page_title: Steve Waugh
section_title: Frank Worrell Trophy regained in 1995
hierarchical_section_title: Steve Waugh / International career / Frank Worrell Trophy regained in 1995
caption_attribution_description: Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose, a West Indian . Cropped from Image:Curtly_ambrose2.jpg by User:Stephen Turner. Original photo taken in New York in 2005 &amp; uploaded by Pamri.
context_page_description: Stephen Rodger Waugh AO is a former Australian international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australia to fifteen of their record sixteen consecutive Test wins, and to victory in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Waugh is considered the most successful Test captain in cricket history, with 41 matches won and only 9 matches lost with a winning ratio of 72%.
  Born in New South Wales, with whom he began his first-class cricket career in 1984, he captained the Australian Test cricket team from 1999 to 2004, and was the most capped Test cricket player in history, with 168 appearances, until Sachin Tendulkar of India broke this record in 2010. Thought of in the early stages of his career as only a "moderately talented" player, at one point losing his Test place to his brother Mark, he went on to become one of the leading batsmen of his time. He is one of only twelve players to have scored more than 10,000 Test runs.
context_section_description: The West Indies had been the bête noire of Australian cricket since winning the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1978. At the beginning of Australia's 1995 tour of the Caribbean, the West Indies had not lost a Test series since 1980, and had not lost a Test series to Australia at home since 1973. The Tests were preceded by an ODI series that was lost 1–4. Waugh scored 164 runs at 32.80 and took three wickets at 41.00. In a low-scoring, four-Test series, Waugh compiled 429 runs at an average of 107.25 and claimed five wickets (for 62 runs) to win the player of the series award; his twin Mark was the next best batsman with 240 runs at 40 average.
  Waugh was at the centre of a controversy during the First Test at Barbados when he claimed a low catch from Brian Lara in the first innings. Television replays were inconclusive, but suggested that the ball may have hit the ground. Lara, noted for accepting the word of the fielder without question, left the field. Following his dismissal, the West Indies' batting collapsed, and Australia went on to win by ten wickets. Waugh later faced accusations of dishonesty and cheating over the incident.
  After scoring 65 not out in the drawn Second Test at Antigua, Waugh defied the Caribbean pacemen on a green pitch at Trinidad suited to their hostile bowling during the Third Test. In the first innings, he scored an unbeaten 63 of Australia's 128 and had a mid-pitch confrontation with Curtly Ambrose. After Waugh had evaded a bouncer from Ambrose, the pair exchanged glares. Waugh swore and told Ambrose to return to his bowling mark. An angry Ambrose had to be physically dragged away by his captain: a photograph of this moment has become one of the iconic images of cricket in the 1990s. It symbolised the point when Australia was no longer intimidated by the West Indies. Waugh "showed he was prepared to put it all on the line", said Justin Langer, "in the toughest conditions [...] against probably the best fast bowler of our time. To stand up to him [Ambrose] and go toe to toe [...] gave us a huge boost."
  Nevertheless, the West Indies won the match and levelled the series. In the decider in Jamaica, Waugh took 2/14 in the West Indies' first innings of 265 and then arrived at the crease with Australia at 73 for three in reply. He compiled a long partnership of 231 runs with his brother Mark, who was eventually out for 126. Waugh was the last man to go, out for 200 after nine hours of batting. "Steve had made up his mind to bat and bat", wrote Paul Reiffel, "to stay out there and anchor the proceedings. [... H]e copped a lot of blows on his arms, chest and ribs. When he came back to the dressing room at the end of day two, we could see the spots and bruises on his body [...]. I remember when I walked in [...] he didn't say anything to me, but then he didn't need to. We all pretty much knew that we just had to support him."
  "He was in a trance-like state. [... I]n the wee hours of the second morning, a security guard was found rifling through Steve's kit bag. That incident [...] didn't affect his concentration. It all [...] just went to show how strong a character he was."
  Waugh played patiently and reached his double century with an all-run four to fine-leg off a quicker ball from Carl Hooper. He was the last man out. With a large lead on first innings, Australia dismissed the opposition for a low score to win a crushing victory.
  After some post-win wassailing, Waugh retired to bed in his cricket whites, socks and baggy green. "[Y]ou could say that Steve's legacy gained a lot of momentum from his efforts at Jamaica", wrote Reiffel.
caption: Curtly Ambrose, the West Indian bowler with whom Waugh had a much-publicised altercation during the 1995 Frank Worrell Trophy
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