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‘The most selfish cricketer I ever played with’: Warne reopens attack on Waugh

by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

Shane Warne has once more reiterated the comments he made in his 2018 autobiography No Spin, labelling Steve Waugh as the “most selfish” cricketer he played with, and this time he has the stats to back himself up.

After famed cricket YouTube uploader Rob Moody decided to post a compilation video of Waugh’s batting partners being run out at international level – the former Australia captain was involved in 103 run outs at international level, with his partner dismissed on 73 occasions – Warne took to Twitter.

In a tweet, he wrote, “For the record AGAIN & I’ve said this 1000 times – I do not hate S Waugh at all. FYI – I picked him in my all time best Australian team recently. Steve was easily the most selfish cricketer that I ever played with and this stat…….”

In his autobiography, Warne revealed how he was “let down by someone I had supported big time” when Waugh dropped the leg-spinner – and then vice-captain – for the fourth Test against West Indies on the 1999 tour of the Caribbean.

“Disappointed is not a strong enough word,” wrote Warne. “When the crunch came Tugga didn’t support me, and I felt so totally let down by someone who I had supported big time and was also a good friend.”

Additionally, Warne wrote: “Steve Waugh was the most selfish player I ever played with and was only worried about averaging 50.

“He became a completely different person when he took over as captain… I think he turned into a more selfish player when he had his second run in the Test team, which changed him.”

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