Steve Waugh warns against too much technology

Steve Waugh: loves India, but is not quite so fond of technology in cricket © Cricinfo

Steve Waugh has backed the assertion that too much technology could detract from cricket's charm, and could even be counterproductive. "I agree with Ricky Ponting and Tatenda Taibu on their views on experimenting with more technology. The game is fine as it is, and I think we already have the right amount of technology to help us make decisions," said Waugh, who was in Mumbai as a brand ambassador for Quantas, the airline. "I wouldn't want to see it Americanised too much with stoppages and time-outs. Cricket will lose something if technology comes into it in a big way. It will break the flow and excitement."

Waugh recalled his various visits to India, naturally lingering on the epochal 2001 tour. "I have many good memories of India, and over the years have made many friends here. The 2001 series was the greatest I played in, in my life," said Waugh. "I will never forget the Mumbai Test in which [Matthew] Hayden and [Adam] Gilchrist got hundreds and we won. But it was especially unforgettable because of the noise of the crowd when Sachin [Tendulkar] came out to bat. It was a nightmare for me as captain. I could hardly communicate to my own players and we had to resort to using hand signals. Tendulkar was unlucky to be caught, when he pulled the ball onto Justin Langer fielding close and the ball bobbed up to Ricky Ponting who took a great catch. We were relieved to see him go. At least now my players could hear me and I could hear them."

The current Australian team have a sterling record in tournament finals - they have won twelve on the trot - something you can't quite say about India. Waugh attributed that to the way Australia handled pressure. "The Australians love the big games. We embrace the finals. We look forward to the pressure and play [at our] best then. It has a lot to do with confidence and hard work, and once you win one or two finals you look forward to playing in more and more finals."

But, in the same breath, he refused to write off India, who have struggled ever since their historic series in Pakistan. India lost the Asia Cup in disappointing fashion and failed to reach the final of the Videocon Cup in Amstelveen. "India have not played much since the tour of Pakistan and are coming off a break. All they have to do is elevate their game," said Waugh. "Australia has always rated India highly. Some of the Indian players have been around for a long while and they raise their game when they against the best. I'm sure they'll be fired up when the home series comes around."

Although Waugh has already made several trips to India as brand ambassador for one product or another, he doesn't plan to dive fully back into the world of cricket just yet. "You certainly won't see me coming here as a player again," he said, laughing. "It's just been six months or so since I quit and I'm still involved with the game in that I'm writing about it. I have a book coming out in the next six months. In the future I know that cricket will be part of my life. In what way I will be involved is unclear at the moment, but as a commentator, mentor or coach I'll certainly stay associated with the game."

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