Steve Waugh wasn't happy I didn't wear Baggy Green to Wimbledon 2001 final, it probably ended my Test career: Damien Fleming

Former Australia cricketer Damien Fleming has said that not wearing the Baggy Green to the Wimbledon 2001 final was the probable reason behind the end of his Test career, as the then captain Steve Waugh did not like his decision.

Fleming, who is now a well-known media figure with Channel 7 and SEN Radio, told the story behind him and other two players of the team who did not don the Baggy Green to the iconic Tennis event. Prior to the men's singles final matchup against Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic, skipper Waugh urged his players to don the legendary headgear as an act to express solidarity with fellow Aussie Pat Rafter.

Fleming stated that he felt wearing the Baggy Green to the event was not a serious but an "alcohol talk" that Waugh and teammates had on the preceding night. However, he discovered every other player turned with the cap the next day, keeping aside himself, Steve’s brother Mark Waugh and the late Shane Warne.

"In the 2001 Ashes tour, we finished a day early and there was a washout (at Wimbledon) so Patty (Pat) Rafter and Goran (Ivanisevic) played a day later," Fleming told SEN Cricket. "Tickets were organised for us to go down and watch. I was very excited, we'd won, so there was a big celebration, we were singing the song and a few people were talking about wearing the Baggy Green as we progressed through the alcohol.

"At night you're thinking it's just a bit of alcohol talking, but surely this won't come into play. So I rock up for the bus, get on and guess what? Everyone has got their Baggy Greens except for Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and myself,'' added Fleming.

Notably, Fleming did not feature in even one Test following the incident. He expressed regret, feeling that he would have had a better end to his Test career had he followed the orders of his skipper. He added that even though Warne and Steve's own brother Mark did not follow his instructions, the axe fell only upon him.

"We're on centre stage (at Wimbledon) and you hear this roar. One by one as we walked through there was a massive roar. But Steve Waugh was not happy that everyone hasn't worn the Baggy Green. So there's got to be ramifications for this.'' The former pacer added that with Warne being an icon and Mark being Steve's brother, he became the fall guy.

"You can't drop Shane Warne. Not again. I think he (Waugh) worked out that didn't go down very well. He can't drop his brother Mark Waugh. What would that be like at Christmas lunch? So, someone has to go and it's the big-nosed Victorian. Not the smartest thing I ever did. I never played Test match cricket again," he said.

Fleming represented Australia in 20 Tests and 88 ODIs. He notched 75 wickets at an economy of under three in Tests, while he has 134 wickets with an economy of under five in the One-Dayers.

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