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He courted controversies at will, was in news often for wrong reasons and served a one year ban. Yet, Shane Warne was a champion, arguably the main attraction among all the cricketers of his era and the best leg spinner in the history of the game.
Loved and respected, feared and adored by colleagues across the teams Warnie- as he was fondly called by his Aussie teammates- was no doubt a game changer. He was also the idol for every young kid aspiring to master the craft called, leg spin.
Flamboyant both on and off the pitch, Warne was a character that the game of cricket requires most. Such a character is always a skipper’s delight, someone the captain could go to anytime, and he would deliver. Players like Warne would always raise the confidence of the side.
At times, Cricket matches get boring. The reason could be either the pitch is too placid and dead with no assistance to any bowler as a result the batters go on piling runs, or negative approach adopted by either the fielding or batting side.
However, with Warne on the ground there was never a dull moment. Because, he would go on trying different things endlessly, do something different. And, often would spring a surprise.
Following a not so noticeable presence in the Aussie squad, during which he was in an out of the team, Warne instantly stunned all in the first test of the 1993 Ashes at Old Trafford, with his first delivery of the series, billed as the ‘ball of the century,’ that spun unbelievably a long distance and completely bamboozled Mike Gatting-the best English batsman against spin.
It not only shocked a terrified Gatting, but left, even the entire Aussie team, on filed umpires, commentators and those in the stands and others watching on television, perplexed. Having signaled his arrival in style, Warne went on to bag another 194 wickets in the Ashes in his eventful career.
Everything about Warne the bowler- his cool strides to the wicket, easy, effortless action and follow through was sheer poetry, a class act. He could spin the ball a mile, fire in his dangerous flippers in between mixing up with a googly, with the same consummate ease. He enjoyed bowling and made those watching him bowl enjoy too.
Almost a decade after 1993, when Warne, the unquestionably best in the business of leg spin, was closing in on 500 Test wickets, he was suspended from the game for 12 months after testing positive for banned diuretics on February 22, 2003. It was days before the 2003 edition of Men’s World cup was to kick off in South Africa. A heartbroken Warne had to take the long flight to Australia.
Many, mostly, his critics, believed Warne’s career had ended. However, post the ban, he roared back, as if to score a point, and picked five wickets in each innings of the first and second Tests and added another six wickets to his tally in the third against Sri Lanka. With the Man of the Series award, Warne had re-arrived. He did equally well in the 50 over games.
Even in the inaugural Indian Premiere League (IPL) 2008 , under his leadership the Rajasthan Royals won the trophy. With 708 wickets from 145 Tests and a 15- year career Shane Keith Warne hung up his boots on 2007 . In between he had revived leg spin, a dying art. Post retirement he moved to full time commentary and excelled as one of the most respected cricket commentators. At an early age of 52, the colorful Warnie passed away this month, leaving his glorious legacies behind. The game will find it extremely difficult to discover another legend and character like him.
