'Pit the rules against us' - Waugh

Steve Waugh reckons that Australia have become so dominant in international cricket that administrators might want to think about changing the rules to make rival countries more competitive.

"Our job is to do the best we can for Australia. The West Indies teams of the 1980s almost made administrators change the rules so other nations could compete," said Waugh, as quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald. "That's been one of our goals - for us to make rules change so others can compete."

Speaking at a state Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Waugh revealed that he took his own brutal outlook on international cricket from that very West Indian team. "A lot of our players were almost scared of West Indies," he said. "I remember at one point thinking this game is too hard. It took me 13 Tests just to be part of a winning side.

"I remember sitting in the dressing room at Eden Park in New Zealand," continued Waugh. "We had just lost, and I looked around at everyone with their heads bowed. And I was thinking, 'This is too tough. Do I really want to do this?' That was an important moment"

Waugh talked about his first first-class match for New South Wales, and rooming with Imran Khan. "I became very good at answering the phone," Waugh joked. "I was pretty shy in those days. [Imran] had a big reputation for a lot of things. I was that intimidated by him I just kept quiet and answered the phone."

Waugh also hinted at a muted support of Australia's sledging tactics, and although he said that he was against "saying something directly against someone," he was happy to "put doubt in the batsman's mind. I'm all for that."

"For example, if Shane Warne's bowling into the rough outside the batsman's legs and he's trying to sweep, the guy at short leg might say 'Can you believe this guy's trying to sweep Warney out of the rough?' and the player on the other side at bat-pad might say 'Obviously these guys don't have a TV in their rooms - they've got no idea what's going on'," said Waugh. "If we can get the batsman in some doubt, that's fair enough."