The world was stunned by the sudden and unexpected demise of Shane Warne. No one knew that the life of the magician who would turn the ball so beautifully would take such an unexpected turn. His sudden exit from the world has left an unfilled void in the hearts of cricket fans. Every cricket fan mourned the death of the superstar. The magician is no more, but the innumerable memories he gave to the cricket lovers will forever be alive.
When one speaks of spin bowling, the first name which comes to mind is undoubtedly Shane Warne. He is not the leading wicket-taker, but he is undoubtedly the greatest spinner to have ever played the game. In a game dominated by the batter, it is highly unlikely for bowlers to be a household name. But not the case if you are Shane Warne. What makes his skillsets even special is the fact that he comes from a country that is not known for spin bowling. On the contrary, when the majority of the spinners who ruled the game came from the Indian subcontinent countries, the greatest of all came from Australia.
Warne had his lethal weapon of leg-spin, which bamboozled the batter with his supreme turn. His flippers ripped the stumps, and his leg-spin astonished not just the batters, but also the umpires. There are several instances of his unbelievable turn, but the most memorable one has to be "Ball of the Century " which ripped through Gatting's imagination and hit the stumps along with hitting the headlines of the newspapers. Few other memorable instances include his famous setup of Stewart who was bowled by a flipper, 2 years after Warne's debut and the Strauss dismissal when the leg stump was removed from its position out of nowhere, in 2005, 2 years before he retired from international cricket.
In a career spanning one and half decades long, he made the most experienced batters look like school kids. Barring a handful of the batters, he surprised every other batter he played against at least once in their career. With only 10 maximum wickets possible in decades-long ODI, and 20 in tests, a bowler crossing over 500 wickets overall is an achievement in itself. But the legendary Warne has a mammoth total of 1001 international wickets to his name. 708 of which have come in tests, and 293 came in ODI's.
If Australia was the most dominant team for a decade or more, Shane Warne and his magical bowling were one of the strongest and permanent pillars of the team. His magic of spin made it possible to take wickets of opposition even on the pitches which offered little or no spin. The world loved his spin, as much as they loved his battles with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. One can never forget the instance when both of them were blessed to meet the legendary Sir Donald Bradman. If anyone would be remembered the most for their contribution to the Australian team after Don Bradman, it would be Shane Warne.
The truth is, great players like Shane Warne never die. They remain forever in the hearts of fans as memories and act as inspiration for future generations to come. The blonde-haired threat to the opposition will continue to bamboozle the next generation through the recorder clips of his bowling. The man who made leg-spin great, the man whose magic left the world in admiration and awe will always be immortal. This is why, even if the magician is no more, the magic of his skills he will always be alive and will continue to inspire generations till there is life. Rest in Peace magician.
Authored By:- Ashwin Jangam ( Cricket Analyst, Host and Entertainer)
Instagram ID: https://www.instagram.com/cricket_creativity/
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