Tie would have been fair, says Waugh (31 March 1999)

31 March 1999

Tie would have been fair, says Waugh

The Barbados Nation

Australian captain Steve Waugh says the Kensington Oval Test was probably the best that he has played in.

"A tie would have been a pretty fair result," Waugh told reporters after the match. "It was a great game. It fluctuated from Day 1. Both sides were in winning positions quite a few times. Cricket was a winner definitely here."

Waugh lauded Brian Lara for his outstanding innings but reckoned that India's Sachin Tendulkar and some of the Australian batsmen were also capable of producing such match-winning knocks.

"We've got some players who are capable of doing that. Chasing runs is always hard, particularly when you have to do it yourself in the end. It was a great innings."

The Aussie skipper noted that apart from the first day, the pitch played very well.

"It certainly did not break up as expected. It was a good wicket probably from Day 2 onwards. The first day was pretty tough to bat on," said Waugh, who made 199 in Australia's first innings' 490.

He also praised his two fast bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, for the performance they put in on the final day.

"I thought our quick bowlers were magnificent. Gillespie was struggling with back spasms and came back out to bowl. He did not know whether he was actually going to bowl after lunch. It was a heroic performance. McGrath was magnificent as always.

"Those two guys were outstanding and I thought they deserved the final opportunity to try and win the game."

Waugh defended the display from leg-spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, who took only two wickets between them in the match from a combined 80.5 overs.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)