The basic difference between biography and autobiography is clear to many. The writing styles in the respective kinds will become more apparent when you read Mark Waugh’s biography and Steve Waugh’s autobiography
The book begins as a chronological narration of events and ends with his retirement in the Sydney Test against India in 2004. Since the book is voluminous, Steve Waugh has taken care to intersperse it with some anecdotes, which ofcourse add to the book. A sampler of them would be Shane Warne sledging Robert Croft. When Croft hits Warne for a six and stands looking at the replay appreciating his own efforts, Warne is quick to take a jibe at him saying “ Hey Croftie! You can have a look at the replays again in a couple of minutes” and he bowls him
The Childhood chapters aren’t given much pages except for talking about the ‘fibro’ background and talking about the competitive edge with Mark Waugh
What takes a chunk of the book though is his Test debut, 1987 World Cup win, Struggles to his first Test Century. For a guy coming up the ranks, he too is in awe of his state players, in his case New South Wales players. He seems to be particularly fond of Greg Ritchie, Greg Matthews, and Peter Taylor. He in fact goes on to describe Peter Taylor as one of the best containing ODI bowlers in the world at that time
His writing style tends to change once the team acquires the ‘winning feeling’. From then on it ebbs and flows according to his batting form. To his credit, he has tried to describe each and every event in a significant manner. Sometimes he succeeds but most times he tends to drag the narrative. He rushes through some incidents like Tendulkar’s desert storm innings, Laxman’s 281 and Lara’s brilliant 153 and just a fleeting mention of Butcher’s knock. What he does convey is his contempt for Ian Chappell, who he felt had a mongrel to pick with him
In the later pages it is the pay dispute that occupies a chapter and Tugga explains it in detail. Once you read the book, it becomes apparent that he has evolved as the time passes and his matured description of his sacking as ODI captain is something that you wouldn’t want to miss on
Once that’s done, he drags the narrative to his retirement from the game. What the book does establish is the character of the man. Before entering the Test level and while playing shield cricket for NSW, he seems to be in awe of Imran Khan. Once he enters the international arena, he seems to be keen on picking Richards wicket and describes keenly his duels with him
Although not directly but he offers his views on the captaincy styles of Allan Border and Mark Taylor. Of more importance is the overlapping period of his ODI captaincy with Taylor’s captaincy. With/without realising he too goes through a similar phase and more or less deals it in a similar manner
Though he does make a mention of match fixing scandal, he sidesteps it cleverly by merging it with pay disputes. He does not make bones about his dislike for Salim Malik though. Another mention of the match fixing comes up when he talks about Cronje and Azhar. He feels that the saga took a toll on his brother who was not the player that he was in final four years of his career, a pointer to which lies in the fact that Mark Waugh does not react to the negative comments of Richard Pybus after having been averse to negative press all his life
His insightful writing is a major plus to the book. The way he describes why the media, especially the newspapers, resort to sensationalism is a must read. There are a few instances of his relationship with Bob Simpson, Geoff Marsh and John Buchanan. He analyses the crests and the troughs of his relationship with them, based on these instances
He calls the Sydney Test Century of the last ball of the day against England as his defining event. That for the book is the part written by Lynette Waugh after Steve is done with his bit
Verdict: It is much like the man himself. Some he swats away with a straight bat and some passages are very engrossing. He does not at any point take advantage of the legacy that he has built. Like with most autobiographies, we would have wanted a in-depth analysis of few events. Whatever be the case, the book will ensure that it will be a companion for a few days
Good post.
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