“When people ask me who the best I had ever faced was, there was only one name and that was SK Warne.
A man that lived life to the full and a cricketer that perfected the most difficult skill in cricket, the leg-spin.
Fond memories mate, you go well and Rest in Peace.”
- Hershel Gibbs, a former South African cricketer
Shane Keith Warne was born on September 13th, 1969 in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia. He was one of the world’s most legendary Australian cricketers in history. He invented the leg-spin which is the most difficult bowling technique and he reached the top performance list by making world-class batsmen fear him. He was also good in his topspin and had fine control on two or three different googlies using his finger spin that breaks suddenly in the opposite direction.
Warnie began his journey to cricket in his teenage years. As he progressed his fondness and talent toward cricket, he didn’t spend much time on the grounds by playing domestic cricket before entering into the Australian squad. He only played 07 domestic matches for the Shield Domestic Club and was lucky enough to make his test debut against India in 1991-1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He then played against the England Squad in the 1993 Ashes Series and took 34 wickets in 06 matches and kept his average of 25.79.
The name Shane Warne became popular around the world after he took the wicket of Mike Gatting at Old Trafford, Manchester. That ball was named “The Ball of the Century”. This was the moment that changed Warnie’s life forever.
In the Ashes Series which took place between the years, 1994-1995, Warne was a match-winning star where he had accomplished 8 for 71 wickets by keeping the average of 20.33 throughout the series. He took 27 wickets.
In 1993, the Australian Cricket Board gave him an opportunity to play in the ODI against New Zealand. In his debuted match, he took 2 wickets by giving only 40 runs in his 10 overs.
His batting was quite underrated. He was a right-hand batsman and always defensively played the game. He also possessed a wide range of strokes as well as maintained a stable base. He had played some valuable innings for Australia during crucial times. Warne holds the record for most Test runs. This represents the amount of thrill and powerful plays that he had established throughout his career against the top-class bowlers around the world.
Unfortunately, throughout his career, while playing for international cricket, he had never gotten the opportunity to lead his team as a captain. However, in the 2013 Indian Premier League, he led the Rajasthan Royal Team and won the IPL title for the first time. He was an inspirational leader and proved that he could lead a team into victory without a doubt.
In 2003, ICC banned him from cricket for a year because of his drug hole. Gladly, he came back to the pitch with his strong wings and completed his 500th test wicket by taking Hashan Tillakaratne’s wicket in 2004 at the Galle International Cricket Stand. He was the first bowler to reach the 700th test wicket during his final MCG Test during the Ashes Series in 2006.
In 2007, Warne retired from Test cricket but continued to compete on a club level until 2014. In 2017 and until his death, he became a Cricket commentator.
Rest in peace legend, you are an inspiration for all of the young cricketers out there.
The name, Shane Warne, will never be forgotten. It will forever remain in our hearts. We thank you for all the great memories!