On this day in 1991: Mark Waugh makes his Test debut in a glorious fashion
Is there a better debut for an Australian batsman in Test cricket than an Ashes encounter against arch-rivals England? Now, imagine how it would be if that Australian batsman managed to score a hundred on debut at the Ashes. Well, that is exactly what happened on January 25th 1991, as Mark Waugh blazed his way to a sparkling 138 against England at the Adelaide Oval.
A debut to remember
In the fourth Test of the series, Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. The hosts were in trouble when England reduced their side to 124/5. But then, any thoughts that England had of skittling out Australia for a cheap score were thwarted by Mark Waugh. Coming in to bat with his side precariously placed at 124/5, the debutant took the attack to the visitors and scored a 188-ball 138 to help Australia pile up a total of 386 runs on the board. In reply, England were bowled out for just 229, as Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott ripped through their batting line up, scalping 9 wickets between them.
In the second innings, veteran David Boon scored 121, as Australia set England a target of 472 runs for victory. However, any thoughts of an Australian victory went into thin air as Graham Gooch scored 117 in the fourth innings to help England salvage a draw. However, that Test match will be remembered by every Australian cricket fan as it heralded the arrival of a batsman who would go on to etch his name as one of the greatest batsmen from the land of the kangaroos.
Mark Waugh went on to rule the cricketing world for the whole of the 1990s. And, he did so with a flamboyance that has hardly been matched by any Australian batsman since his departure from the game in 2002.
Mark Waugh’s numbers easily qualify him as one of the greatest batsmen to have wielded the willow for the Aussies. He is the sixth-highest run-scorer for Australia in Tests and has plundered a colossal 8029 runs at an average of 41.81. Mark Waugh also scored 20 hundreds and 47 fifties in a Test career that lasted 128 Test matches.
In the ODI arena too, Waugh distinguished himself. He scored 8500 runs and scored them at an average of 39.35. Yes, there are Australian batsmen who have better numbers than him, but there are very few who could ooze the flamboyance and grace that Mark Waugh did in his career that lasted more than a decade.
