Steve Waugh - the overrated test captain

[Owzat]

Never thought Steve Waugh was any where near a great captain myself. Some of the field placements I saw him implement weren't very good. I would put guys like Cronje and Fleming way ahead of him.

in Tests won 41 out of 57, only lost 9, but being in charge of the aussies at that time gives most a rather big advantage (of player ability)

always feel captaincy is an overrated aspect of certainly Test cricket, niche field placements that pay off once in a while get plenty of kudos when they do, having 3 slips and gully (or more slips to boot) can get credit but again depends much on the team so in many senses if you have the best players (bowlers, fielders and batsmen) you don't really need to try and bridge a gap as that would be downwards ie may as well get on with it, he may have decided to adopt a doG complex, that is given he was likely to win most games anyway could do what the hell he liked, if it paid off then more likely end the game sooner, if not probably wouldn't be to the detriment.

 

[Burgey]

Imo Waugh’s two biggest captaincy legacies were split between good and bad.

The good was he took an already very good side and essentially rid it of complacency and stopped it losing a lot of dead rubbers - took it up a notch from number one to ATG level.

The bad was the behaviour of the team on his watch, which was miles worse than under his successor, but for some reason Waugh gets a free pass whereas Ponting is usually the target of commentary about that aspect of the side

 

[Chin Music]

My humble opinion is that the smartest captain between late 80s and the mid 00s was Taylor, albeit there were times when he was possibly lucky to still be in the Aussie side.

 

[JBMAC]

I believe you are not comparing apples with apples , All of you should consider the percentages of wins/draws and losses Its a long exercise (which I am not going to repeat but my clear winner of all aussie captains by this percentage was definitely., Richie Benaud Waste at least a day of your time and work it out yourselves . Waugh vs ponting vs Taylor will seem trivial

 

[Burgey]

Richie was apparently very highly regarded by everyone who played under him wasn't he? Seemed to get the best out of nearly everyone and read the game incredibly well.

 

[JBMAC]

Richie was apparently very highly regarded by everyone who played under him wasn't he? Seemed to get the best out of nearly everyone and read the game incredibly well.

That also showed in his Commentary stints

 

[Burgey]

Yeah for sure. Insane knowledge of the game. I remember watching the underarm ODI as a kid, and well before the 40th over he was saying GC had screwed up his bowlers and would need to get one out of his brother or a part timer at the back end of the game because he'd over bowled a front liner. The guy was so far ahead of the game back then it was ridiculous.

 

[Spark]

Imo Waugh’s two biggest captaincy legacies were split between good and bad.

The good was he took an already very good side and essentially rid it of complacency and stopped it losing a lot of dead rubbers - took it up a notch from number one to ATG level.

The bad was the behaviour of the team on his watch, which was miles worse than under his successor, but for some reason Waugh gets a free pass whereas Ponting is usually the target of commentary about that aspect of the side

Re: the latter I think it's because Waugh's mental disintegration was very controlled and very deliberate, so it never came across fully on camera whereas Ponting was prone to absolutely losing the plot at times, particularly with umpires, which was just a terrible look (though, unlike Waugh, not really a tactic - that's just what he's like, and it's actually still evident when he commentates)

 

[quincywagstaff]

The good was he took an already very good side and essentially rid it of complacency and stopped it losing a lot of dead rubbers - took it up a notch from number one to ATG level.

Waugh's captaincy certainly played a role in Australia reaching new levels of success, but I think the pivotal factor in making that Oz team an all-time great one was Gilchrist.

Before Gilchrist Oz under Waugh had drawn in the West Indies and lost in Sri Lanka. Gilchrist coming in at 7 and batting like he did helped Waugh & Buchanan unleash all the potential that side had.

 

[quincywagstaff]

The bad was the behaviour of the team on his watch, which was miles worse than under his successor, but for some reason Waugh gets a free pass whereas Ponting is usually the target of commentary about that aspect of the side

I'm pretty sure in the Taylor era only once (McGrath verballing Mullally in Melbourne in 98/99) was an Australian Test player sanctioned by the match ref. They were hardly angels in this period but for the most part they didn't lose control as happened on occasion in the Waugh era.

 

[mr_mister]

Yeah, the whole "mental disintegration" thing along with Warnies lifelong retelling of his "what colour was the couch" story to Cullinan is all crap that has aged like rotten milk

It's like... okay so you're proud you've negatively affected people's mental health?