International Career -

Waugh made his first-class debut for New South Wales (NSW) in 1984–85, batting at number nine and bowling medium pace. In the Sheffield Shield final that season, he scored 71 while batting with the tail to help NSW to victory. After ten first-class matches for NSW, he made his Test debut against India in the 1985–86 season, in the Second Test at Melbourne. He scored 13 and 5 and took 2/36 in the first innings. Failing to make a substantial score in the series (he tallied 26 runs in four innings), Waugh was retained for the subsequent tour of New Zealand. He had a good all-round match in the Second Test at Christchurch, making 74 and claiming 4/56, but his batting average was only 17.40 for the series, scoring 86 runs. Waugh had more success in the one-day format during the season. He made his debut against New Zealand at the MCG and took 1/13 and a catch. He did not bat as the match was washed out. He was retained for all of Australia's 12 matches in the triangular tournament, scoring 266 runs at 38.00 with two half-centuries, including a top score of 81 in the Australia Day victory over India. He took seven wickets at 33.00. Waugh was retained for all four ODIs on the tour of New Zealand, scoring 111 runs at 27.75 and taking four wickets at 39.75. The Australian selectors persisted with Waugh, and he toured India in 1986, despite having scored only 113 runs at 12.56 in his Test career. During the three Tests, Waugh had limited opportunities and scored 59 runs for once out and took two wickets. At this stage of his career, Waugh bore a heavy workload as a bowler although he was ostensibly selected for his batting. He played in all six ODIs on tour, scoring 111 runs at 55.50 and taking seven wickets at 35.86.

                                                 
He bowled a long spell, taking 3/76, in the First Test against England at Brisbane in 1986–87, then scored 0 and 28 as Australia slumped to defeat. In the Second Test at Perth he made 71 and had match figures of 5/159 including 5/69 in the second innings, then he scored 79 not out in the drawn Third Test at Adelaide. Scores of 49 and 73 in the last two Tests, gave him series figures of 310 runs (at 44.29) and ten wickets (at 33.60), a fighting effort in a team defeated 1–2. The win in the Fifth Test was the first time that Waugh was in a victorious Test team, in his 13th match. Waugh played in all of Australia's 13 ODIs for the home season, scoring 372 runs at 37.20 with two half-centuries and taking 21 wickets at 21.80. Waugh regularly performed with both bat and ball. In a match against Pakistan, he scored 82 and then took 4/48 but could not stop the visitors taking a one-wicket victory from the second last ball. He then scored 83* and took 2/30 in an Australia Day victory on England. He was unable to maintain his form in the finals, scoring one and one and taking a total of 1/78 as England won 2–0. Early in his international career, Waugh was a natural, uninhibited strokeplayer who liked to drive off the back foot. He could score quickly, but was inconsistent at Test level and seemed better suited to ODI cricket. In the shorter game, he often accelerated the scoring in the later overs of the innings. As a bowler, he employed a carefully disguised slower ball bowled from the back of the hand, and regularly sent down the final overs, when this change of pace was difficult to score from.

                                       

1987 World Cup-

The 1987 World Cup, played on the Indian subcontinent, was the turning point of Waugh's career. Having scored 19* in the death overs against India in the first match, Waugh's tight bowling in the closing overs finished with his dismissal of Maninder Singh in the final over, which secured a one-run victory. In the following match against Zimbabwe, Waugh scored 45 before conceding only seven runs in six overs of bowling as the Australians won by 96 runs. In the following match against New Zealand, Waugh bowled the last over with the Kiwis requiring seven runs for victory: he restricted them to only three runs by taking three wickets in the over. He ended with 2/36, as one of the last over wickets was a run out.

In the second round robin rotation, Waugh took 1/59 and scored 42 in a 56-run loss to India, before taking 2/37 in a 17-run win over New Zealand. In Australia's final group match, Waugh scored 10* before taking 1/9 from four overs in a 70-run win over Zimbabwe. Australia qualified for the semi-finals and faced co-hosts Pakistan on their home soil in Lahore. Batting first, Waugh hit 16 from the final over of the innings in a cameo of 32*, a match that Australia won by 18 runs. In the final, he scored an unbeaten five in a brief innings at the end of the innings. He was a key player as Australia defended a target of 254 against England at Kolkata. He claimed the wickets of Allan Lamb and Phillip DeFreitas in the 47th and 49th overs as England stumbled towards the end of the run-chase. Australia won by seven runs to claim the World Cup for the first time. Waugh compiled 167 runs at 55.66 and took 11 wickets at 26.18. These performances in tight situations earned him the nickname of "Iceman".

                                                     

New Approach

Returning to Australia, he solidified his position by scoring an unbeaten 147 against New Zealand in an innings victory in the Third Test at Brisbane, ending the series with 216 runs once dismissed. He missed part of the 1993–94 triangular ODI tournament with New Zealand and South Africa due to a hamstring injury in late December, as well as the first two Tests against the South Africans. He returned for the end of the ODIs and ended with 141 runs at 23.50 and taking four wickets at 54.50. Waugh played in the Third Test at Adelaide Oval in late January with Australia trailing 1–0. He scored a 160 and took 4/26 as Australia won the Test and levelled the series. He was named as the international player of the [Australian] season

He took 5/28 and scored 86 in the Second Test of the return series in South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town to help Australia level the series 1–1 after losing the first at Wanderers in Johannesburg. Another half century saw him end with 195 runs at 65.00 and his bowling was at its most productive in five years, with 10 wickets at 13.00. In the ODI series, he received the player of the series for his all-round efforts, which hauled Australia back from a deficit of 2–4 to draw the series at 4–4. Waugh took 2/48 in the final match as Australia levelled the series by one run. He ended with 291 runs at 48.50 and five wickets at 56.40.

At the conclusion of the tour, the Australian Cricket Board interviewed Waugh, along with David Boon, Mark Taylor and Ian Healy to discern their opinions on the direction of the team after the impending retirement of Allan Border as captain. In spite of Waugh's greater experience, Taylor was granted the captaincy, while Healy was made vice-captain.

The new leadership took the team to Sri Lanka for the Singer World Series ODI tournament and then on a Test-playing tour of Pakistan.Waugh scored 53 runs at 17.66 and took five wickets in 16.20. On the latter tour, Waugh made 73 in the First Test, which Australia agonisingly lost by one wicket. His 98 in the Second Test at Rawalpindi was notable for his survival against a hostile barrage of short-pitched bowling from Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He eventually fell when a bouncer struck his body and rolled onto the stumps. A shoulder injury forced him out of the final Test, which Australia drew and therefore lost the series. Waugh scored 153 runs at 38.25 with two half-centuries and took two wickets at 72.00 as Australia won the ODI tournament.

During the 1994–95 Ashes series against England, he narrowly missed centuries in the Second and Fifth Test in Melbourne and Perth respectively, when he was 94 and 99 not out respectively when the last wicket fell. In the second instance, his brother Mark was run out after a mix-up while running for the injured Craig McDermott. It was an uneven series performance, scoring 94* and 26* in the Second Test and 99* and 80 in the Fifth, but not passing 20 in the six innings of the other three Tests. He ended the series with 345 at 49.28 and did not bowl for the entire series. Waugh played only one ODI for the season, scoring a duck and not bowling a ball. The season ended with short ODI tournament in New Zealand, which Australia won. Waugh scored 81 runs at 27.00 in four matches and did not bowl.                                             

                                                  

1999 World Cup victory-

Australia then had a slow start to the 1999 World Cup in England. After a scratchy win against Scotland, Australia suffered defeats to New Zealand and Pakistan, so they had to win their two remaining group matches (against Bangladesh and the West Indies), then all three "Super Six" matches to progress to the semi-finals: this meant seven consecutive matches without defeat to win the World Cup. After defeating Bangladesh, Waugh and Michael Bevan were criticised for deliberately batting slowly in order to minimise damage to the net run rate of the West Indies. This would enhance Australia's chances: if the West Indies' run rate remained high, they would qualify ahead of New Zealand. Since the Australians had lost to New Zealand, it would be the Kiwis that carried two points through to the next phase if the West Indies was eliminated. If the West Indies proceeded, then Australia would carry over two points from the win.

When questioned about the ethics of this manipulation at a press conference, Waugh retorted, "We're not here to win friends mate". Having beaten India and Zimbabwe in their first two Super Six matches, Waugh saved his best for two must-win games against South Africa: he scored an unbeaten 120 against South Africa in the "Super Six" phase and 56 in the semi-final. The latter match was tied and Australia progressed to the final, where they crushed Pakistan by eight wickets to win the trophy.

The World Cup victory did not immediately turn around Waugh's fortunes in the Test arena. The following tour to Sri Lanka continued the difficulties, when Australia lost the First Test at Kandy, a result exacerbated by a horrific fielding collision between Waugh and Jason Gillespie. Waugh's nose made contact with Gillespie's shin as both attempted a catch. Gillespie suffered a broken leg that sidelined him for 15 months, and Waugh had his nose broken. Although Waugh returned for the following match, the last two Tests were drawn due to interruptions from monsoonal weather. In losing 0–1, the Australians struggled to combat the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan. Waugh had a lean series with 52 runs at 17.33. Waugh's team then travelled an inaugural Test against Zimbabwe at Harare. Australia won by ten wickets and Waugh's 151 not out was the first century in Tests between the nations. After the team's return home, John Buchanan replaced Geoff Marsh as team coach.