Whenever you think of Steve Waugh one of the first phrases to strike the mind is ‘steely resolve’. He played 19 years for Australia, scoring 18,496 runs in 493 matches. Among those 19 were seven as captain, during which Australia not only dominated cricket — both ODI and Test — but crushed their opposition’s spirits.
Apart from winning the 1999 ODI World Cup, his team also won 16 Test matches on the trot during the aforementioned period. The record, though now jointly shared by his successor Ricky Ponting, still stands today.
I sat down for an exclusive interview with this Aussie legend recently in Singapore, where he headlined the Magic Bus Charity Golf Challenge 2025. Waugh has long been admired not only for his heroics on the field but also for his quiet, committed work off it.
What began as a moment of curiosity and inspiration during his cricketing years has now blossomed into decades of hands-on charity work, both in India and Australia.
Waugh’s journey into philanthropy started in the mid-1990s when he was touring India. It was a journalist’s simple question — “Who would you most like to meet in the world?” — that led him down a path that changed his life. His instinctive answer was Mother Teresa, now St Teresa of Kolkata. During the 1995-96 tour to Kolkata, he acted on that answer.
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“You get an early morning rickshaw to the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity Mother House in Kolkata… we did that, and it was one of those surreal experiences,” Waugh recalled.
He briefly met the Saint after attending mass, describing her presence as something he would never forget. “She did have an amazing presence,” he told Connected to India.
Soon after, he was introduced to Udayan, a rehabilitation centre near Kolkata for children affected by leprosy or whose parents have leprosy. His involvement with Udayan began soon after and continues to this day.
That experience helped him realise the impact a public figure can have: raising awareness, bringing attention, and helping collect funds for critical causes. “I saw what my profile could do for a charity,” Waugh said.
After retiring from professional cricket in 2004, Waugh and his wife Lynette established the Steve Waugh Foundation in Australia. The focus is on children suffering from extremely rare diseases — those so uncommon that there is little to no government or charitable support. The foundation targets conditions with a prevalence of less than two in 100,000. “They really are the orphans of the health system — sort of forgotten, left alone,” he said.
The foundation has been running for over 21 years and is highly hands-on. “We know all the kids that go through it,” Waugh said, also acknowledging Lynette’s selfless contribution of “20 or 30 hours every week for 20 odd years”.
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Their commitment has led to life-changing support for many, with some beneficiaries going on to win medals at the Paralympics.
For Waugh, the rules of sport apply equally in charity — “It takes commitment, dedication, and perseverance.” Through his foundation and long-standing connection with India, he continues to make a difference far beyond the boundary rope.
While Waugh spoke about charities in detail, it wasn’t the only thing we discussed.
I asked him about his take on the IPL and whether he missed being a part of the India-based franchise T20 league, and he said, “I would have loved it. It would have suited my game. I look back to my cricket and I guess I was a guy that invented the slow ball out of the back of the hand. I first bowled that. So, I would have liked to innovate.”
Waugh also joked that he would have been a part of the franchise that would have paid the highest to him, before stating, “I think I would go for the team that has a bit of a plan and a vision and probably a really good coach.”
Waugh, while appreciating the benefits of the IPL and other franchise-based T20 cricket around the world, suggested a balanced approach towards other formats of the game. “I just hope that they remember that the very essence and foundation of the game is Test cricket,” he added.
From Virat Kohli to his famed red kerchief, a lot of stories were told by the great man. Also joining us in the conversation was Matthew Spacie, the executive chairman and founder of the India-based NGO Magic Bus, on whose invitation Waugh had flown to Singapore to headline the Golf event.
Watch the full Spotlight interview here.
