Mark Waugh to clock up 10 Test years

ADELAIDE - Mark Waugh celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Test debut tomorrow with a belief he can play cricket for Australia for at least another five seasons.

Waugh has returned to the Adelaide Oval for the third Test against the West Indies, sparking memories of his debut on the same ground for an Australian team boasting the likes of Dean Jones, Bruce Reid and Greg Matthews.

England had the experience of David Gower and Graham Gooch but they couldn't stop Waugh strolling to 138 in his first Test innings.

Like Gooch, the 35-year-old Waugh can see no reason why he can't continue to defy his age and his critics to extend a career which has already produced almost 7000 Test runs.

"As long as you're enjoying it and seeing the ball well and you're nice and sharp there is no reason you can't keep playing until you're 40," Waugh said.

"You have to still enjoy your cricket and I'm still enjoying it and it's great to be part of the team."

Waugh has only grainy memories of his Test debut - rooming with the unforgettable Merv Hughes and taking the long handle to English spinner Phil Tufnell.

"I can remember the innings - I remember middling every ball and I can't remember playing a false shot," he said.

"I remember finding the gaps, hitting Tufnell over his head early in the game and following my natural instincts.

"It was one of those days that I hit the ball well but I went into the game scoring a lot of runs."

Maybe nothing has changed much in 10 years.

When Waugh first played a Test in Adelaide, he had just hit an unbeaten 229 in a Sheffield Shield match in Perth to complete a long apprenticeship.

That lifted his Shield haul to 3015 runs from 41 matches at the classy average of 52.89 and it was enough for selectors to dump twin brother Steve from the Test team to make way for Mark.

Steve will again be absent tomorrow - this time through injury - and Mark has returned to Adelaide on the back of another century in Perth.

His gutsy 119 against the Windies in the second Test left little ammunition for the critics who have called for Waugh's head for the past 12 months.

Waugh says he has improved with age and statistics show the last third of his 105-Test career has been his most productive.

"I still think I'm a pretty similar sort of player but it's always hard to say that because you never see yourself bat," Waugh said.

"I'm feeling like I'm batting well and I have been like that all summer.

"But just because you scored a century last game doesn't mean anything now.

"It's a new game but if you're scoring runs your confidence is high and you're looking forward to playing."