Waugh hits back at Warne

Sydney, February 12

Steve Waugh today hit back at Shane Warne after the legendary spinner reignited a long-running feud between the two by calling the former Australia captain a selfish cricketer. In his reply, Waugh said he was just doing his job as a captain when he dropped the leg-spinner in 1999 for a Test in the West Indies. Earlier this week, Warne blasted Waugh as “the most selfish cricketer I have played with”. The grudge was related to Waugh’s decision of dropping Warne from the playing XI for the final Test on a tour of the West Indies 17 years ago.

It sparked a backlash against the legendary leg-spinner on social media with Waugh issuing a short statement the next day that read, “I’m not justifying his comments with an answer.”

But today, he opened up, explaining that the decision to drop Warne was tough but part of his job as the captain.

“To be fair, not only Shane, any player I had to tell was dropped wasn’t easy,” said Waugh. “It wasn’t easy telling Adam Dale he was dropped for a Test match or Greg Blewett. There were a number of players I had to tell they weren’t playing.”

“As a captain, that is the hardest thing to do. But it’s also why you’re the captain, because people expect you to make the tough decisions for the benefit of the team,” Waugh added. “You have got to do that at times and you have got to be prepared not to be liked by everyone.”

Waugh today got the backing of two former teammates. “Warnie’s comments, I was really disappointed with that," said Justin Langer. "Steve Waugh is... probably one of the most selfless players I ever played with,” Justin Langer said. “My opinion of Steve Waugh is entirely different to Shane’s,” Matthew Hayden wrote. “I found Steve to be incredibly supportive. Steve was a leader for the ‘little people’ — he instilled confidence and made you believe because he himself believed that anything was possible." — PTI