Waugh: The defining moment of my career

Steve Waugh said his century in the final Ashes Test against England could be the defining moment of his brilliant career.

With Australia in deep trouble and his own career at the crossroads, the skipper silenced his critics, bringing his team back from the depths with a typically battling display and smashing the final ball of the day for four to reach 102.

That put him on 29 Test centuries, equalling the record of Don Bradman, and topped off a day when he had already passed the 10,000 Test runs mark.

"I don't think it gets any better than that, scoring a hundred off the last ball in front of your home crowd and playing the way I did today," said Waugh.

"I think it was one of those occasions which they talk about as being in the zone.

"I've always aimed to play the perfect innings. You never know when it's going to happen or whether it will ever happen but it's something I've always strived for.

"Today was pretty close to as good as I can play and if I can continue that tomorrow then maybe it is the most defining moment of my career."

Waugh is now alongside the late, great Bradman as a Test century-maker and among the first to pay tribute to him was Bradman's son John.

"My dad watched Steve's career with great admiration and I know he would want me to congratulate him on this wonderful achievement," he said in a statement.

When he reached 69, Waugh also joined Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar as the only players to make 10,000 Test runs but it was the manner in which he made his hundred that will live in the memory.

Not only did he help rescue his team, but he scored his runs quickly and flawlessly, reaching his century in less than three hours off just 130 balls.

"I like that situation, I must admit, when it's a real challenge," he said.

"We were 50 for three chasing 370 on a wicket that's deteriorating so for me that's what gets me going, so it was probably the perfect situation for me to come in today.

"The adrenaline was almost overwhelming and overpowering but I felt I had to get the hundred tonight," Waugh said.

"I think it would have been a disappointment for the crowd and for myself and I mightn't have slept that easy tonight if I didn't get it.

"I felt it was my day and it was just meant to happen. Sometimes you just know when it's going to be your day. It's hard to explain, it happens occasionally, but I felt I always had a chance."

Waugh said his innings evoked memories of his younger days, particularly his first tour of England in 1989 when he made his maiden Test hundred and averaged 126 in the series. "For me it felt very much like my first Test hundred at Headingley, just the way I saw the ball and hit the gaps," he said.

"I feel like I'm playing now like I was when I was 19 years old, just going out there playing my shots and having fun.

"You just wish you had more of those days than the bad days, it was almost a perfect day."

At 37, Waugh is in the twilight of his career and without a World Cup place. He may even retire after this Test but said he still had not made a decision on his future.

"It's certainly a temptation to go on and keep playing but I just have to wait until after the game and assess things then," he said.

"Age is totally irrelevant, it's what's inside you and how you go about things that counts."