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CRICKET: INTERVIEW WITH STEVE WAUGH
"The Indian
Team Lacks Togetherness"
Two of cricket's
finest brains met for a rare conversation-Bishen Singh Bedi takes on the
role of interviewer for Aaj Tak, seeking to get into the mind of Australian
captain Stephen Waugh.
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Waugh (left) explains
the Australian way to Bedi |
Q. As one of the most successful captains
of recent times, what is your definition of leadership and captaincy?
A.
Smart leaders rely on other people to help them out. You have to have
people around that are helping you out, you don't want to be the one person
making all the decisions. The bottom line sits with the captain and I've
got to make the final decision but I will take inputs from players around
me. We have senior players who have a lot of experience. I want to try
and make sure you get the best out of those people too. As a leader and
as a captain your job is to make the players play to their potential,
make them feel comfortable and to show faith in their abilities. There
is a lot more responsibility than just captaining on the field. Off the
field is probably just as important if not more.
Q. Your decision to bat first in Mumbai defied
cricketing logic even though you had the backing of great bowlers ...
A. They are great bowlers but
what is cricketing logic? That you do the same things because they have
always been done? I don't believe in that. You have to make your own mark
and play it as you see it. A lot of times cricketers do things because
that's always the way they have been done.
Q. Given the opportunity, will you put India
in to bat again?
A. I
may well change what I'm going to do in the next Test match but I think
in the first one of the series we really wanted to get off to a good session.
The first morning of a Test is crucial and the first morning of the first
day of the first Test can set up the whole series.
Q. What do you have to say about Saurav Ganguly's
captaincy?
A.
I've only seen one Test so far. Look, he's in a tough position. He's got
one billion people supporting him and wanting him to win and every move
he makes is going to be scrutinised and it's not always going to come
off. So look I don't want to make a call on him after one game.
Q. Can you define this term professional
for me?
A. Professionalism
is making the most of your ability. A lot of people have talent but waste
it. For us, we want to make sure that we get the best out of every player
and if that means practising harder than everyone else and planning better
than everyone else, then we do it. Trying to do the right things and having
a more worldly view on life rather than cricket being the be-all and end-all.
Sometimes you can be infatuated with cricket so much that nothing else
plays a part in your life. We want well-rounded people in this Australian
cricket side.
Q. How do you rate the Indian side?
A.
There are no doubts about their ability. We saw that in Kenya when they
beat us. The Indian players are much different than the ones I've played
against in the past. Perhaps that's because a lot of them have been in
the academy in Australia. They seem a lot more hard-edged about their
cricket, they are willing to take you head on rather than back away. You
have got to be able to back yourself and back your words with actions
on the field. There's huge talent in Indian cricket. The missing ingredient
is perhaps togetherness as a unit. That's something that doesn't happen
overnight. You have to work on that. You've got to cultivate that.
Q. One man has caused a fair amount of restlessness
in the Australian dressing room ...
A. Well, you probably know who that might
be. Short fella, he bats okay! Look, Tendulkar is a great player. When
he's switched on like he was in the last Test, he is the best batsman
in the world.
Q. Would you rate him higher than Brian Lara?
A.
Yes. I would. Lara is a genius on his day. I think Tendulkar has got a
better technique than Lara. Lara has slipped a bit in the past 12 months.
Whether he hasn't been quite working on his game quite as much, I don't
know. But he's a genius on his day. He scored some great 100s against
us but Tendulkar has a very tight, compact technique. The signs are that
he is going to get better.
Q. Your exterior on the field appears very
ruthless but inside I know you are a very soft man.
A.
That's probably a fair comment-I think I've had to learn to be tough.
Q. Are you a good face reader?
A. I
think that's my strength. I can pick up body language pretty well from
the opposition and my own side as well. You've got to know when guys are
up and down and whether they are going to be at their best. I think it's
an acquired art.
Q. What kind of confrontations are there
on the field? Much rough language in this side?
A.
No, there's not too much rough language. I like to think we create, I
guess, "diversions" in the batsmen's and bowlers' minds. It's
more about what we do when the batsman comes to the wicket. We all talk
amongst ourselves perhaps about what the batter's doing. If Shane's bowling
round the wicket, I might say to the wicketkeeper, "Gilly, can you
believe that this guy is trying to sweep Warnie out of the rough? Haven't
they got a TV in their rooms?" Little things like that, where the
batsman might think, "Well, hang on, what are these guys talking
about?" All of a sudden they are not switched on to what they are
doing. I won't deny that sometimes there are words used out there that
shouldn't be used, but it's very much in a minority case. Sometimes the
talk can be off-putting to the opposition. But I believe that Test cricket
is not only a test of your skill, it is a test of your mental abilities
and how you handle certain situations.
Q. Now to the ugly side of cricket: match-fixing.
How much did it affect you?
A. I
was shocked when it all came out, particularly Hansie Cronje, who I was
pretty good friends with. I didn't suspect one ounce he would be involved
in all this. And to a lesser extent Mohammed Azharuddin, who I got along
very well with-we probably started our careers at the same time-and when
his name was first mentioned I was quite shocked. There have been quite
a few names mentioned previous to that but these two guys really did surprise
me. It is a shame they somehow got tangled up and couldn't escape it.
Because they would have known what they were going to do to cricket-it
has weighed cricket down a lot. They put their own self-interests in front
of the game. But the game will always survive, it is bigger than any individual.
Q. Did anybody ever throw a bait at you?
A.
Never. Not once.
Q. What would you say is the Australian team's
strength-the batting or the bowling?
A.
I would say our relentless approach-we don't give the opposition a sniff
when they get a chance. It's very hard to say both are probably equally
strong but I'm certainly not afraid to let our bowlers loose at someone.
Q. How big a challenge was it when your brother
Mark Waugh's name was thrown into this match-fixing stuff?
A. It was tough, very tough
for the family, particularly, mum and dad. My dad is a news agent, which
makes it a lot harder. He has got to sell newspapers every day. We just
tried to give Mark as much support as we could. Mark will admit what he
did was wrong, it was stupid and, as he said, naive ... but in the overall
scheme of things, in the bigger picture, I think it very minute compared
to whatever else has been happening.
Q. And your relationship with your brother
hasn't been affected at all?
A.
Most people say we don't talk to each other much anyway! We get on well,
I feel for Mark when he's not doing well and vice versa I'm sure. And
we're happy when we're doing well. But in the side I see Mark as another
player not as part of my family.
Q. How do you rate the Indians' chances in
the next two
Test matches?
A.
I'd put it this way-I'm very happy we're 1-0 going into back-to-back Tests
because mentally it's going to be very difficult for the side that is
down to get up. I just know from this last Test that I'm very glad we
didn't play a Test straight after because it would have been hard work.
Calcutta is Ganguly's home crowd-he will be keen for a big performance.
Whether that motivates him or puts more pressure on him could be a huge
factor in this Test match.
Q. Have you ever thought of a Dream XI you
would like to
be part of?
A. Not really. I think the side
we've got at the moment comes pretty close.
(Full text of the interview at: www.thenewspapertoday.com)
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