I think Waugh is a great captain. One of the best ever. The common argument, is that either
a) He had a great team, or
b) He had no plan B.
He can't help that he had a great team. However it wasn't just 'given' to him. Were Australia as great under Taylor? I mean, Taylor gave captaincy to Waugh, if the team was that great, it would mean the results would have been similar throughout right? The team that Taylor gave to Waugh was a good team. No doubt about it. They were expected to win more than they lost, and were one of the best teams in the world. However, within a few months of Waugh taking over, the team took another step forward. They went from merely good, to excellent, and then again, to legendary. There was changes from the team that Taylor handed over, and the changes were directly influenced by Waugh. Waugh was the one that insisted Langer be brought in, Brett Lee was also pulled into the Australian side under Waugh's insistence.
He made a merely good team, into the incredible team they became.
Secondly, the no plan B. As has been mentioned above, they never just lay down and lost a game. If Australia were to lose a test, it would be in spectacular fashion. Be it a Brian Lara special, or a VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid tag team, it was always spectacular. It would take an amazing, superhuman effort from one or two of the opposition players, to be able to defeat Waugh's team. There was never an easy win.
When Brian Lara is on song, there is nothing any captain in the world can do to stop him. So Plan B, Plan C, Plan D would not have helped. Two tests he won of his own bat, did Brian Lara. Waugh could do nothing but watch on.
VVS Laxman's century was rated the best test innings of all time. So it took the best test innings of all time to defeat Waugh's Australians.
It was always just so near impossibleto beat his side, and that is a hallmark that was only carried when Waugh was captain. When Taylor was captain, it was merely hard to beat the Australian test side. Now, Ponting is captain, and again, it's merely hard to beat the Australian test side. However, when Waugh was captain, it was near impossible.
It's not all about field placings, inspired bowling changes or batting order shuffles. Captaincy is a lot more than that, and what Waugh lacked in some places, he more than made up for in others.
You can critisize him and say at times he was too attacking, and didn't know when to take a step back. Let's face it, no plan is bulletproof, and neither is Waugh's. However his plan was more successful than any other captain in the history of cricket. So for the few times it did not work, he is forgiven.
Even without his super star bowlers in Mcgrath and Warne, the Australian unit was damn hard to beat. That really says something about the great man.
And let's remember:
A champion team will always beat a team of champions.
Waugh made a team of champions, into a champion team.
If you have a look at the Pakistani side for the past few years, it's brilliant. There's a LOT of talent there, some superstar players. Yet they are so inconsistent. They need a guiding force, to convert the team of champions, into a champion team. There's other examples peppered throughout history. It's not as simple as saying 'anyone could captain that side to a victory'
