Australian cricket legend Steve Waugh, the most winning captain in the history of Test cricket, has been named the newest member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the academy said on Friday.
Waugh, 40, was the 41st member of Laureus, a unique collection of prominent sportsmen and sportswomen that includes Sebastian Coe, Michael Jordan, John McEnroe, Nadia Comaneci, Mark Spitz, Jack Nicklaus, Pele and Katarina Witt. Laureus said Waugh was included in the group for his work on and off the field. He is the second Australian in the academy after swimmer Dawn Fraser and the fourth cricketer, joining England's Ian Botham, India's Kapil Dev and the West Indies' Vivian Richards.
Waugh will shortly travel to Sri Lanka to join Botham and Dev in launching a new project to aid victims of last December's tsunami disaster. Waugh became captain of Australia's cricket team in 1999 and became the most successful Test captain in history with 41 victories from 57 Tests and a success rate of 71.93 percent. He led Australia to two World Cups in 1999 and 2003 and retired in January 2004.