Mark Waugh says Oz can be proud despite defeat

MUMBAI: Australia selector Mark Waugh gave his vote of confidence to Steve Smith’s side despite their defeat in the fourmatch Test series.

The former cricketer who had a hand in selecting the squad — his last assignment before giving way to a new National Selection Panel — said the players had performed gallantly and broken new ground in the Indian subcontinent, a place where the Australians are known to struggle historically.

India won back the BorderGavaskar Trophy, but despite the result, Waugh feels the players who were written off before the series even began can be proud of themselves.

“There’s been nothing between the two teams. I believe we’ve played equally as well as the Indians on the tour,” Waugh was quoted by Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au) having said so on the Big Sports Breakfast.

“In this (Dharamsala) Test match we haven’t played quite as well, but there’s been a lot of positive signs from the Australian camp. Individuals have done well so we can take a lot of confidence from playing well in conditions where we don’t normally do well.

“To be one-all going into this (Dharamsala) Test, if you said that before the start of the series you would have been pretty happy. We like to win, of course. But the positives are it’s been great viewing and Test match cricket has probably been put back on the map a bit.”

Waugh also praised Pat Cummins for seamlessly fitting into the side, while also singling out other members of the squad that played well during the series.