October 09 Wednesday 2002
'Mark Waugh not helped by dropped catches'

MELBOURNE: Australia's newspapers were critical on Tuesday of Mark Waugh's performance after he dropped three slip catches in the victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

'The Age' newspaper's main sports story, headlined "Victory wins time for Waugh," said: "Mark Waugh's tenuous hold on a place in the Test team appears to have been saved by Australia's last-gasp 41-run victory over Pakistan yesterday.

"Waugh dropped two regulation catches at second slip that could so easily have cost his team the win, increasing the pressure on the selectors to drop him for the second Test in Sharjah, starting on Friday."

The 37-year-old, who made 55 and 0 with the bat in Colombo, was dropped from Australia's one-day side earlier this year. His twin brother Steve, the Test captain who was also axed from the limited-over team, made 31 and 0.

Steve said after the victory that he knew he and his brother would receive negative press back home. The Australian newspaper's main sports story, headlined "Waugh's new-ball gamble pays off," noted the team had dropped six catches in the first match of the three-Test series. "Aided by some breathtakingly shoddy catching, Pakistan's under-rated batsmen had edged within 74 runs of their 316 victory target when Waugh backed his instincts and trusted his quick bowlers to capture the five wickets he needed," 'The Australian' said.

Columnist Mike Coward noted in 'The Australian' that the average age of the side was 31 compared to Pakistan's 25, which could be a factor in Sharjah's heat.

Coward said of man of the match Shane Warne's 11-wicket haul: "It was the svelte, master leg-spinner who truly won the day."

Melbourne's leading tabloid daily 'The Herald Sun' agreed and ran a main back-page headline "Shane quick fix", noting Warne had declined the opportunity to take the second new ball with Glenn McGrath.

"Shane Warne picked the perfect moment to stand aside yesterday, allowing Australia's fast bowlers to clinch a dramatic win," the Herald Sun said. In a separate story on Mark Waugh, 'The Herald Sun' ran a headline "Junior catches dose of the yips". The newspaper said: "He is the leading catcher in Test history and remains one of the game's finest slip fielders."