'Never Surrender' offers lessons for all who find they must back themselves if they want to succeed. For this reason, of all Steve Waugh's 11 books published to date, this one may well prove to be his most important.
When Steve Waugh walked out to bat on 3 January 2003, in the fifth Ashes Test, he knew his career was on the line. Former Test players such as David Hookes had strongly suggested that it was time for Waugh to go.
From when the Sydney crowd gave Waugh a hero's reception as he strode out to bat, 3 January became one of Australian sport's most special days. By the penultimate ball of the day, the captain's reputation was fully restored: now he was within one stroke of his hundred.
Facing the off-spinner Richard Dawson, after a long delay as England skipper Nasser Hussain fiddled with his field, Waugh flayed the ball through the covers, to cap a remarkable session. Channel Nine delayed its main news bulletin, no one had left the ground . . . this was one of those sporting moments which everyone will remember and recall where they were when that famous four was struck.
'Never Surrender' is the full story of that amazing hundred, told by the man who made it. It also features interviews with Nasser Hussain, Adam Gilchrist (the batsman at the other end for much of Waugh's innings) and media personality Andrew Denton, who had bought a day as the Australian 12th man at a charity auction and won himself one of the greatest afternoons of his life.
