SYDNEY, Oct 21: Australian fans who had been baying for the blood of the Waugh twins as they struggled for runs, hailed Monday the return to form of Steve Waugh against Pakistan.

“Old Waugh horse not ready for the knackery yet,” headlined one commentary in The Australian after Steve Waugh scored a grinding 103 not out.

“Never doubt the heart of a champion,” wrote Jon Pierik in the Daily Telegraph, which celebrated Waugh’s feat with the headline: “Insult awakens a sleeping giant” — a reference to Pakistan coach Richard Pybus’ claim that Waugh was in a midlife crisis.

“Some doubted whether he still had the desire needed to prosper at the elite level while others felt his technique was shot and he was living off determination alone. So much for those theories,” Pierik wrote.—AFP