25th July 2001
STEVE GOES TO WAUGH IN
BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR -
WITH FITZ-GERALD & TAYLORSteve Waugh, captain of the all-conquering Australian cricket squad, casually picked up a racket and claimed it had been "quite a while" since he last played Squash.
But you could have fooled the world's media as they watched Waugh go through his paces against British Open champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald in Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square? Yes, that's right. In an all-glass court erected in London's famous square for the Commonwealth Games One Year To Go celebrations on July 25.
Squash, Boxing and Gymnastics, three of the sports that will feature at Manchester 2002, took centre stage in the London sunshine and Sarah was joined in the spotlight by Britain's Manchester-based star Nick Taylor.
When Waugh, accompanied by team-mate Shane Warne arrived, he wasted no time in heading straight for the Squash court, erected the previous day and dismantled in just four hours after the end of the media call.
As Waugh's mother Beverley is a former Australian national champion, it's hardly surprising that the eldest of her four sons knows his way about the court - as he demonstrated in front of Decathlon legend Daley Thompson.
But the Aussie skipper was quick to play down his performance despite the admiring comments from Thompson and other onlookers.
"I've always enjoyed a game of Squash," said Waugh afterwards. "But there's so much cricket around the world these days that I don't seem to find the time to play too often. In fact it must be something like ten or 12 years since I last picked up a racket."
On the evidence of his performance, that sounds like yet another line in Oz gamesmanship from a man who has never been backward in coming forward with the psychological warfare.
However Waugh was definitely not indulging in kidology when he stressed his commitment to the XVII Commonwealth Games - and his only regret about Manchester 2002 is that, unlike Kuala Lumpur in 1998, Cricket will not be one of the 17 sports.
"Those two weeks were just about the best time of my life," said Waugh. "To represent your country in an event of that size and then go out and cheer on all the other Aussies was a tremendous experience."
Cricket permitting, Waugh hopes to be in Manchester to support the Aussie contingent, including Sarah, of course. And the 1998 Silver Medallist aims to go one better this time. "We're all looking forward to Manchester," she said. "It's going to be a fantastic occasion and we'll have to be at our best to follow our performances in Sydney with more Gold medals.
"It's a big challenge. The English are going to be very strong as far as Squash is concerned. They are on home territory and I'm sure they will be the team to beat."
"Having just won the British Open title, the Commonwealth Games gold medal is the last remaining goal to achieve in my squash career - and I can't wait for that chance in 2002. Manchester is a city with a great sporting tradition, and walking out into that arena for Australia is going to be awesome," Fitz-Gerald explained.
Nick Taylor added: "Squash is going to be a great competition and I'm sure the build-up to the Games will really pick up now.
"There's a massive amount of enthusiasm already in Manchester and the North West. People are really excited already and the whole things is going to snowball from here."
As well as Waugh, Warne and Thompson, Sarah and Nick were joined by leading sports personalities past and present including athletes Darren Campbell and Roger Black, heavyweight boxer David Haye, gymnast Annika Reeder and Rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio.
After fulfilling his own media commitments, Thompson threw out a challenge to Fitz-Gerald, too, and eventually had to be cajoled off the court so that the construction team could start dismantling the court.
"I enjoyed every minute," enthused Daley. "And take it from me, the Commonwealth Games are going to be a great experience for everyone.
"And venues like the National Squash centre are exactly what we need in this country to really help sport at the grass roots."
Three-times world champion Fitz-Gerald will remember her encounter with the world-famous decathlete with particular fondness: "He persuaded me to play left-handed, as I think he wanted to show he could beat me," said the bemused Aussie. "I did, but I still won!"
Fitz-Gerald's immediate plans are to return to Australia to compete in the Australian Open in Adelaide from 9-12 August. The focus will then be directed on the World Open in October in her home town Melbourne, where Sarah will be favourite to reclaim the title she surrendered after three years when laid low by a knee injury.
