The Iceman.

Today Steve Waugh announced his retirement form international cricket, to take effect from the end of the Australian summer. Although it is probably the right time, his retirement marks the end of an era for me. He’s definitely the toughest and most talented player and captain to play for Australia in my lifetime and one of the few players who has been around long enough to remember the pain of losing, not just occassionally but again and again and again. I hope the crowds cheer him this summer, for the champion he is and was and that he leaves the game a hero, at his home ground, on his own terms.

Although cricket is a funny sport to much of the world, it will always occupy a special place in my heart if only because it was one of the greatest things I shared with my Grandad. I’ve no idea how many hours, days, weeks I spent (never wasted) watching the cricket with him, hearing him vent his frustrations and relate his many stories of the heyday of Australian cricket, of Bradman and Bodyline. Even when World Series Cricket threatened to destroy the game as he knew it, he never stopped watching.

He would be applauding Steve Waugh if he were still around.