The invincibles and the art of Waugh

When Steve Waugh made his entry into world cricket in the late 1980s, he was the kind of player euphemistically called a 'bits and pieces cricketer'. Over the years, however, this jack of all trades transformed into one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Often overshadowed by peers like Allan Border, brother Mark Waugh, and later Ricky Ponting, he built his reputation as a fighter who could change the course of a match single-handedly. He also built up a formidable technique against fast bowling that allowed him to rack up big hundreds in every corner of the globe. No wonder then that when Rahul Dravid was asked to name one player whom he would nominate to bat for his life, he picked Waugh over his own illustrious teammates.

But Waugh's legacy is as much as a batsman as it is as the captain of 'The Invincibles'. Blessed with a group who come together but once in a lifetime, Waugh was the leader who harnessed their talent to create a unit that was unbeaten for 16 Tests in the 1999-2000 season and also led Australia in the first of its three consecutive World Cup wins. He was the leader of a philosophy of hard cricket in which no quarter was given and none asked for; in which the team was above individual milestones. His top picks from the India Today Conclave 2016.