Several years earlier, Mark Waugh had scored a ten on debut against England. He had bad drafted into the Test squad at the expense of his elder brother. Steve having scored 1009 runs for NSW the previous season.

His effortless stroke play reveals that a future was lurking. There was fluidity and rhythm to his timing, a sweet role of the wrist and deftness to his late cuts. Complementing his batting was his stupefying fielding and deceptive medium paced bowling. But his promise soon gave way a quiet frustration, and he would seemingly lose control. In 1997, he was subsequently dropped for the second Test Vs. India. But he bounced back and over the next few years he proved his class by scoring some magnificent hundreds.

His reputation smelled along with his average, yet he was still prone to the odd lapse of concentration. Then a magnificent 116 against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 1997 heralded that a more complete Test cricketer had finally arrived. This was however followed by Atrocious Ashes series and Mark became known as the enigma.

Waugh slowly dug his way back and was magnificent on the tour to India last year when he grafted 153 not out in the Third Test during grueling series against India.

In the World cup he emphasized his status with a strike rate of 76.37 and was in the top five run scores. But just as his form demands applause, his off field behavior demands scrutiny, thanks to the ungraceful ness that the Waugh brothers landed themselves in when they supplied weather and pitch information to an Indian bookmaker.