Trust Steve Waugh to go before he was pushed; trust him, too, to announce his exit in such a way as to inject an extra dose of emotionalism into the upcoming India-Australia Test series, and give his team that added incentive to go flat out.
The news of Waugh's exit dominates the Australian media on a day when India's near full strength Test attack was being taken apart by Victoria, on day two of the three day warm-up game.
Newspapers and sites from CNN on down highlighted the Australian captain's announcement, today, that he would hang up his cricketing boots at the end of the fourth and final Test against India, which gets underway at his home ground, Sydney, January 2.
ABC Sport, and other sites, reported that the outgoing Aussie legend has tipped one-day skipper Ricky Ponting as his logical successor; Ponting, according to stories in Fox Sports and elsewhere, has already staked his claim for the top job in Australian cricket.
Ponting's succession, something of a sure thing given his record at the head of the one day squad, is however for later for now, the nation pays tribute to the man who, over the course of 164 Tests, raised the bar for Australian cricketing achievement while forging the team into a unit of hard-fighting, relentless professionals.
The Age, Melbourne, quotes Australian prime minister John Howard characterizing Waugh as a great, gritty player.
On Fox Sports, Sachin Tendulkar is effusive in praise of the man who has been his most consistent challenger for the label of best batsman in the world; the Indian master batsman says Waugh has set a great example, both on and off the field, for the rest to follow.
Amusingly, The Guardian, London, greeted the news with relief, on behalf of England's long-suffering team; which when you think of it is a compliment in itself.
Waugh's announcement caps a year in course of which he became the third batsman in cricket history to score 10,000 runs; a year in which he drew level with, then surpassed, Sir Don Bradman's haul of 29 Test centuries; broke the world record for Test appearances and, with back to back centuries against Bangladesh, achieved the feat of scoring centuries against every one of the Test-playing countries.
Perhaps that is why his team-mates past and present from Adam Gilchrist in The Australian, to Ian Healy on Fox Sports -- reacted to the announcement with a touch of disbelief; a wistful longing to see more of the man.
In India, where Waugh is iconic thanks to his cricket, and his charitable work with the orphans of Kolkatta, it is as yet the early morning hours; stand by for an outpouring of affection as the nation wakes to the news.
