The world of cricket was left in mourning when Australian legend Shane Warne breathed his last on March 4, 2022. The spin wizard, who was recognised for his charismatic personality, died at the age of 52 in a hotel room in Thailand. When his manager first broke the news, the cause of his death was a mystery but later, it was revealed that Warner had been experiencing pain in his chest.
The Australia great is credited for reviving the art of spin with his unorthodox bowling action featuring a slow walk up to the crease. Be it a googly or a leg-breaker, his magical deliveries could have troubled any batter in the world.
Apart from shattering several individual records, Shane Warne also won multiple major trophies during his illustrious career that spanned nearly two decades.
Born in Victoria, Warne made his debut for the Australian team in 1992, featuring in a home Test against India in Sydney. His maiden ODI appearance came later when Warne was called up for a tour of New Zealand.
Though his talent was evident, Shane Warne had struggled to showcase accuracy during his early days. He worked on his wrist action and appeared in a whole new version in the 1993 Ashes series.
He got the better of English batter Mike Gatting in the very first delivery, which is regarded as the “ball of the century”. It initially pitched outside of the leg stump but later took an unexpected turn, rattling Gatting’s off-stump.
This was, however, just the beginning. Shane Warne went on to add many more variations up his sleeve over the years and baffled many top-class batters with his top-notch accuracy.
He is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Ashes series, having fetched 195 scalps in 36 appearances. In his maiden Test assignment against England, Warne picked 34 wickets in six matches, with his best figures being 5/82.
Muttiah Muralitharan might have taken the most wickets in the longest format but it was Shane Warne, who was the first to reach the 600 and 700-wicket marks.
While he is recognised for his bowling prowess, Warne demonstrated his batting talent on many occasions. He aggregated 3,154 runs in 145 Tests.
Shane Warne has recorded 12 half-centuries in the longest format but could never breach the triple-figure mark. His best score of 99 came in the 2001-02 New Zealand series where he was dismissed by Daniel Vettori.
Warne also lifted the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy as the captain of Rajasthan Royals. He has picked 57 wickets in 55 appearances in the franchise competition.
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