STEVE Waugh was always one for reaching for the stars.

As captain of the all-conquering Australian team of the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was the one — along with coach John Buchanan — who dared the side to do what had never been done.

He dared them to push for wins when only draws seemed possible. He dared them to up run-rates in the whites.

As a result, they won a world record 16 consecutive Test matches from 1999-2001 under his leadership (bar one Test against the West Indies in Adelaide he missed through injury), and plundering 300 runs in a day on a regular basis was expected rather than just wishful thinking.

But for all his focus on breaking barriers, there’s one thing Waugh thinks will remain impossible in today’s game. Cricket has progressed so that players have more opportunities to play for different teams and travel the world, and feats previously thought unreachable are now not so (particularly with the bat and in the field), but it’s also made it very difficult to achieve perfection across the board.

The man they call “Tugga” says no team can possibly find the perfect balance to excel in all three forms of the game — Tests, ODIs and T20s.

Cricket.com.au reported that when at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin, the former national team skipper said the vastly different nature of each format made it unrealistic to expect teams to master the different skills required for them all.

“I think Australia is the closest when it comes to striking a balance (between the three formats),” Waugh said.

“India has the potential and England is also coming up nicely … I think it’s impossible to strike a perfect balance given that there are three different teams. It’s not realistic.”

Australia’s recent Test form has been promising, but they’ve struggled to dominate when it comes to slog-a-thons. They failed to make the semi-finals of this year’s edition of the World T20 — a repeat of their under-achievement at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.

Waugh says that’s because Test cricket is their number one priority — something he has no problem with.

“I appreciate that (Australia) put Test cricket at a pedestal and because of that probably T20 has suffered but I respect Cricket Australia for giving primacy to Test cricket.

“As a result we didn’t have a settled line-up in the World T20 and we got what we deserved. I guess there will be a shake-up and we will pay T20s a bit more respect.”

Australia’s third leading run-scorer in the five-day version also said the increased focus on T20 cricket meant players valued money over team success. Now players often retire from international cricket and ply their trade as T20 guns for hire for different franchises around the globe to earn their keep.

“Somebody like Brendon McCullum retired from Test cricket even though I feel he still had three to four years in him,” Waugh said.

“He is just working for superannuation right now, for his family, which is alright. Overall I feel there is no loyalty to the team, there is loyalty to money now. I don’t blame the players but it’s tough on the fans.

“There is a danger (of focusing too much on T20 cricket) and we all know that.

“The incentive to play T20 cricket is so much more than Test cricket.”