| Mark and Stephen were born in Bankstown. They are non-identical twins. Mark was born four minutes after Stephen. "Steve had a big crop of black hair and he was really pretty. Whenever anyone looked at them they would say 'oh lovely, twins a boy and a girl.' Stephen was always referred to as the girl with his pretty face. Mark didn't have much hair at all. Stephen had a lot of black hair, very long." Beverly Waugh, their mother "They might be playing with the hose in the little pool up the back and Stephen would grab hold of it and chase Mark with it. He just had the devil in him... Stand them still and try to take a photo and Steve would be doing something sneaky to make Mark move. He wasn't that naughty, he never caused any great hassles. He just had that streak of mischief in him." Their mother again |
| Mark And Stephen Waugh |
| 1965 - 1983 |
| 2nd June 1965 |
| Primary School Reports |
| 3rd grade: "Mark (who was class captain) works well. He is quite mature, very reliable and popular. A pleasant personality. Works conscientiously. Almost tradesman like, reliable." 5th grade: "Mark is a great student. Everything is done to perfection with great attention to detail." 6th grade: "Polite and well-mannered at all times." |
| Mark Waugh |
| "Sensitive and emotional." 3rd grade: "Too energetic sometimes. A keen sense of humour. A sensitive type whose behaviour lapses are an over-reaction to embarrassment." |
| Stephen Waugh |
| Early Sporting Acheviements/Careers |
| The Waughs attended the Panania Primary School. The Waugh twins' first cricket coach was Alan Dougherty, from when they first played organised cricket at the age of 7 until they were 14. They took a while to develop their cricketing talent. This did not prevent them from being placed in the under-10's team when most children of their age would have played in the under-7's team. They joined the Panania junior team. "Their ability to catch at eight was far superior to kids many years older and that's a skill they've never lost. And their ability to run between wickets and judge a run was freakish , especially when they ran together. They were so quick that if they weren't batting together there was always the opportunity for a run-out because the other kids couldn't keep up." Brian Freedman In the under-10's, they played in a representative team. They both made the NSW Primary Schools cricket team around the same time. This required touring and they had a lot of fun getting up to trouble. Some of the pranks they did; wandering around town after curfew "trying to find things to do", putting frogs in sleeping bags, spraying people with whipped cream, throwing rocks on roofs and "stuff like that", says Stephen. |
| Awards |
| 1975: Panania (the Waughs' team) were runners up in the state soccer carnival. 1976: Panania won the state soccer carnival. Panania won the state cricket carnival. 1977: The twins jointly received the Torch-Roselands Sports Star award. The twins spearheaded a win by Panania Primary School in the 114 -team Umbro International Shield Schools soccer knockout. (Panania beat Cardiff South from Newcastle 3-1, with Steve scoring two goals and Mark one.) Their team won the state cricket carnival. The twins were runners up at the state tennis carnival. |
| Captaincies |
| New South Wales Primary Schools cricket team: Mark was captain and Steve vice-captain of this team which won the national cricket carnival undefeated. Mark and Steve combined for a partnership of 150. Panania tennis team: Mark was captain of the tennis team which won the state tennis carnival. New South Wales soccer team: Steve was captain of this team. Under-12s Representatives: Mark was captain and he also made the most number of runs. "As long as players in the team give one hundred percent, you know they're doing their best, that's the main thing, I'm happy with that... [I wasn't reluctant to give players a blast] , usually at that particular moment when they had misfielded a ball or something. Especially if it was off my bowling. I got a bit upset if I thought they weren't trying. I always like to win. I'd try to satisfy most of the team but the bottom line was I liked to win. Most of the players were good enough anyway. They had their chance." Mark Waugh on his captaincy technique |
| Soccer |
| Both Mark and Stephen were very good soccer players. "I have not seen a better goal this year than the one scored by East Hills High School's Stephen Waugh in the Commonwealth Bank Cup at Mt. Druitt Town Soccer Centre last Wednesday evening. It was a goal of which the legendary Franz Beckenbaner would have been proud. Waugh began a 50m slalom run well inside his own half and beat seven opponents before smashing a 20m drive past the Springwood goalie. Waugh, who plays for Croatia's reserve team, was one of the many talented youngsters on view, and his goal enabled East Hills to beat Springwood 3-0 and so advance to the quarter finals." Johnny Warren (former Socceroo) in the Sydney Morning Herald 15th July 1983 The Waugh twins followed no particular team or players, although Steve liked to observe the technique of Pele and Maradona, and he also admire Liverpool FC. They watched the FA Cup, the World Cup and the English soccer league games regularly on TV. Mark chose cricket above soccer out of his own free will. However, Stephen would rather have not have to made the choice to play cricket instead of playing for first grade Sydney Croatia. "I loved playing soccer and I'd love to play it again but it's just too hard at the moment. If you get injured all your contracts are null and void because your playing another sport. So you can't really take the risk. But one day I'm sure I'm going to play again." Steve Waugh Steve had offers from Brisbane and Sydney Olympic soccer teams. He played with the Australian Schoolboys. |
| High School Reports |
| 8th grade: "A student who can be relied upon to do his best." 9th grade: "Mark's public speaking has not proven to be of an adequate standard." 11th grade: "Sport is affecting his biology, but Mark has made a genuine attempt to keep up." 12th grade: "Too quiet, should seek help." "Must ask for help with his studies rather than wait for the solution to gradually emerge. |
| Mark Waugh |
| Steve Waugh |
| Described as "talkative", "enthusiastic", "keen", "interested", "active class member", "capable and well mannered", "polite and co-operative." 11th grade: "Capable of balancing his life to include success at school as well as on the sporting fields. Providing he continues to balance the demands on his time he should continue to do well." |
| Teenage Sporting Careers |
| The Waugh twins attended East Hills High School for Boys. They didn't concentrate much on studies, just learning enough to get by while playing as much sport as they wanted. That's not to say they're not intelligent. Stephen got more than 300 in his High School Certificate, which was more than Mark got. "I couldn't believe that. He copied off me all year. I think they got our papers mixed up. It's not that he's dumb but he shouldn't have got more than me." Mark Waugh In year 12, Steve won the school blues for soccer and cricket, as well as the Presidents' Award. Mark also won the cricket blues. Steve was captain of the East Hills HS cricket team for his last 2 years of school. Mark opened the batting and bowled first change. Steve opened the bowling and batted in the number 3 position. They were in the school's first XI since year 9. The twins both missed the final exams due to a CHS regional carnival. They took up work experience in year 10 like most Australian high school students, Steve was a greenkeeper at Picnic Point bowling club, and Mark was a lab assistant at British Paints. By year 12, they both knew they wanted to play cricket in England when they finished school. The twins were class clowns, with Steve having a particular affinity for fruit fights and water bombs. Steve also wagged school a lot. Steve met his wife Lynette in high school. She was his only real girlfriend. Mark, however, took a while to develop an interest in girls and then had a few mid-term relationships before settling down with his de facto wife Sue Porter. "A lot of the blokes didn't have girlfriends because of the fact it was a boys' school. Oh, we used to fancy the odd one (but) I wasn't really that interested. When I was 17 or 18 I gave it a bit more thought. I was fairly shy with girls, I still am though I'm a bit better now. I wouldn't talk to them, they'd have to talk to me if they wanted conversation. |
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