At a time when Australian cricket was reaching its peak in the 1990s and early 2000s, the imposing figure of Mark Waugh was an integral presence on the Australian side. Mark Waugh was a natural stroke maker and had the gift of timing with his cover drives in particular winning him plenty of fans.
Mark Waugh replaced his twin brother Steve Waugh in the team during the 1991 Test match against England in January. In his very first inning in Test cricket, Mark scored an impressive 138 off 188 balls with 18 fours and became an instant sensation.
By the time he finished his career 11 years later in 2002, Mark Waugh played 128 matches and scored 8029 runs with 20 centuries and 47 fifties. He played his last match against Pakistan in late 2002 as lack of form and his ageing body began to show signs of decline.
Here are the top 3 knocks by Mark Waugh in Test Cricket
- 139* versus West Indies–Antigua 1991
The first big knock for Mark Waugh that propelled him into national fame was his blistering century against West Indies. This was the 2nd Test century for the New South Wales batter scoring a ton on his Test debut. Barbados was the venue as Mark Waugh cut, pulled, and drove the West Indian bowlers. By the time the innings was over, Mark Waugh had scored 139 not out from 188 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes. He also made it a memorable game as he picked the wickets of Malcolm Marshall and Richie Richardson as Australia won by 157 runs.
- 126 versus West Indies – Jamaica 1999
Top 3 performances by Mark Waugh in Test CricketThis was a historic series for Australia as they became the first team to beat West Indies in their own home for over two decades. The final Test of the series was played in Jamaica with the series level at 1-1. West Indies batted first and scored 265 runs with Richie Richardson scoring 100 and Brian Lara scoring 65. At 73/3, the Aussies were in huge trouble but Mark Waugh joined Steve Waugh and added 231 runs for the 4th wicket with Mark Waugh scoring 126 runs from 192 balls.
- 153* vs India – Bangalore – 1998
Australia had come to India with an intent to conquer their final frontier but brilliance from Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin meant that India had won the series 2-0. The final game was played in Bangalore (Now Bengaluru). This was the only year that Mark Waugh had scored over 1000 runs in Test Cricket. His career-best score of 153 not out came off 267 balls with 13 fours and 4 sixes as Australia won the match by 8 wickets thanks to a Mark Taylor century in the 2nd innings.