Steve Waugh and the fly

January 3, 2004
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly's description of Mark Ray's iconic photograph.

He's not looking at the camera because he's focused somewhere else but we still have a good front-on view - head and collar only. The photo is black and white but we know the colour of his cap. It's the beloved, the holy (and holey) baggy green for which he has put his body on the line over and over again.

He is slightly unshaven in the manner of the modern warrior, squinting because he's outdoors in Australia in the summer time, lips dry and skin sun-worn.

It's a good bet to say that he's spent more time on the field than any other Test cricketer of the past 15 years.

There's a fly becalmed on his right cheek. This would be a good portrait anyway - the grizzled, laconic icon - but the fly's presence lifts the photograph into greatness; it is the speck that smotes between the eyes, giving us the breathtaking revelation of character.

Steve is oblivious to any distraction. Important matters are on his mind. The sacred SCG members' stand could be burning down behind him and he wouldn't blink.

The fly, for its part, doesn't know that Steve is alive. It thinks it has found a nice perch in the sun. Here is utter stillness, the key to successful action. The fly may be there for some time.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/02/1072908905389.html