Thursday, February 28, 2002 We're lucky to be watching the greatest team of the modern era. Steve Waugh's Australians are not just as good as Clive Lloyd's West Indians - they are actually better. And it's because of their captain.

Lloyd didn't really have to captain his team. He always had three or four quick bowlers at his disposal – all he needed to do was give them a breather. He was lucky to have the great Vivian Richards, and an outstanding pair of openers in Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. But I was never a great admirer of Lloyd's tactical acumen. Look at his record as Lancashire's captain: it was pathetic.

Waugh is a better student of the game than Lloyd was. I had the opportunity to chat with him for a good two hours last year, and I found him to be a man of enormous substance. I can't think of any modern-day cricketer with his grit and sense of national pride. He was lucky that he served under two excellent captains himself – Allan Border and Mark Taylor – and he has more than carried on their legacy. He leads from the front, and his courage is inspiring. An incident that springs to mind is the century he made in the last Test at The Oval in the Ashes last year, after being stretchered off in the third Test at Trent Bridge. Not only did he play against doctor's orders, he also refused to use a runner at any point in his innings.

That's Waugh on the field. Once he comes off it, the man has so much to offer to society. His work with the children at Kolkata is one example. I know a lot of cricketers who just want to take from the game, and it's wonderful to see someone intent on giving back more than he takes.

His contribution to Australian cricket has been unmatched. He has converted this team into a ruthless, efficient machine so that the other sides in world cricket look weak in comparison. Not only is his team disciplined, there is a joie de vivre about their cricket. Their camaraderie reminds me very much of Richie Benaud's Australian side. In fact, Waugh is the only modern captain who I would rate alongside Benaud and Frank Worrell – the finest two leaders I have ever seen.

The Waugh effect makes Australia a more organised – and even more committed – set-up than Lloyd's team. If the two teams were able to play each other I'd back Australia.

Waugh's team would have another edge, in bowling variety. They have Shane Warne, but Lloyd's teams hardly ever included a spinner. Warne would be a crucial factor, because I think he might well take West Indies' best batsman, Richards, out of the equation. Viv was not a great player of legspin, and has himself admitted to being the bunny of my good friend Bhagwat Chandrasekhar. The contest between Warne and Richards might have been the deciding factor in my mythical match. But what a cracker such a game would have been.

Bishan Bedi, who took 266 wickets for India in 67 Tests between 1966 and 1979, was talking to Rahul Bhattacharya.

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