‘When he was not in Test side, I felt I lost something’: Steve Waugh on ‘strange relation’ with brother Mark

In a recent interaction with former England cricketer Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Youtube video interview, Steve Waugh opened up on his ‘strange relation’ with his twin brother, Mark.

In the world of cricket, there are only a few sibling pairs more popular than the Waughs. Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh had a difference of only four minutes between them, with the former being the older one among the twin pair. Steve also made his debut for Australia five years before his brother and also went on to become one of the most successful captains of the team during the late 90s and early 2000s. The right-hander also won the 1999 ODI World Cup as captain, while Mark remained an integral member of the team in the ODI format.

Steve Waugh with brother Mark.(Getty Images)

In a recent interaction with former English cricketer Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Youtube video interview, Steve Waugh opened up on his ‘strange relation’ with his twin brother.

“Your relationship with Mark, reading your book, I found it interesting, there are elements of great warmth, but parts that suggested a bit of distance... So it wasn’t always a straight-forward relationship?” Atherton asked.

“Well, probably not. We were always in the same teams, always in the same class, we lived in the same bedroom for 16 years, we shared the same clothes. We are constant with each other’s reach. We lived in each other’s pockets. We went everywhere together. The comparisons were inevitable,” Steve said in response. 

“We were good in sports. In each year we played, we were probably the best. There was this all-encompassing who is the better Waugh, and the competition in school, who gets the most marks... who gets the first sausage, who eats the most etc,” he added.

“When we turned 19, and made it New South Wales, we consciously or sub-consciously made a decision to go separate directions, and be our own person, because we were always seen as a couple almost. So in some ways that drove us apart. we had different bat sponsorships, we never did any endorsement together. Our interests varied. On tours, I liked to meet people and click photos. Mark would like to stay at hotels. We had different interests, and it grew from that,” Waugh further said.

“But we always had mutual respect. I always wanted Mark to do well. When he was not in the Test side, I walked out to the ground, turned around and just felt that I sort of lost something, that he wasn’t there. In some ways, people say it is a strange relationship. We have that respect for each other. We don’t ring up and talk to each other much. But when we catch up, it’s good to see each other,” he added.

On being asked how often the two brothers meet up these days, Waugh said: “We don’t catch with each other a lot, we live two hours apart. I have my three kids, he has his horses and his interests. Life still moves on and you go in different directions and that is normal for most people.”