Australia not scared of finals,says Waugh

Steve Waugh has been at the grandest Olympics spectacle at Beijing,helping the Australian squad shed their nerves on the big stage.

Steve Waugh has been at the grandest Olympics spectacle at Beijing,helping the Australian squad shed their nerves on the big stage. And hes been in several iconic cricketing clashes against West Indies,England and later the Indians and South Africans. But the head that ticked shrewdly under his Baggy Green during his playing days says the twain cricket and the Olympics need not necessarily meet in the coming years.

The Olympics is fantastic. But if that is going to be the ultimate experience and platform in your sport,then its fine to be there. I dont think winning a T20 game which seems the likely format will ever be the ultimate for any cricketer, said the former Australian captain.

Cricket,heading into yet another T20 spectacle,the Champions League,has been pushing for a spot in sports greatest quadrennial and has now found an acceptably short format of the T20 that can be fitted into the two-week scheme of an Olympic Games.

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But Waugh said: In case its not the ultimate goal as a cricketer,you shouldnt be there. Waugh had led Australia to a gold medal finish in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur,where cricket debuted in a multi-discipline sports celebrations. Turning out for the national side might get restricted in certain cases with the busy schedule of T20 club cricket. But theres no greater feeling than walking out for a Test match representing 20 million Australians,and I think the sames true for an Indian representing 1.2 billion. he added.

Superior temperament

Waugh attributed Australias Champions Trophy winning success to the nations superior temperament for big matches. Were not afraid of the big games and always ready for the semis and finals of the big tournaments. Australian teams can relax and enjoy these finals,while other teams tense up since weve been there many times. They keep worrying about how to make it happen,while we go out and make it happen, he said.

Refusing to accept that the Aussies have been in a mini-decline,Waugh added that the team were right up there with India and South Africa.

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