Time for Waugh to go

13 April 2012

Steve Waugh's timing has been spot-on throughout his international career. I just hope it doesn't desert him now. He arrived on the scene, back in the mid-1980s, when Australia badly needed a new young all-rounder, and developed quickly enough to play a big part in the 1987 World Cup triumph.

Then he became one of the world's best and toughest Test batsmen and was there again, just when his country needed him, to take over from Mark Taylor as captain.

Waugh has led Australia to a second World Cup success, in England three years ago, and captained the team throughout that amazing run of 16 consecutive Test victories.

But all good things must come to an end and Waugh should take the decision to walk away into retirement, with his head held high, once this Ashes series is done and dusted.

Some people are saying we would be wise to wait and see how he goes during the Fourth and Fifth Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. To me, it doesn't matter whether Steve scores a century in both games. He's 37 now, his form has been pretty scratchy for quite a while and the time has come for him and the team to move on. But not together.

I hope Waugh sees that and is able to really enjoy his last Test on his home ground in Sydney. I'm sure the fans will make sure it's a match he remembers for the rest of his life.

But if he decides he wants to battle on then I believe the selectors must make the decision for him by saying: "Thanks a million, Steve, but no more."

Knowing when to turn the page on a player has been one of Australia's strengths in recent years. We are now reaching that stage with Waugh and I would be surprised if he didn't come to the same conclusion.

There's no question here of being ungrateful.

Everybody knows what a fantastic player and great influence Steve has been. But the truth is he's made only one century in his last 15 Tests and has averaged around 27 during that period.

A hundred against England would improve those figures a bit.

It wouldn't knock a few years off his age, though, or do anything to suggest he had merely suffered a temporary blip in form and was now ready to fire on all cylinders again.

I suppose it just might be different if everyone was sitting around wondering who on earth could succeed Waugh as captain. Then there could be an argument for extending his reign for a few months.

But Ricky Ponting seems to have done a fine job so far as one-day skipper, his place in both teams is as secure as can be, and I see no reason why he cannot lead the Test side with equal success.

As for the here and now, Waugh must make do without Shane Warne for the last two Ashes Tests.

Warne's absence is bound to give England a bit of a boost, even though his replacement - Stuart MacGill - proved to be more than a match for them in Sydney four years ago when he took 12 wickets. But Melbourne comes first, and the Poms will hope to raise their game there, just as they did in 1998.

There's something very special about the MCG for the Boxing Day Test. It's a big social occasion for Victorians, and if the weather is anything like decent there will be a huge crowd and a tremendous atmosphere.

I would like to think England will put up a bit of a show, too.

They've got nothing to lose now, a couple of one-day victories should have lifted their spirits, and players like Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart will remember how good it was to win in Melbourne four years ago.

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