The death of legendary Shane Warne is a great example of how sportsmen leave behind a huge legacy within a short period of time. He was not involved in the sport for more than a decade, but his death not just shattered the cricketing world but the whole world in general.
Within a span of just 2 decades, he inspired many generations to follow their passion and work hard towards their goals. He inspired many budding cricketers to bowl leg spin, imbibe his action, to be like him. His ball of the century will be etched in the hearts of all till the day the sport is played. Such is the power of influential personalities, such is the power of sports.
On the occasion of the 1 year death anniversary of Shane Warne, let us have a look at some iconic Shane Warne moments:
Gatting delivery: The ball of the Century
On 4th June 1993 during the first test of the Ashes series at the Old Trafford, Shane Warne was about to bowl his first delivery on English soil. The leg spinner walked through his run-up and bowled the ball well outside the leg stump. Poor Mike Gatting had felt that the ball would clearly miss the leg stump, so he left the ball. But the ball turned viciously and clipped the off stump. Mike Gatting could not believe what had happened and had to walk back to the pavilion in complete disbelief. The magician had weaved his magic.
Hattrick on the Boxing Day
The 1994 Ashes series was hyped around Shane Warne. There was a sense of mystery around his bowling and he was constantly troubling the Englishmen. It was a theatrical experience as he turned the match on its head with a hat trick at his home ground at the MCG during the second test.
He dismissed Phil DeFreitas leg before, Darren Gough nicked behind and then his good friend David Boon caught Devon Malcolm at short leg.
World Cup semifinal 1999
South Africa was cruising at 48-0 while attempting to reach an under-par 213 when the ball was tossed to Warne. He needed to create something extraordinary because the match was quickly slipping from Australia’s hand. He bamboozled Herschelle Gibbs clipping his off stump, virtually of Gatting proportions. The leg spinner ended up with figures 4-29. In the final, Warne would go on to win man of the match, and his legacy continued.
Iconic 2005 Ashes Series
The 2005 Ashes series was one of the best test series. It was a challenging time for Shane Warne as he was under the scanner for his off-field controversy. But it would have motivated the wizard to do better than ever. Shane Warne took 40 wickets in the series as the Englishmen were totally clueless against him. The way he dismissed Andrew Strauss will be remembered for ages to come. Strauss attempted to block a ball that was much outside of his off stump but was defeated, and the ball struck the leg stump.
The hostile crowd, which had watched Australia demolish their country for more than ten years, sang “We just wish you were English” as he fielded on the boundary.
A Fitting Farewell
The most spectacular dismissal occurred at the MCG once more when he became the first player to claim 700 wickets with a beauty to Andrew Strauss who was trying to come down the wicket to him. In jubilation, he circled his teammates while one of the MCG’s loudest roars was playing in the background. After the subsequent Test, he would retire after contributing to Australia’s first 5-0 rout in 86 years.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
