Full name Shane Keith Warne BornSeptember 13, 1969, Ferntree Gully, VictoriaCurrent age37 years 107 daysMajor teamsAustralia, Hampshire, ICC World XI, VictoriaNicknameWarneyPlaying roleBowlerBatting styleRight-hand bat
Test debut :Australia v India at Sydney - Jan 2-6, 1992Last Test :Australia v England at Melbourne - Dec 26-28, 2006
First-class span :1990/91 - 2006/07 List A span :1991/92 - 2006
Twenty20 span :2004 - 2005
Awards:-
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1994One-Day International Player of the Year - 2000Selected as one of five Wisden cricketers of the century, 2000Test Player of the Year - 2006
Shane Warne profile

For all that, Warne's greatest feats are perhaps those of the last couple of years. Returning from a 12-month hiatus for swallowing forbidden diuretics, he swept aside 26 Sri Lankan batsmen in three Tests, and the following year scalped a world record 96 victims - a stunning 24 more than in his show-stopping 1993 - and still missed out on the Allan Border Medal. Forty of those were Englishmen in what sometimes appeared to be a lone stand in a thrilling Ashes series. Nowadays he is helped by his stockpile of straight balls: a zooter, slider, toppie and back-spinner, one that drifts in, one that slopes out, and another that doesn't budge. Yet he seldom gets his wrong'un right and rarely lands his flipper. More than ever he relies on his two oldest friends: excruciating accuracy and an exquisite legbreak. Except that he now controls the degree of spin - and mixes it - at will. Like the great classical painters, he has stumbled upon the art of simplicity. His bowling has never been simpler, nor more effective, nor lovelier to look at.
Maybe, as with Posh Spice or Kylie Minogue, Warne is more famous than he is loved. Maybe we don't fully appreciate his genius; maybe, like Bradman's, it will become ever more apparent with the passing of decades. One thing's for sure, though. We'll weep when he's gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment