Random Cricket Photos Post 63



#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

When Mark Taylor departed from the scene, Steve Waugh decided to build something that was more than just a cricket team. He knew he had some of the finest individual talents at his disposal but to turn them into a ruthless winning unit, he needed to do something different from his predecessors. One thing Waugh wanted his players to feel deeply was a connect with the Australian teams of the past. He wanted his players to not just represent the team Australia but also, the culture as well as the centuries old glorious cricketing legacy.

In 1999, he thought of an idea. When his team played Pakistan in Brisbane, he had two men in line waiting to make their Test debuts - pacer Scott Muller and wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist.

To reinforce the notion that they were becoming a part of a rich and long cricketing legacy, Waugh invited a member of Don Bradman's Invincibles - 86-year-old Bill Brown for a little ceremony. Brown, a veteran of 22 Tests was to hand the debutants their Baggy Green - the cap worn by Australian cricketers in Tests - and also explain to them the importance of the cap, which they'd get only once in their careers according to new rules..

In his autobiography True Colors, Gilchrist writes, "With tears welling in my eyes and hands trembling, I placed the soft cloth cap onto my head and it felt the most comfortable item of clothing I had ever worn."

Gilchrist wore the cap for the first 60 of his 96 Test matches,

Thus, thanks to Waugh, a tradition started of former players presenting caps to debutants, one that has come to be copied by pretty much all countries now.

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