It is very difficult to pick out the best highlights of Steve Waugh's career. After all he had so many! The following is a selection of great moments from his long and illustrious career. They are ranked in chronological order.

1. First World Cup Final (vs England in Kolkata, India in 1987)
In 1987, Steve played in his first World Cup, in India. Australia reached the Final and met England in Kolkata. Steve demonstrated that he had the right temperament and ability to perform under extreme pressure. With England requiring 19 runs for victory, young Steve was given the task of bowling the penultimate over. Waugh only gave up two runs and captured the very important wicket of Philip DeFreitas. Australia went on to win the cup.

2. Steve's First Test Century (vs England at Headingley in 1989)
It was a long wait for Steve's first Test century. After playing in 26 Test matches and with two disappointing dismissals in the nineties, Steve Waugh scored his first Test century against England at Headingley. In the first innings he scored 177 n.o. and figured in a match winning partnership with Dean Jones.

3. A Century at Lords (vs England at Lords in 1989)
He didn't have to wait long for his next century. In the very next test against England at Lords, Steve once again smashed the English bowlers to all parts of the field. His 152 n.o. included yet another match winning partnership of 130, this time with Geoff Lawson. It was a timely partnership that helped secure another Aussie victory.

4. A Game of Milestones. (vs South Africa at Adelaide in 1993-94)
During his career, Steve Waugh became something of a nemesis to South Africa. In his first Test against them at the beautiful Adelaide Oval in 1993-94, Steve returned from an injury to square the series 1-1. His 164 in the first innings set up a comfortable victory for Australia by 191 runs. In this game, Waugh established a psychological edge over the South Africans that endured for Waugh's entire career. It was also the match that Allan Border became the first player to exceed 11000 runs, Shane Warne captured his 100th wicket and wicket-keeper, Ian Healy made his 200th Test dismissal.

Steve Waugh was a very useful medium pace bowler. He took 92 Test wickets at 37.45. A back problem limited his bowling in the second half of his career.	He was also an excellent fieldsman. During his career, Steve took 112 Test catches and 270 altogether in First Class matches. He also took another 111 catches in ODIs.

5. A Double Century (vs West Indies at Kingston in 1994-95)
With one Test to be played, the series was evenly tied at 1-1. The West Indies had made a respectable 265, when both Waugh twins took on the West Indies' quicks. The pair put on a sparkling 231 run partnership. While Mark was eventually dismissed for 126, Steve went on to make 200, the first and only double century of his career. Australia's score of 531 set up an innings and 53 run victory, and inflicted the first series defeat on the West Indies in 15 years.

6. More Grief for Sth Africa (vs Sth Africa at Johannesburg in 1996-97)
In another sensational partnership, Steve Waugh (160) and Greg Blewett batted through the third day's play. Their mammoth partnership of 385 helped seal Australia's victory by a massive innings and 196 runs.

7. A Century in Both Innings (vs England at Old Trafford in 1997)
This was Steve Waugh at his very best. In a low scoring match, Steve demonstrated all of his doggedness and determination in scoring 108 in the first innings, followed by an equally stubborn 116 in the second. Australia won by 268 runs and went on to win the Series 3-2.

8. Another World Cup (vs South Africa in England in 1999)
During the 1999 World Cup, Australia and South Africa met twice: once in the Super Sixes and once in the now famous tied Semi-Final. During the Super Sixes encounter, Australia was seriously struggling at 7 for 174 in pursuit of South Africa's score of 272. All seemed lost for Australia! But not to Steve Waugh. Somehow, he once again rescued Australia and steered them to victory.  His innings of 120 off 110 balls was paced perfectly and will undoubtedly remain one of the very best innings to be played in a World Cup match.

The famous tied World Cup Semi Final on 17th June 1999 at Birmingham
The Australian players celebrate as a dejected Allan Donald walks off the ground after being run out with the scores level. The tie put Australia through to the Final in which they easily defeated Pakistan to win the '99 World Cup.

9. Another Ashes Gem (vs England at The Oval in 2001)
Nothing brings out the best in Steve Waugh more than an Ashes tussle. In the Trent Bridge Test, Steve tore a muscle in his leg that would have kept most mere mortals out of the game for a month at least. However, nothing was going to prevent Steve from playing his last Test on English soil some three weeks later. When he came to the wicket with the score on 292 for 2, he could easily have been forgiven for taking things a little easy. Not Steve Waugh. Severely hampered in movement, he proceeded to smash 21 fours and 1 six in his score of 157 n.o. The only time England came close to getting him out was when he took off for a quick single on 99. Waugh scurried down the other end and dived head-first into his crease. When the dust settled, Steve lay on the pitch with his bat held above his head. It was also one of the very few times that Steve actually displayed a hint of emotion on his face!  ....... And a few million Aussies grinned with him!

10. Last Time Against the Old Foe (vs England at Sydney in 2002-03)
In his very last Test match against England, Steve Waugh somehow stage-managed one of the most dramatic and suspense-filled finishes to a day's play in the history of Test cricket. After a poor series by any standards, and with many calling for his sacking as Australian captain, Steve edged closer and closer to his century as the last overs of the day ticked by. With one ball to be bowled by Richard Dawson, Steve found himself on 98. As Dawson ran in to bowl, thousands of SCG fans prayed and millions of television viewers held their collective breath. They didn't have to really. Steve Waugh calmly slotted the ball through the covers for another boundary. The SCG and television rooms around the country erupted. Even the usually subdued and ice-cold Steve Waugh couldn't hide his jubilation!

Soon after Steve Waugh announced his retirement, the accolades  came in from all over the world. The following is a selection.

It is very rare to encounter a sporting identity who has reached legendary status in a high profile sport, and who has largely remained unaffected by the hype, glamour and close media scrutiny that goes with the job.  Steve Waugh is such a person. He is still very much the same person who set out on an international cricket career almost twenty years ago.

One thing is certain though. Steve Waugh hasn't changed much, but the game of cricket certainly has. And it could be said that Steve Waugh and his Australian team have been the main catalyst for much of this change.

Sports Card World would like to congratulate Steve Waugh on a wonderful career. We believe that he is the most influential cricketer to have played the game over the last decade. We also believe that history will lift his status higher in the future.

Some might disagree with this claim. Names such as Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar would no doubt figure prominently in any argument on the subject. Certainly those two rank higher on pure batsmanship.  You wouldn't get an argument from us on that point.  However, we believe that if you consider the whole package and weigh up all considerations, there is only one name for us.

And that name is ........ Stephen Rodger Waugh.