Steve Waugh: White-ball only players may regret their decision

Former Australia captain says cricketers who seek limited-overs contracts may rue the decision to turn their back on the red ball

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh says that players who seek white-ball contracts may live to regret their decision in the fullness of time.

Speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards, Waugh was asked whether or not he expected to see similar deals to those of Alex Hales, Adil Rashid and Reece Topley, become commonplace in Australia.

"I hope not. It probably will," he said.

"I think that’s a real shame, particularly for those guys. Sure they’ll have some nice financial rewards but they'll probably sit back one day and go ‘I wonder how good I might have been at Test cricket if I really gave it a 100 per cent shot’.

"But that’s a personal decision and a business decision these days. It’s not for me to say it is wrong but I just think that maybe they'll regret that later on. They probably thought about it, and if they're not getting picked in certain teams, then maybe it is easier playing white-ball cricket.

"The financial rewards are there and it is less exposure and the game is forgotten ten minutes after it is played, so there’s not as much pressure."

^{Reece Topley is the latest England cricketer to announce he has signed a white-ball contract}