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'Nice to overcome those tough times': Waugh

The second day of the first Test between Australia and Bangladesh was significant for the centuries by Steve Waugh and Darren Lehmann, and Bangladesh's spirited display in the field and with the bat

Wisden Cricinfo staff
19-Jul-2003
The second day of the first Test between Australia and Bangladesh was significant for the centuries by Steve Waugh and Darren Lehmann, and Bangladesh's spirited display in the field and with the bat. Here's what Waugh, Lehmann and Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, had to say after the day's play.
Steve Waugh
On becoming only the second batsman to score a hundred against all nine Test-playing nations
"If you play long enough you are going to reach milestones and records are going to be passed and I'm sure someone down the track will beat those. But it is nice to achieve things and to score a hundred against every country is something I'm proud of. I'm not too concerned about records. I just want to go out there and play well and I've said if I don't think I can improve then I shouldn't be there."
On the difficult days last season when there were calls for him to retire "It is nice to overcome those tough times. Every cricketer has them in their career and it's probably a bit harder as you get older - but I'm just happy with the way I'm playing. I'm enjoying the game and being positive."
Darren Lehmann
On conditions in the middle
"It was hard work out there. They stuck to their guns pretty well, they put it in the right areas and made it tough to score runs. To be the first one to score 100 here - it was a good day."
Dav Whatmore
On his bowlers
"The bowlers did a pretty good job. I felt that against other sides there was enough good balls and sustained effort to perhaps bowl another opposition out. But we are playing against Australia, the number-one ranked team, and we've seen what they are capable of today, even though they had to sustain some fairly good pressure in terms of the way our guys bowled at them."
On what the batsmen need to do on the third day "It's only just the start, really. It's a long day tomorrow and we'll be tested greatly when we have to bat the day out. This really isn't about winning or losing for us, this is all about being able to improve.
"After yesterday's performance we are really behind the eight-ball, you can't win a game in a session, but you can sure go a long way to losing it and that opening session when we were six for 60-odd, it's very difficult to come back from that.
"But we have a really good opportunity to work on one or two things as batsmen and get out there and really compete. We've just started, it's 15 overs and it's nice to see the 70 runs, but there's a lot of hard work ahead of us."