Blast from the past - Waugh twins end the reign of Calypso kings (4th Test, Aus vs WI, 1995)

A little more than 48 years ago, cricket’s famous pair of twins, Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh were born. Steve, the elder brother of the two by just 4 minutes, was an embodiment of real Australian grit. His twin brother, Mark, with that long blonde hair and charismatic looks, was a Mozart with a willow in hand. There wasn’t anything common between the twins in cricketing terms but both of them made bowlers bend to their knees, and brought joy to millions of cricket fans around the world with their exploits on the cricket field.

Rewind in time back to April 30th of 1995, the day on which Mark and Steve came together to rewrite history books by scripting a wonderful partnership that will be etched in everyone’s memory. The partnership wasn’t just about 231 runs they put up for the third wicket, as it also broke the spine of a great West Indies team.

For 15 long years, when those mighty bowlers from West Indies bowled, they seemed to have the carnassial teeth and sharp claws of a lion to tear apart opposition ranks. In fact, just a mere stare from the giants of Caribbean sent batsmen quivering for cover. But with sheer warrior-like tenacity, Waugh twins passed the trial by fire at Sabina Park in 94/95 with flying colours. The unforgettable partnership between Waugh twins also paved the way for Australia to upset the apple-cart, and defeat the Windies in their own den for the first time in almost two decades.

Backdrop

Going into the Test series against the pillaging Windies side in 94/95, Australia were clearly the underdogs. They had suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat in the one-day series against the Windies. In the one-day series, their trump card, the Wizard of Oz, Warne was rendered impotent on relatively smaller grounds of the Caribbean. To make matters worse, they lost their spearhead, McDermott, and the boomerang bending swing-merchant, Fleming, to injuries. Last but not the least, their inspirational coach, Bob Simpson, fell sick. On the backdrop of so many problems, no one gave them even an iota of a chance.

The battle-hardened cricketers from Down Under though, made critics eat humble-pie. In the first Test, the inexperienced pace troika of McGrath, Julian and Reiffel ran-amok to help Australia to come through with a facile win. The Windies weren’t going to give up their hold on Frank Worrell trophy so easily, as they came back roaring with a thumping win on a treacherous track at Trinidad in the third Test. The king of mass destruction, Ambrose, finally woke up from his deep slumber, and ripped apart the much-vaunted Australian batting line-up in the third Test with a fiery spell. Being a cricket enthusiast, just for a moment, I thought the mental scars of losing a closely fought series against the West Indies in 92/93 had reopened in the minds of Australian batsmen. But the Waugh twins had other ideas.

So folks, it is time for some lights, camera and action, as we look back at the monumental partnership between Waugh twins at Sabina Park.

Australian bowlers hunt like a pack of wolves

West Indies’ captain, Richie Richardson, won the toss and promptly elected to bat first on what seemed like a decent strip for batting at Sabina Park. Australian pacers though, hunted like a pack of wolves, as they ruthlessly dismantled the Windies batting line-up. The Windies captain, Richardson played like a lonesome atlas, but even he couldn’t take Windies out of choppy waters. They were bundled out for a rather paltry total of 265.