PERTH, Aug 1: Steve Waugh is second only to Don Bradman as the best cricketer Australia has produced, former Australian coach Geoff Marsh said here on Friday.

Marsh, now coach of Zimbabwe, said 38-year-old Waugh has resurrected his career this year, scoring four centuries in his last eight Test innings, following calls for his retirement just eight months ago.

“I think he has to be rated as one of the best, if not the (best)... obviously Bradman stands alone, but I reckon his record speaks for itself,” Marsh said of Waugh, who both made their national debuts in 1985/86.

“His captaincy record is outstanding and his performance with the bat speaks for itself. All Stephen’s (32) hundreds in Test cricket, they are all under pressure.”

Waugh, Test cricket’s most successful captain, is only 653 runs behind the highest runscorer in Test history, Allan Border, and is on target to overhaul his old skipper’s mark in the next 12 months with home series against Zimbabwe (two Tests), India (four Tests) and Sri Lanka (two Tests).

The Zimbabwe coach said Waugh had scored the best two hundreds he had seen, including his unforgettable final ball of the day century against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground last summer.

“That hundred he got in Sydney last year was just magnificent. It was the second best innings I have ever seen in world cricket.” he said.

“The other one was his hundred in the World Cup in 1999 in Headingley, when we had to beat South Africa to get into the semifinals.

“Great knocks, inspirational, great for the game.”

He said he wasn’t surprised Waugh was still leaving his mark on the game some 18 years after first playing Test cricket.

“Stephen’s such a competitor, he loves the game of cricket and he’s so determined to keep going,” Marsh said of Waugh, whose Test batting average is back above 50 this year.—AFP