da cassino： COLOMBO – Steve Waugh has no qualms about his batting average droppingbelow the landmark of 50, where it sits exactly ahead of tomorrow’sfirst cricket Test against Pakistan.
Michael Donaldson02-Oct-2002COLOMBO – Steve Waugh has no qualms about his batting average droppingbelow the landmark of 50, where it sits exactly ahead of tomorrow’sfirst cricket Test against Pakistan.A batting average of 50 is regarded as a cut-off point for truly greatbatsmen. Waugh, 37, will see his average dip below 50 for the first timein many years if he fails to make a half-century in the first innings ofthe opening Test.It’s a mark which can be restored with good batting further down thetrack but Waugh said he wouldn’t be upset if he finished his careeraveraging below 50.”If I’m 60 or 70 and looking back on my career and I’ve average 49.95I’ll be pretty happy,” Waugh said.”So having an average above 50 doesn’t worry me at all.”However, Waugh has made the point more than once in Colombo that SriLanka is the only country in which he’s never scored a Test century.Admittedly Waugh has played only three innings in Sri Lanka – on hisill-fated visit here in 1999 when he and Jason Gillespie collided in theoutfield, Waugh breaking his nose and Gillespie his leg.Waugh played in all three Tests on that tour – the second two afterreconstructive surgery – and made scores of 19, 19 and 14.”This is the only [Test-playing] country where I haven’t scored a Testcentury so there’s plenty of motivation for me to do well,” he said.The Test is being played in Colombo after the series was switched to aneutral venue following Australia’s refusal to tour Pakistan forsecurity reasons.