After the sudden and tragic death of cricketing legend Shane Warne, we take a look back at the Australian’s life and an illustrious career that will have his name forever etched in the history books.
When you grow up following a certain individual in sport, it’s often quite incomprehensible to think that anything will ever happen to that person.
They are often seen as immortal and, as such, this makes their departure from this world something truly shocking, especially when it comes out of the blue.
That is exactly what happened when the news broke of Warne’s death on March 4th this year, at the age of 52, with his passing coming on the same day as that of fellow Australia great Rod Marsh, to whom Warne paid tribute on Twitter only a few hours prior to his own death.
While the news is still yet to really sink in, there have been tributes pouring in for the Australian great from across the globe and this shows just how revered he was, both as a person and a cricketer.
In our tribute to Warne, we have taken a look back at the best moments of his career and how he was often the scourge of England when it came to the Ashes.
Early International Struggles
While Warne would go on to become the greatest leg-spinner of all time, it was not an easy start to his international career and he was in-and-out of the team in the early years, as the selectors mulled over his place in the side.
Making his international debut in 1992, the Aussie has varying degrees of success in the series’ against India and Sri Lanka and he had to bounce back on more than one occasion when being left out of the starting XI.
In the series with the West Indies in the 92/93 season, Warne was dropped for the first Test, before being recalled for the second Test, where he took 7/52 in a match-winning performance in the second innings. It was from here where he really kicked on.
Ball of the Century
Warne was selected for Australia’s Ashes tour of England in 1993 and he really made his mark on the international scene, taking 34 scalps to end as the leading wicket-taker in the six-Test series.
It was his first ball of the series, however, that remains etched in the mind of all cricket enthusiasts, with his delivery written in the history books as the ‘Ball of the Century”. With Mike Gatting on strike, the leg-spinner tossed one up that turned from well outside leg stump to clip the off bail.
Warne ended up taking 71 Test wickets in total in 1993, which was a record at the time for a spin bowler in a calendar year, while his haul of 96 Test wickets in 2005 is yet to be broken.
Posting Huge Numbers
Warne is one of only two players to take 700-plus Test wickets, with his haul of 708 is only bettered by former Sri Lanka international Muttiah Muralitharan (800).
The Australian produced several match-winning performances during his career and he produced no less than 10 Test 10-wicket hauls.
The first came in 1994 against South Africa, when he had match figures of 12/128, while the last was against England in 2005 (12/246).
Warne was also a dab hand with the bat and, in Test cricket, he scored more runs (3154) than any other player who never made a century.
Retirement
Warne brought his illustrious international career to an end in 2007, with his final Test coming at the SCG against old rivals England. His final Test wicket was that of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who was stumped by Adam Gilchrist.
It was not until 2013 when the Australian officially retired from all formats, confirming that he would no longer captain the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
Staying in Cricket
After his retirement, Warne was a regular commentator for a variety of media outlets, picking up the mic for Australia’s Nine Network, Sky Sports and Fox Cricket in 2018.
The Aussie also coached London Spirit in inaugural Hundred tournament, while he also worked as a spin consultant for Australia.
Recognition
Warne was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 1997 and 2004, while he is also one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century.
There is also a statue honouring Warne outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was unveiled in December 2011, with the leg-spinner saying at the time: “It’s a great honour, it’s a bit weird seeing yourself up there but I’m very proud.”
