Skip to main content

WAUGH SO SURE SKIPPER PONTING CAN BE THE BEST

HISTORY has always warned against displays of premature triumphalism, which is why Steve Waugh, a man who knows a little about these things, suggested that while Australia dominated much of the drawn first npower Test, there is still work left to do if the Ashes are to be retained.
But former Australian captain Waugh, the man who handed over control in early 2004, believes that while England’s tail proved too devilishly tricky to grab who came, saw and was conquered in 2005.

And Waugh says his time will come sooner or later. Ponting has taken time to mature into the role of skipper, but Waugh insists that there are two factors that have sharpened him from the rather blunt blade that failed to cut the mustard four years ago – namely fatherhood and then the moulding of his own side.

The birth of Waugh’s own daughter 13 years ago proved the catalyst that gave the former skipper the perspective needed to start improving as a captain.

“Becoming a parent was the key for me,” he said.

“It gave me the ability to stop thinking about cricket 24-7 and that’s important.

“It changes a lot of things in your life and maybe that was what changed Ricky’s captaincy, becoming a father.

“You see things from a different perspective. It’s not so much about yourself anymore. You have to look after your own family and your kids and you see things differently.”

A year after the birth of his first daughter, Waugh became involved with an orphanage in Calcutta called Udayan that helped girls with leprosy. And following the birth of Ponting’s fi rst daughter, Emmy Charlotte in July last year, Waugh detected a similar shift in Ponting’s focus. 

“It may be because it also coincided with the fact that he has had to build a team from some new guys.

“In some ways he has probably appreciated having some young guys in there who he can infl uence. It is easier when you have a team you  can mould, rather than experienced players.”

Waugh was not at Cardiff yesterday and instead was saddle sore having completed 40 miles on a bicycle supporting Daley Thompson’s Laureus knife crime initiative.

Like Ponting, Waugh endured a signifi cant amount of criticism during his fi ve-year stint as captain. He maintained it is something that goes with the territory.

“Everyone in a position of leadership is going to get criticism,” he said.

“People will always have opinions. But you just have to look in the mirror and work out whether you are doing the best job you could possibly be doing. Most importantly, you have to realise you are never going to please everyone.

“When you are fresh you take all the criticism home but the longer you play the easier it gets. As a young kid you take everything on board and you think the world is against you but, later on, while you are still under pressure, you have a better perspective.” 

Popular posts from this blog

Love, Sex and Adultery in Ancient Egypt

Women had more freedom than their counter parts in Mesopotamia, for instance, but never as much as Paris Hilton and pals. Egyptians married young, very young indeed, and, in royal families, between themselves. Childbirth was dangerous but encouraged in ancient Egypt - prosperity was a goal for everyone and that included having a big family. The love and sex lives of the Egyptians were as complicated as they are today. Turin's famous Erotic Papyrus assures us that the Egyptians were sexually adventurous, with a penchant for naked belly-dancing, and collections of love poetry from the Amarna era reveal that they were also big romantics. According to Angelina Jolie in recent news “fidelity is not essential in her relationship with Brad Pitt”, but adultery is one of the oldest reasons for divorce, death and depression - the 3 D’s - and in ancient Egypt as in most of the modern world, women often still file for divorce on the grounds of adulte...

Sample of Rajasthan architecture

GLITTERING LIKE A JEWEL: Sri Sankeshwar Paraswanath temple. Photos: S. Siva Saravanan Sri Sankeshwar Paraswanath temple, in R. S. Puram, Coimbatore, is a magnificent specimen of Rajasthan's intricate architecture. Dedicated to Sri Sankeshwar, the 23rd teerthankara, this 25-year old temple is a well-known Jain pilgrim centre. Acharya Vikram Suriswarji performed the `Anjan Shalaka Pran Pratishta' (Kumbhabhishekam) of this temple in 1981. He was the inspiration behind the Coimbatore Jain Swetambar Murthipujak Sangh which has sponsored this temple. The temple has three garbhagrahas — Sri Sankeshwar (at the centre), flanked by Sri Shanthinath and Sri Mahavir. Separate niches There are also separate niches for Sri Munishwar, Sri Adinath and Sri Sumathinath. This temple, situated on the busy Ponnurangam road, glitters like a jewel. All people, irrespective of their faith, are welcome inside. However it is expected that only vegetarians enter the precincts. The temple, built on the li...

Born poor, now self-made billionaires - Ed Liddy

Ed Liddy, former chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG ) had to face lot of hardships before he rose to great heights. Ed Liddy's father died when he was just 12 years old. According to a BusinessWeek report, he had a poverty-stricken childhood. Liddy graduated from Catholic University of America in 1968 and received a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University in 1972. He worked with Ford Motor before joining G D Searle & Co in 1981. The 63-year old Liddy earned about $130 million during his eight-year tenure at Allstate. In the wake of the financial crisis, Ed Liddy came to rescue the ailing AIG, worked for a salary of $1. But the act turned disastrous when the company handed out employee bonuses totally $165 million after it had accepted $170 billion in government bailout funds. This forced him to quit AIG.