SYDNEY, May 18: Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh may be fans’ favourite to have a new multi-million dollar stand being built at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) named after him, but he does not qualify as only players retired for ten years are considered for the honour.
SCG Trust has decided stand, being erected on old hill area, will be named after a cricketer from New South Wales (NSW) team of century and not a Sydney Swans player as demanded by football fans, The Australian reported.
Trust chairman Rodney Cavalier said Waugh was out of reckoning as only players retired for 10 years or more would be considered.
“That rule has been in place long before any of the stands were built.” However, Cavalier, a cricket-history buff, gave hint of his thinking when he said: “The evidence of our own eyes is not end of the matter.”
A leading contender is Victor Trumper, who was born close to the ground in 1877, the year Test cricket began. Trumper played last of his 48 Tests at SCG in 1912, making 50 in his final innings.
Before Don Bradman’s emergence, he was widely regarded as Australia’s best player. He was so revered in cricket world that news of his premature death from kidney failure in 1915 saw hundreds of thousands line funeral route from Chatswood to Waverley cemetery.
NSW team of century is Richie Benaud, Don Bradman, Alan Davidson, Ray Lindwall, Charlie MacCartney, Arthur Morris, Billy Murdoch, Bill O’Reilly, Bob Simpson, Victor Trumper, Charles Turner and Steve Waugh.—Agencies
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