Wisden overview
Mark Waugh will always be set apart by the fact that he is one of the only pair of twins to have played Test cricket, by the fact that his first game, against England in 1990-91, was at his brother's expense, and by his sublime batsmanship, evident in his debut century in that Adelaide match and in many memorable innings since. Though he could play all the shots effortlessly, the prince of them was a drive to leg, followed by a shot that was more caress than cut. Once an aggressive medium-pacer who opened New South Wales's bowling, Waugh became a respectable offspinner, and was a breathtaking fieldsman who took impossible catches at second slip as if with a butterfly net. At Lord's in 2001 he broke Mark Taylor's world Test record of 157 catches by a non-wicketkeeper. Admiration of Waugh is qualified by a history of succumbing to unworthy shots, which means his Test average ended at nearer to 40 than 50. In this, he was the antithesis of his twin, though he maintained he was a victim of appearances. He was a guileless man whose only real brush with controversy was to have opened his door to the knocking of match-fixers. After years at the top of Australia's one-day batting order, he followed his twin into the twilight zone when the selectors opted for new blood in South Africa early in 2002. He was dropped from the Test side just before the 2002-03 Ashes series, and announced his retirement immediately. Greg Baum

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