A little more than four years and one month ago, Steve Waugh led his team into his first series as Australian Test captain, a tumultuous 2-2 draw in the West Indies. Four years later and after much speculation regarding his future, Waugh has elected to embark on another tour of the West Indies, his captaincy career in a way having come full circle.
Waugh might easily have not made this trip. Only a dramatic, momentous hundred in the final Ashes Test on January 3 seemed to categorically wrest back his right to decide his future from the selectors, after an over-played lack of form. Having secured that right, Waugh took his time, not announcing his widely-anticipated intention to continue until March 15, when the selectors were ready to pick the squad.
After comments made by Waugh indicating his interest in the prospect, it was speculated he might want to continue until the far-off Indian tour in September 2004. Realistically, however, any tour could be his last and his form should be evaluated on a series-by-series basis like any other player.
In March of '99, Waugh's objective was to stamp his captaincy imprint upon the team and teach it to embrace his philosophy, an initially difficult task. That first series was "one in which the team lost its way to complacency and the festive spirit of the Caribbean atmosphere," Justin Langer observed in his recent BBC column.
Now, four years on, in addition to scoring runs Waugh is again charged with ensuring the team responds to his leadership after its one-day members took a bold stride forward under one-day leader Ricky Ponting. The World Cup is Australia's first major achievement sans Waugh, last involved with Australia during the Ashes an eon ago, and one suspects it can't help but have put some distance between the old guard and the new, which will need to be made up.
It would be surprising if this posed any insuperable difficulties, though. The Australians, as Waugh has said, get along very well together. However, former captain Mark Taylor, a critic of the two-captains policy first instituted when he was axed from the one-day team in favour of Waugh in 1997, felt his captaincy was undermined by his absence from the one-day team, which has always seemed like an oblique criticism of Waugh. Waugh disputed Taylor's claim, believing it worked, so he is in no position to make any complaints over the transition now.
Fortunately, new Test vice-captain Ponting has made all the right noises about handing over the reins, saying it will be a relief to return to being just a player again. The longer Waugh continues and the more success achieved under Ponting, the more this could be an obstacle, though if Australia can win a World Cup under one captain and still smoothly embrace playing under the other just weeks later, it's hard to imagine there will be any future difficulties. This series will be the test.
Four years is a long time in international cricket, and Waugh's captaincy has encompassed a lot. In bare figures, he has led in 45 Tests for 33 wins, the win ratio of 73.33 percent the best ever. It's not always noticeable, but the Australian team has been gradually transformed during Waugh's tenure.
Five of the top seven batsmen who started in Waugh's first series (Slater, Elliott, M. Waugh, Blewett, Healy) are either retired or not currently part of the team, a somewhat daunting thought for those who felt Australia could only decline under Waugh, or that post-Waugh the fall is still coming. Australia's batting is unquestionably more potent now than it was then, with a far superior top three and the amazing Gilchrist at seven. So far, Australia has managed to find either new (Gilchrist) or recycled (Hayden, Langer) performers to fill the breach and become top batsmen, which appears set to continue with Martin Love and Michael Clarke on the immediate horizon.
In a team sense, Waugh's Australians have progressed considerably from a champion side that was sometimes prone to collapses when the pressure was off, to a more disciplined and determined, dynamic and uninhibited outfit that brings total commitment to each contest. Waugh's reign includes the record 16-match winning streak from October '99 to March 2001, just two series losses (away to Sri Lanka and India) and a solitary home defeat, to England in January.
If there is any cause for resentment within the current touring party, it comes not from within but without. The World Cup triumph made little impact on the domestic landscape, with some players reportedly feeling it has been under-recognised. In '99, there were ticker-tape parades in Melbourne and Sydney and an off-season to savour it; this time around there was a reception in Perth but war coverage, the start of the football season and an imminent West Indies tour distracted attention.
While some, not least the players, might have reason to feel jaded after the longest-ever World Cup, the prospect of an intriguing Caribbean Test series should be enough to restore enthusiasm. One would think Test-only players Waugh (in superlative form for New South Wales) and Justin Langer, as well as new arrivals like Clarke and Williams, would provide sufficient motivation. It is one benefit of having a partially split squad.
Australia will be without McGrath for the first two Tests, providing another glimpse of what their attack will be like when both he and Warne are gone. Since the West Indies tour of 1995, Australia has played only one Test, their last, without either Warne or McGrath. Their record without Warne is a healthy 10 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, minus McGrath it is just 2 wins, two draws and three losses. With Damien Martyn absent injured, Darren Lehmann (denied a request to bat at four) and Martin Love (awarded the No. 4 berth) will likely be competing to see who retains a spot in the order in future series.
Four years ago, McGrath and Gillespie routed West Indies for 51 in the first Test, appearing to herald a one-sided series. That could not have been more wrong, as Brian Lara scored three distinctly memorable hundreds to force Australia to come from 2-1 down to square the series. Lara was West Indies captain during that remarkable series and is about to commence his second spell in charge after Carl Hooper was recently deposed.
Hooper, who first retired during the one-day series on Australia's '99 tour, was originally named in the Test team but has since stepped down, apparently retiring. Calling his decision difficult but "one I felt must be made given the developments of recent weeks", Hooped was quoted as saying he was tempted to play but this "would curtail the development of a younger player and, as I see it, also (be) a backward step for West Indies cricket."
According to Australian tabloid The Daily Telegraph, Hooper did not want to play under Lara after he, along with selectors Joey Carew and Gordon Greenidge, reportedly spread lies about Hooper's fitness. The Telegraph quoted a source as saying no-one in the side respects Lara, and that Hooper may be the first of several players to leave.
If true, it is quite damning. However, Lara's comments after being awarded the captaincy indicate a more mature personality, and he claimed he would do things differently this time around. The World Cup showed Lara is a revitalised batsman and one would expect him to relish the challenge of confronting Australia again to really re-launch his career following his elbow injury and illness.
Both captains, it seems, have something to prove.
