Steve Waugh has rejoined Australia as a mentor ahead of the crunch fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.
The 168-Test veteran spent the first month of the Ashes tour with the Australia side but travelled home to fulfil prior commitments after the Lord’s Test.
It was Waugh’s first stint with the visitors since retiring in 2004, and team coach Justin Langer affirmed how keen ‘Iceman’ was to return after arriving in Manchester on Sunday night to resume his role.
He said: “Steve was actually going to fly home, do the function and fly back the next day. That’s how much he’s enjoying it. He’s been like a kid at Christmas.
“To come back after such a long time away from the game, his passion and enthusiasm has been brilliant and it’s going to be great.”
Waugh also held mentoring positions with the Australian team at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
Waugh has been officially employed by Cricket Australia to pass on his knowledge, following on from fellow former greats Darren Lehmann, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson.
Langer added: “They have they got a great presence within the group but they’re great psychologists as well. They’ve been in the cauldron, they’ve seen it before.
“To have your guys learning from people of that calibre is very important short-term, but longer term there’s huge value in that.”
It was at Old Trafford 30 years ago where Australia won the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 1975, with Waugh making 92, and he memorably recorded twin hundreds to level the series 1-1 in 1997.
Langer hinted not having Waugh during the Third Test at Headingley could have affected the result.
He said: “Would he have made a difference in those last 60-70 runs? Who knows?”
