Steve Waugh: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Steve Waugh tries hard to soften the blow.

What he said:

“The hard thing about Pakistan is that they throw up these cricketers that you’ve never seen before.”

Steve Waugh is hard-pressed to explain away Australia’s batting collapse against an inexperienced Pakistani bowling attack in the first Test at Dubai.

Waugh said:

“Their legspinner Yasir Shah looked a fantastic find, he bowled as good as anyone in the last couple of years in Test cricket and we hadn’t even seen him. They had an attack that had just eight Test matches between them yet they performed very well. So they are always a dangerous side.”

What he really meant:

“Australians pride themselves for their preparation. But it’s difficult to be prepared when you have no idea who’s going to show up. Better the devils we know than the devils we don’t, eh?”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “Now if only the Pakistanis would play the IPL…We’d have an idea of their talent base… All our batsmen and bowlers now play the IPL and then graduate onto Aussie honours.. What an idea!”