A long-overdue century for an Australian captain is met by a celebration that mixes weary emotion with muted relief. Was it really over five years ago that Mark Taylor saved his career with a century against England in the first Test at Edgbaston? The parallels between Taylor and Steve Waugh, who ensured his place for the Ashes series with his unbeaten 103 against Pakistan at Sharjah, are considerable. Both were under serious pressure. In an 11-Test, 15-month period, Waugh had failed to score a hundred; in an 11-Test, 18-month period, Taylor couldn't even muster a half-century, though his average (18.94) wasn't much worse than Waugh's (21.56) in their respective barren periods.

Age was a big issue in the criticism of Waugh, who is 37 and looks set to quit after the Ashes. It was not so in the case of Taylor, who was only 32 at his time of crisis but was not getting nearly enough runs to justify the Australian maxim of picking the team first and the captain second.

We'll never know for sure, but it seems both were seriously close to the chop. Australia did not get a second innings in Sharjah, as Waugh's brother Mark knows all too well, and when Taylor slashed Devon Malcolm to slip as Australia were skittled for 118 in the first innings at Edgbaston, the writing was on the wall. Even though they went on to lose the game, the courage Taylor displayed in making his cathartic 129 meant there was no way he could be dropped.

Taylor followed that 129 with scores of 1, 2, 1 and 0, as if drained by the relief of ending 18 months of torture, yet his form was never again an issue - especially as those low scores went hand-in-hand Australia's resurgence in the Ashes series, a resurgence that owed plenty to some outstanding captaincy, including another act of genuine courage - choosing to bat first on a stinking Old Trafford wicket in the third Test.

His form came back after that, and for the remainder of his Test career Taylor averaged over 50, including that famous 334 not out at Peshawar. With a career average currently hovering at 49.92, Waugh needs to do likewise if he is to cement his place among the greats with an average in excess of 50. Few people would begrudge him that.

Rob Smyth is assistant editor of Wisden.com.

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