To be there at the end is an art that not many have been able to perfect. Whether it is to finish the innings with a flourish or to chase down a total, being there at the end is crucial.
Steve Waugh may have fallen short of joining an elite list of batsmen with at least 1,000 World Cup runs but his ability to stick around and be there at the end was enough to give him a world record.
One look at the record for most not outs in World Cup history and it is easy to see that tail-enders form a big chunk of the top ten. Despite playing just 33 matches in the tournament, Steve Waugh finished with 10 not outs in 30 innings to claim the record.
Averaging a not out every three innings while batting in the middle-order is far from easy. And that is what makes the former Australian captain's achievement all the more impressive.
Javagal Srinath is second on the list with nine but Waugh went one better across the four tournaments that he played in.
Throughout his WC career, Waugh batted no higher than fourth and no lower than seventh. He began it all with a cameo that made all the difference in Australia's one-run win over India in Chennai in 1987.
In his first World Cup was when he managed the most not outs as he had five not outs in eight innings, which included his maiden World Cup encounter, the semi-final and final.
In 1992, he didn't have a single not out to his name and he had just two more in 1996.
His final World Cup, he finished with his best runs tally in a World Cup, scored his maiden World Cup century and also ended in style as he scored a fifty, century and another fifty in his last three innings as Australia claimed their second World Cup title.
Two World Cups and a world record is not too shabby for a middle-order batsman who wasn't always everyone's favourite to watch with the willow at hand.