you grow as a person and feel good about yourself. And in return you're helping someone else. It's a win-win situation, unlike cricket where one should lose at the end of the day. You see kids with a tough lifestyle and yet by doing just one little thing, you can help make them happier. Many are in a bad way, or dying, but their inner strength and courage are incredible." -
Steve WaughAny individual who serves as an example of a positive behavior can be termed as a perfect role model. Many of my close friends will surely know that if I ever say the word role model it means none other than Steve Waugh. There are many reasons which attracts and impresses me. Any cricket fan would admit that he was the person who redefined Australian Cricket. He is the most experienced Test cricketer in history, making 168 appearances. He is known as "Tugga", and amongst the public as "Iceman" for his ability to remain calm and cool in high-pressure situations throughout his career. Ironically, that's the character I lack slightly. Though being an Indian, I have supported Australia just for the sake of Steve Waugh. With him in the one-day team, Australia won two World cups, and reached the finals of another. Under his captaincy, the Test side became a dominant force, and set the benchmarks in international cricket.
After Mark Taylor and Healy's retirement, the Australian Team was relatively new having only Waugh and Moody has their senior players. The new team struggled a lot. With Taylor retiring from the Test captaincy at the end of the 1998-99 season, Waugh inherited the captaincy, with his first assignment being a tour to the West Indies. Australia were expected to crush their opponents easily, who had been whitewashed 5-0 by South Africa immediately before the series. After easily winning the first Test, Waugh found himself in trouble on his first tour as captain. Embattled West Indies skipper Brian Lara and Jimmy Adams batted for the entire second day of the second Test, to set up a large innings victory, and in the third Test, Lara batted for the entire final day to secure an unlikely one-wicket victory. Under immense pressure and criticism due to the team's inability to defeat a team rated much lower, he was forced to axe Warne from the team for the final Test after his ineffective performances on his comeback from injury, leading to a threat of retirement. Despite, a third consecutive Lara century, the team managed to win the final Test to draw the series and retain the Frank Worrell Trophy. The one day series brought further trouble, as the Australians stumbled to a 2-2 series draw.
Australia then had an unconvincing start to their 1999 World Cup campaign. After a scratchy win against Scotland, Australia suffered defeats to New Zealand and Pakistan, meaning that they would have to win their two remaining group matches against Bangladesh and the West Indies, as well as all three Super Six matches to progress to the semi-finals. In all, this meant seven consecutive matches without defeat in order to win the World Cup. After defeating Bangladesh, Waugh and Michael Bevan were criticised for deliberate slow batting, in order to minimize damage to the West Indies and enhance their own chances of progressing to the semi-finals. Waugh testily retorted "We're not here to make friends, we're here to win the World Cup". However, in 2001, South Africa gave a sample of Waugh's own medicine when they deliberately focussed on achieving a target safely rather than winning the match. Australia was eliminated in the VB Series prelimnaries. Since South Africa batted slowly, this ensured minimal damage to New Zealand. Morever, since South Africa lost the match, New Zealand gained a point and got an edge over Australia. South Africa preferred New Zealand in finals than the Aussies. After Australia's elimination the first rounds, Steve Waugh was stripped off the ODI cap which he never claimed back.
Waugh saved his best for two must-win games against South Africa, scoring 120 against South Africa in the last game of the "Super Six" to ensure Australia's progression to the semi-final, and then 56 in the semi, which was tied. 2001 began with an attempt to conquer the "Final Frontier" - to defeat India on the subcontinent, where Australia had not won a series since 1970 under Bill Lawry. The campaign appeared to be on track, with the first Test in Mumbai being won easily by ten wickets, and India looking set for defeat in the second after conceding a lead of 274. Waugh choose to enforce the follow-on, and saw the sequence of 16 consecutive victories end after V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted for the entire fourth day's play and set up a large run chase after a partnership of 376 on a dusty spinning wicket. The Australians were unable to cope with the spin of Harbhajan Singh on the final day, becoming only the third team to lose a Test after enforcing the follow-on. Australia started the final Test well, but collapsed on the second morning after Waugh became only the sixth batsman to be given out handled the ball when he pushed a ball from Harbhajan away from the stumps after being hit on the pads. Harbhajan finished with 15 wickets in the match, which resulted in a two-wicket victory to the Indians, and the "Final Frontier" eluded Waugh.
Steve Waugh retired from international cricket after the fourth Test against India on 2- January 2004. Steve played a crucial, archetypically gritty final Test innings, compiling 80 - his highest-ever fourth innings score - on the final day to save Australia from their first home series defeat in 12 years. As he passed 50, ferries on Sydney Harbour took the rare gesture of sounding their horns in acknowledgement of the retiring champion. An all-time record number of fans and spectators had also turned out on the fifth day to bid farewell to Waugh at the SCG.
Waugh helps to raise funds for a leper children's colony, "Udayan", in Calcutta. He reportedly also encouraged his players to learn about and enjoy the countries they visited and played in, presumably partly to reduce the siege mentality of some previous Australian teams playing in south Asia. Waugh is a keen photographer and has produced several "tour diaries" which feature his images. In his latter years as a cricketer, he has written for a number of newspapers. He insists on writing them himself rather than with the assistance of professional journalists. Steve Waugh was recently stated in an article as commenting: "If you don't help people who are in need, it's just not cricket". He is also a prolific author and his ever expanding series of tour diaries and thoughts provide an insight into the mind of Steve Waugh.
When Steve Waugh first saw the streets of downtown Mumbai, he was amazed. Even for a kid born and raised in Sydney's rough and tumble west, nothing could prepare him for the confronting sights of beggars, people without limbs and children, all scavenging for money.
Nothing affected him more deeply, though, than to see young children sleeping on street corners with rats running over them. He could not get used to the smell of the city, the atrocities or the scorned left to die. For years during Australian tours he felt overwhelmed and helpless. The opportunity, however, to meet with noted humanitarian Mother Teresa added a fresh perspective. Here was a tiny, frail lady, bent over with arthritis, slowly shuffling around, oblivious to her own ills and championing the welfare of others. "There was a calming aura about her," Waugh said. "When you were in her presence you definitely felt more serene and peaceful."
Of all the celebrity encounters he had enjoyed, from the Queen to Nelson Mandela and Sir Elton John, this was by far the most important and powerful. Just as thousands of others had gained strength from shaking Mother Teresa's hand and receiving her saintly blessings, so did Waugh. Now, in places like India where cricketers are feted like movie stars, Waugh has a godlike status and not only for his deeds with cricket's world champions. In Calcutta, for example, Waugh is a hero for the masses as patron of the Udayan Children's Fund, which is assisting deprived children with leprosy.
One of Waugh's dreams is for an entire new wing to be built at Udayan, allowing 250 girls to be housed, counselled and educated so they, too, have a chance of a healthier and more rewarding life. Already there is a boy's wing, but land is scarce and very costly. Achievements on the sporting field are great, but after all it's only a game. When you help people out, realistically it's more important.
India has got a lot of rich CEO's. Making billions through outsourcing business, off shoring, IT, ITES, BPO etc. Lots of people have got a lot of money. Maybe they should take the cue from Steve's words.
-Krishna Kumar. S
Source: Statistics from Cricinfo
