This has been the book that I wanted to lay hands on for a long long time and finally did so last month. Wow!.. This 'Never Keep Down' book told me so many intricacies about the game itself and gave an insight into the life of cricketers on and off the field.
It is common known knowledge that Steve Waugh was not one of the 'great talents' on the field but known as the one who maximized his minute talent to the fullest. He is not known for his talent but more for his grit and determination. However this man does not agree!!. One line in his book states 'I was the most talented Batsman in New South Wales.' Does that mean he is more talented than Mark Waugh?? I do not think so.
Here I come across his personality as some one who is an extremely confused and agitated from within constantly trying to prove to himself that being a player of limited abilities , he has made it. However to the outside world , he fakes himself to be extremely talented.
The Most irritating thing in the book is the fact that everything that sounds good is the Australian way and everything else is bad.He claims Aussies lost games only because of bad scheduling , flight delays, poor hotels,lack of facilities for pre-match practice,Curators,hotels situated far away from grounds,Bad umpiring,extreme weather conditions etc etc and NOT BECAUSE THEY PLAYED POOR CRICKET!!
May be Steve needs to understand that all teams face such hardships and Aussies were no exception.The acceptance that they lost because they played bad cricket is never reflected anywhere in this 800 page book.!!On the contrary , he claims that every game that Aussies won was because of the fact that they played extremely good cricket and opponents were no match to them.How silly!!
He has not given great credit to too many opposition players.Often praise comes with an unusual dose of slack!(which I think is due to the jealous of not able to possess the talent of that opposition player and sometimes within his team!).
One of the cheap things he has said is with reference to the famous 2001 Kolkatta test."We were undone by bad umpiring. Venkatesh Prasad , the No 11 Batsman was plumb out but not given. Due to this VVS Laxman who was 35 then , scored a Half century and was able to carry on this form when he came back to bat at No 3 and scored 281". He neither accepts the fact that they were unable to get his wicket nor showers great praise on that flawless innings Laxman played.
Believe me , This is the tone that he takes throughout this book and that is truly irritating.
Some things such as the ACB-ACA duel in this book is boring to the core.However , he makes his point very clear that whatever happened , he stood by his players. One of the revelations that he makes is the relationship with his brother which he claims is not too smooth and I am surprised that there are not too many references to his 'Brother Mark'(copyright Vadivelu) in this book.
I was a great fan of Steve Waugh for his ability to bat with the tailenders and get the best out of them. He says ' Even the bowlers have some talent with the bat .The only thing that makes them to be wary is the number they bat.No Bowler wants to get out cheaply. I understood this and I was successful.'Indeed the best way to get them bat is to give them confidence that they can and allow them to play majority of balls of strike bowlers . By not doing so, they are never going to contribute.
It is surprising that all was not well even within this Aussie team as he openly speaks about his tiff with Michael Slater. Slater gets slack from him on one more occasion for his behaviour on the Dravid catch issue with Umpire Venkat (who is also damaged). Ego issues between Australian players come up in a subtle way very nicely which just goes to show that all is not great in the Aussie team as its made out to be. Waugh’s widening differences with the selectors as he approached the twilight of his career is extremely well written as is his reaction to his sacking from the ODI squad in early 2002 as captain and player.I think his best mate was Ian Healy. He recalls how painful it was for him to announce personally as the captain to Ian that he was being dropped from the ODI squad.
His Views on Captaincy is the one thing in this in this book which I subscribe to. He says -- ’’Captaincy is about empowerment,about making players responsible for their actions and ,in turn,accountable.It’s about treating everyone equally but differently by recognising there are varied characters and personalities who need to express their individual flair and instincts inside the ultimate team vision.It’s about setting an example and not expecting anything of your players that you aren’t willing to do yourself.It’s about mentoring and at times protecting individuals,and taking on their problems so that the team will benefit.You must swallow your pride in order to move on.Crucially,it’s about seeing the good in people and focusing on the positives and the things you can control.It’s making sure your time management is spot on and that you continue to earn your place in the side.At times for me it was being an advisor,psychologist,mate,mentor,mediator,selector,mouthpiece and politician.Above all,it was about being me and doing it my way.’’
Other Highlights of this book:-
a) Foreword by Rahul Dravid.
b) The Photographs.( Truly Photographs are great!)
c) His views on Match fixing.
d) His praising of Little known Sameer Dighe ( for his heroics on the last day of 2001 Chennai test)
e) His tips on how to face a ball. His mode of on and off concentration technique with his favorite 'NOW' word.
f) His duels with Curlty Ambrose ,Allan Donald etc etc.
g) The Famous Gibbs Dropcatch. (It is surprising to know that it was actually advised in their team meeting by Shane Warne not to hurry if gibbs takes a catch because he has that 'throwing away' tendency)
h) His 'Udayan' Work.
i) Fielding skills of another little known Roger Harper.
i) The Rapport with his wife - Lynette.(Who has written the last chapter in this book)
j) His on field Sledges (Paarthiv Patel's is the best)
k) Dressing room habits
and many more....
Truly the book is exceptional.However Stephen Rodger Waugh is unfortunately an Aussie & therefore exaggerates way too much( like saying chennai is 50*c) and also is Very arrogant ( says MA Chidambaram Stadium is a poor man's MCG)and Cocky (although he may not accept ).
A must read... A cricket lover's dream book.
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