Australia has got back their star mentor for the remaining of the Ashes series. Former Australia captain Steve Waugh rejoined the support staff of the team to his prior role of team mentor. The fourth Ashes Test is all set to begin in Manchester later this week.
Steve Rejoins
On Sunday, Steve Waugh joined the Aussies in Manchester after his absence in the third Test in Leeds. The veteran with the experience of 168 Tests apparently went back to attend a function according to Australian coach Justin Langer. “To come back after such a long time away from the game, his passion and enthusiasm for the game have been brilliant and it’s going to be great.”
After the Lord’s Test Waugh said, “It’s observing with fresh eyes and if I can get the players more confident and relaxed, I see that as my role. And also for the coaching staff and people around the team, sometimes you’re with the same people for a long period of time and you do the same things over and over again.”
Why Steve Matters?
This year, Waugh (Ashes) and Ponting (World Cup) have been officially employed by Cricket Australia, for the betterment of the same and improvement of the current and future players. Speaking about the same earlier Langer said, “They’ve been in the cauldron before, they’ve seen it before. We talk about developing our leadership in Australian cricket, to have your guys being able to learn from people of that calibre is very important to short term, but longer-term there’s huge value in that.”
Originally scheduled to be with the team for only the first two Tests of the series, Waugh wanted to come back after fulfilling his prior commitment at Headingley. Although he failed to do so, his return to the side will definitely boost up the team’s morale in Manchester. With the series 1-1, Australia’s target is to make it 2-1. It has been 18 years since Australia won the Ashes in England and the Aussies are determined to change it at any cost.
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