No 50 average no problem for Waugh

COLOMBO - Steve Waugh has no qualms about his batting average dropping below the landmark of 50, where it sits exactly ahead of tomorrow's first cricket Test against Pakistan.

A batting average of 50 is regarded as a cut-off point for truly great batsmen. Waugh, 37, will see his average dip below 50 for the first time in many years if he fails to make a half-century in the first innings of the opening Test.

It's a mark which can be restored with good batting further down the track but Waugh said he wouldn't be upset if he finished his career averaging below 50.

"If I'm 60 or 70 and looking back on my career and I've average 49.95 I'll be pretty happy," Waugh said.

"So having an average above 50 doesn't worry me at all."

However, Waugh has made the point more than once in Colombo that Sri Lanka is the only country in which he's never scored a Test century.

Admittedly Waugh has played only three innings in Sri Lanka - on his ill-fated visit here in 1999 when he and Jason Gillespie collided in the outfield, Waugh breaking his nose and Gillespie his leg.

Waugh played in all three Tests on that tour - the second two after reconstructive surgery - and made scores of 19, 19 and 14.

"This is the only [Test-playing] country where I haven't scored a Test century so there's plenty of motivation for me to do well," he said.

The Test is being played in Colombo after the series was switched to a neutral venue following Australia's refusal to tour Pakistan for security reasons.