Steve Waugh appeals for faith

Australia captain Steve Waugh on Monday called fans to support Test cricket amid international outrage at recent match-fixing and bookmaker scandals.

"There's always going to be some doubters," Waugh said.

"All I can say is that we're going to play to the best of our ability and people can judge us on the way we play."

Australia and the West Indies begin their five-Test series at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23 and interest will centre on whether the game's popularity in Australia has suffered because of the Hansie Cronje saga and accusations from an Indian bookmaker against a host of Test players, including Waugh's brother Mark.

"We're going to play good cricket, we're going to be exciting to watch and hopefully people will have faith in the Australian side," Waugh said.

"There's always going to be some bad moments in any sport and unfortunately it's happened in cricket. "But let's get on with the future."

Waugh, whose reputation is spotlessly clean, said the Australian players had become increasingly aware of their responsibility as role models.

"We're professional cricketers and we've got to set examples for young people because people look up to the Australian cricketers," he said.

"We're high profile."

Mail Cricket Editor