If there's one man Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum wanted to meet on the eve of the World Cup final, it was Stephen Rodger Waugh. But they couldn't.
If there's one man Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum wanted to meet on the eve of the World Cup final, it was Stephen Rodger Waugh. But they couldn't.
Waugh and World Cup finals go back a long way. Back in 1987, he was just 20 when Allan Border's Australia stunned a star-studded England to register a seven-run victory at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Waugh picked 2/37 in nine overs, including the wicket of Phil DeFreitas in the penultimate over which saw him concede just two runs. Twelve years later, in 1999, he captained Australia to glory at Lord's, with Shane Warne doing the damage with a four-wicket haul against Pakistan.
So what does one do to get to the World Cup final? "First of all, you have got to win the semi to get to the final. So that takes care of that," Waugh told dna here on Saturday. Yes, he also let out that familiar chuckle. The 49-year-old, who spent a day with the Australian squad in Adelaide last week, ahead of their quarterfinal against Pakistan, said Clarke & Co. "don't need me now."
"In the final, it takes a cool head under pressure. You must play the same way you have been playing the whole tournament. In the final, I think you can't have any fear. You got to relax, back yourself and not think of the consequences too much. You can't play with hesitation," Waugh said.
Who's his money on? "I think New Zealand will think they can win. And Australia will also think they can win. Both sides will be a little apprehensive as well, knowing that they are going to be up against quality opposition. I think this is the most open World Cup final for 20 years," he remarked.
What about the Melbourne Cricket Ground? "What about it?" he shot back. Well, a lot has being said about the size of the ground and New Zealand's unfamiliarity with it. "It's just a ground. The pitch is the same length. It won't make any difference to them. They will be fine," he said.
Waugh is a busy man these days with the launch of Waugh Global Realty. The company will "offer investors landmark Indian residential property". Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, home to his beloved rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients (Udayan), are the firm's areas of interest. Way to go, Tugga.
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