Allan Border and Steve Waugh reveal why they barely spoke to each other for more than a DECADE

Australian cricket greats Allan Border and Steve Waugh have opened up on why they barely spoke for more than a decade despite playing in the national team together at the time.

Both men respected one another and there was no hint of animosity – ‘AB’ always felt Waugh was going to become a key figure at Test level and left him to his own devices, while ‘Tugger’ kept silent due to initial shyness.

It was only after Border retired in 1994 that the pair enjoyed lengthy chats.

When Australia toppled the might of the West Indies in the Caribbean in 1995, Border was welcomed into the victorious Aussie dressing room.

‘We had been sitting around talking for some time and the manager said the bus was ready and some of the boys said “hang on, we have finally got AB to open up”,’ Border recalled to News Corp.

Both men confirmed there was no hint of animosity – ‘AB’ always felt Waugh was going to become a key figure at Test level, while ‘Tugger’ kept silent due to initial shyness

Waugh told Border he had been yearning for a detailed conversation when the pair were teammates, to which Border replied ‘I didn’t need to talk to you, because you were always going to make it.’

Border then conceded he should have communicated better with his players when skipper of Australia. 

‘Once I got the job as captain (in 1984) I should have embraced the job a lot more and thought a bit more about what it actually means. You are in charge of a group of these blokes and they are looking for direction,’ he said.

‘I learned that late. There were a lot of players I could have helped along the way and I think they would have been better Test cricketers if I had been a bit better sounding board. 

‘The communication side of things was one huge weakness in my captaincy I would like to re-address if I had another go at it.’

Waugh, who made his Test debut in 1985, took over as Australia’s captain in 1998 from Mark Taylor and soon became one of cricket’s greatest ever leaders

Waugh, who made his Test debut in 1985, took over as Australia’s captain in 1998 from Mark Taylor and soon became one of cricket’s greatest ever leaders.

He won the World Cup in 1999 and then was at the helm when the champion Australian XI went on a 16-game unbeaten run at Test level.

Waugh holds the record for scoring the most career centuries in Test history when batting at number five, with 24 tons – and also plundered the highest ever career runs – 3165 – when batting a place down the order at six.

He played his last Test in 2004 versus India and is widely considered a cricket icon.