Waugh was primarily a right-handed batsman, batting in the No.4 position in Test matches, and was also a handy medium pace bowler, who changed to an off-spin bowler after back injuries restricted him. He is regarded as one of the best slip fielders ever to play cricket, and held the world record for most Test catches by a non-wicketkeeper until Rahul Dravid broke it in 2009.

He began as an all-rounder in the Australian ODI team, but he later focussed on batting and progressed to opening the batting, where he excelled and became Australia's leading one day runscorer. His three centuries at the 1996 Cricket World Cup made him the first batsman to ever achieve this feat, the record later equaled by Sourav Ganguly in 2003 Cricket World Cup and a fourth century in the 1999 tournament made him the only Australian to score more than 1000 runs in World Cup competition and to score four centuries. He became the leading Australian run-scorer and century maker in ODIs during the 1999 tournament.

Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game, and his stylish strokeplay was likened to that of Stan McCabe, Alan Kippax, Victor Trumper, Charlie Macartney and Greg Chappell.

Following his debut Test century, Australian coach Bob Simpson compared Waugh's elegance to that of Archie Jackson. Mark Taylor called Waugh the "best-looking leg-side player I've seen in my time. . . . Anything drifting into his pads is hit beautifully.

His facile grace also lead to accusations that he was a "lazy" batsman who was vulnerable to soft dismissals.

Waugh is the younger fraternal twin brother of Steve Waugh, with whom he played for most of his career and also under his captaincy. They hold the record for the most Test and ODI matches in which siblings appeared together.

Born at Canterbury Hospital in Campsie, New South Wales on 2 June 1965, Waugh was one of twin boys born to Rudiger and Beverley Waugh. He arrived four minutes after Steve. His father was a bank official and his mother was a teacher within the New South Wales Department of Education. The family settled in the western Sydney suburb of Panania. The twins were later joined by two more brothers, Dean and Danny. From an early age, the parents introduced their children to spo