Shane Warne has had some memorable spells of bowling in Tests and ODIs and on his death, we feature some of the best spells of bowling that he has bowled in his 15-year career.
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Shane Warne mesmerized the cricketing world with his brilliant exhibition of legspin bowling. Be it ODIs and Tests, Shane Warne was one of the best bowlers going about in the mid-90s. It was the presence of Warne, combined with other star bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and Brett Lee that made Australia the dominant force of the 90s. Overall, Warne took 708 Test wickets in 145 matches while he managed 293 wickets in ODIs. His Test record is spoken brilliantly, but his ODI exploits are not given their due credit.
The death of Shane Warne on Friday at the age of 52 has shocked and saddened cricket fans all over the globe. Warne was a true superstar, who revived the difficult art of leg spin to make it much more fashionable to the rest of the world. Here are the top five spells from Shane Warne in his career.
The spell that he produced against South Africa came under immensely difficult circumstances. The team had started the 1999 World Cup on a bad note, losing to New Zealand and Pakistan. They needed to win every game to stay alive in the contest. In addition, Warne had missed the birth of his child, Jackson, and lacked motivation and focus. His relationship with Steve Waugh, the skipper, was not good after he dropped him for the series against the West Indies. Just days ago, Australia narrowly survived elimination by South Africa when Herschelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh. The Aussie captain ended on 120 to set up a clash with the Proteas yet again.
After Australia was bundled out for 213, South Africa raced to 48/0. In came Shane Warne and the great man changed the complexion of the match. He bowled Gibbs with a legbreak that drifted in sharply on leg stump. Gibbs looked to cover the line but the ball gripped and spun away sharply. The batter missed the line and the ball hit the top of the off-stump. It was a repeat of Mike Gatting’s ‘Ball of the Century’ in 1993 in Old Trafford.
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Warne was animated and pumped up. That wicket had aroused his internal Australianism of never giving up. Warne then cleaned up Gary Kirsten with another leg break that spun in. After getting rid of Hansie Cronje for 0, Warne had figures of 8-4-12-3. South Africa staged a comeback. But, Warne returned and dismissed Kallis as the match fluctuated. In the end, Warne ended with figures of 4/29. The match ended in a tie, with Australia reaching the final thanks to a superior net run-rate of 0.01.
Amazing! Amazing! This man is simply amazing. Words ran short to describe the spell that Shane Warne bowled on that day in Edgbaston in 2005. England was already staring down the barrel when they lost the Lord’s Test by a heavy margin in 2005. But, the England team under Michael Vaughan were fighters. They answered Australia back in grand style by hammering 407 in just 80 overs on day 1. Australia was bowled out for 312 and England got a 99-run lead.
Warne then stepped up and made the earth move. The dismissal of Andrew Strauss was sensational. In a repeat of the 1993 and 1999 balls of the century, this made a worthy addition. Warne pitched the ball well outside the off stump rough. The revs imparted on the ball made the ball spin back in viciously. Strauss decided to let it go but the ball spun past his legs and crashed into the leg stump. Strauss was left bemused, with one of the commentators on-air stating, “Warne has made many batsmen look foolish in the past.”
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Warne ran through the middle order to put Australia on top. It took a brilliant knock of 73 from Andrew Flintoff to help England set Australia a target of 282. Warne ended with 6/46. It was a titanic tussle with England’s bowlers, especially Flintoff, producing a magical display of bowling. Australia fell short by two runs and England leveled the series in grand style. But, yet again, they had no answers for Shane Warne.
The year 2003 saw Shane Warne being the center of a major scandal in the sport. Prior to the 2003 World Cup, Warne had tested positive for drugs and was handed a one-year ban. The fact that Australia won the World Cup spoke volumes about their depth. But, they needed Warne. After serving out one year, many felt that Warne might not be able to replicate his magic. The series against Sri Lanka in 2004 was billed as the battle between Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, his rival spin wizard.
Australia was beaten 1-0 the last time they had toured Sri Lanka in 1999. In tough, spinning conditions, they were up against a Sri Lanka bowling line-up on top of their game. In the first innings, Australia was bowled out for 220 with Muralitharan taking 6/59. Sri Lanka notched up 381, with Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring 104. But, hearteningly, Warne took 5/116. Despite some rust, he showed that his magic had not deserted him. In the second innings, Australia reached 512/8 declared. Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, and Darren Lehmann all scoring centuries.
The tables turned on Sri Lanka and they needed 352. Warne put on a sensational spell of 5/43 as Australia won by 197 runs. That series would define Warne’s brilliance as he ended with 26 wickets on his comeback. Fairytale comebacks would not have been scripted better as Australia whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0.
If 1993 had established a nightmare hold on England in the Ashes, then the 1994 tour Down Under cemented Warne’s psychological grip on their rivals. Australia had already deflated England on day 1 of the Test with Michael Slater smashing a century. Mark Waugh piled on the agony with a brilliant 140 as Australia ended on 426. England was bowled out for 167 with Craig McDermott taking 6/39. Australia set England a target of 508 and on a pitch that had bounce, zip, and turn, Warne found the conditions to his liking.
England made a solid start but Warne broke the stand with a magnificent flipper that breached the defenses of Alec Stewart. Using his guile and skill, Warne bamboozled all the England batsmen. His use of the legbreak and googly to the lower order was simply magnificent to behold. His 8/71 gave Australia a 184-run win. The series would go on to become a milestone for Warne. In that same series, during the Melbourne Test, Warne took a hat-trick to cement his domination of England.
“There it is! Wicket No 700. They can’t catch him.” For 13 years, Shane Warne had established himself as the ultimate bogeyman for England. The Ball of The Century, consistently brilliant performances both home and away and 40 wickets in the 2005 Ashes Test series. In each series, Warne ensured England never got on top of him. Already in the 2006 series, he had decimated England with a match-winning spell of 4/49 on day 5 of the second Test. That performance ensured the Urn returned to Australia in grand style.
In Melbourne, with the Ashes secure, it was time for Warne to weave his magic. On a slow MCG wicket, he got Strauss with a delivery that spun back in sharply. The batsman missed the line and was bowled. That wicket was historic as Warne picked up his 700th in Tests. The ovation and applause Warne got in front of over 90,000 fans signified his brilliance. Things only became better for Warne when he took his 36th and a final five-wicket haul in Tests. Australia won the Test and ensured they secured a 5-0 whitewash for the first time after 85 years.
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