Cricket: Waugh's claim taken as spur

By RICHARD BOOCK

It is not every day you get the chance to beat the best cricket team in the history of the game.


So it comes as no surprise that the New Zealand cricketers are particularly looking forward to next month's visit from Australia, described on Thursday by their captain, Steve Waugh, as the equal of any team from any era.


The comment is likely to cause lively debate among Australians who have already immortalised Don Bradman's side of the late 1940s and Ian Chappell's team of the 1970s - and it certainly caught the attention of New Zealand coach David Trist yesterday.


Australia arrive in New Zealand next month to play three tests and six one-day internationals, and Trist said he was looking forward to measuring the Kiwi side against a team with such a lofty reputation.


"When I read it I thought 'wow, that's lovely. Thank you so much for giving us a chance to disprove what you're saying.' What a great opportunity we've got to dispute that claim."


Waugh said the Australian side, who racked up their sixth consecutive test win in Melbourne this week, were not only the best side in which he had played during a 15-year career, but the equal of any other since test cricket began in 1877.


"The cricket we've played this summer, I'd back us against any side in just about any era," he said. "It's probably a big call but we're playing real good cricket."


Trist said the comments added some interest to the Australian visit, but stressed that his side were giving their full attention to the one-day series against the West Indies, whom he said could prove extremely formidable in the shorter game.


"Certainly, we see them as a bigger danger than they turned out to be in the test series," he said. "The ODIs will be challenging and we expect the West Indies to be at their best whenever we play them."