Memories of Warnie

In some ways it seems a bit selfish to be sitting here mourning the death of 1 man in a world that has seen so much death and destruction in recent times but it would be fair to say that the loss of one of cricket's greatest ever players, Shane Warne, at the age of just 52 came out of nowhere.

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Only last week, I was watching Warne on a Sky Sports Cricket show talking about the 2022 Hundred season where once again he was due to be the coach of London Spirit as well as giving his opinion on England's recent failures in the Ashes while cheekily throwing his hat into the ring to become England's next national coach. Such plans suggests that Warne's death came as much as a surprise to him as it has done to everyone.

As an England cricket fan my relationship with Warne is little bit love hate. For much of my youth, he was the tormentor of English batsmen, the blonde bombshell whose ripping leg breaks bamboozled many an opponent and whose competitive nature on the cricket pitch was second to none.

His record in all cricket against all opposition was incredible but like so many of his Australian teammates, he saved his best performances for the Ashes where he took 195 wickets at an average of 23 with 11 x 5 wicket hauls and 4 x 10 wicket hauls in a match.

I'm sure any sports fan would struggle then to have all fond memories of a player who so regularly heaped misery on the team they support but with Warne, particularly later in his career my opinion of him changed to one of great respect and admiration.

I've written before about the time I faced him in the nets at Basingstoke at the close of a day's play while he was over here doing a stint in county cricket with Hampshire. It was a privilege and something I'll never forget but also underlined Warne's passion for the game that transcended national boundaries and old rivalries.

In fact, wherever he went, Warne always won plaudits for the positivity he would bring to a changing room as well as the innovation and fresh outlook he had on the game of cricket which went through several transformations during his long playing career.

Ultimately though what I think defined my later opinion of Warne was that he came across as a fantastic competitor on the pitch but at the same time the kind of guy who you could go for a beer with after a game. That really is the essence of what any good athlete at any level should aspire to. Play hard but be able to come off the pitch at the end of the game and spend time with your team and the opposition. Warne optimised this and in a world where increasingly competition is used to bread hatred then he will be sorely missed

I'm sure there will be lots of obituaries and articles written about Warne's life but here are my top memories of the man.

1993, Adelaide Oval vs West Indies

Very early on in Warne's career I was lucky enough to be at the Adelaide Oval to watch the final day one of the greatest Test Matches of all time.

It's worth remembering at this stage of his career Warne was still feeling his way into the international scene and his place in the starting XI let alone his legendary status was far from guaranteed.

In fact, it was more his stubborn resistance with the bat on that final day on an up and down pitch against a Windies attacking containing the likes of Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop that caught the eye. He made only 9 runs but saw off 60 deliveries, more than 7 of the 8 batsmen that came in ahead of him to manage and almost did enough to help Australia over the line before they ultimately succumbed to a 1 run defeat, the smallest winning margin in the history of Test cricket.

1993, Old Trafford vs England

Of course it wouldn't be long after this that England got their first taste of Warne and it would be fair to say that they didn't have any clue about how to combat his threat.

Following the series against the West Indies, Australia toured New Zealand where Warne took 17 wickets at an average of just 15.
In order to counter Warne, England recalled Mike Gatting to their batting line-up for the first Test at Old Trafford on the basis that he was one of the best players of spin in the country.

Warne, even in his early years, wasn't a man to feel threatened by reputation and produced what has gone onto be described as 'the ball of century' to completely flummox Fat Gat who didn't even realise he'd been bowled!

If ever a moment better described the phrase "start as you mean to continue" it was that delivery from Warne who went onto lead the wicket taking (34 wickets) as Australia battered England 4 - 1 in the series.

As alluded to above, it was pretty tough as an English kid growing up in Australia who loved cricket but had to watch this guy systematically destroy your side on a match by match basis.

1999, World Cup Semi-Final vs South Africa

Back in England for the 1999 World Cup and Warne's Australia were up against arguably the favourites for the trophy in South Africa. The Proteas limited Australia to just 213 batting first and at 48 without loss seemed to be cruising to the final, enter Warne ...

His dismissal of Herchelle Gibbs completely changed the complexion of the match and from then on South Africa knew that they were in for a fight to win a game which is generally remembered more for the bizarre run-out at the end than for Warne's heroics in dragging his side back into the contest.

Warne ended with figures of 4-29 and the Man of the Match award as Australia went onto to win the final against Pakistan not to mention the next 2 World Cups that followed.

2005, Edgbaston vs England

Another famous finish to a game that I was lucky enough to be at. Again, this has to be one of the greatest Test matches of all time and for me personally was one of the best sporting summers of my life being as it was the first time that we'd won the Ashes in my living memory.

It'd be easy to just go with the memory of Warne standing on his own stumps in that final session of play and it was certainly nice to have the last laugh against Warnie having been on the receiving end for much of his career before that.

However, what really stands out about this match is the way England attacked the great man. For the 12 years prior to this our batsmen had generally been rabbits in the headlights against Warne but this time they countered. And what did Warne do? He countered right back!

A brilliant couple of balls to get Andrew Strauss out in each innings as well as a clutch of wickets in the 2nd innings as the Aussies, lead by Warne, fought back.

What you don't see in the highlights above is that after dismissing Flintoff to end the England 2nd innings, Warne calls across a very noisy Edgbaston to get Freddie's attention and congratulate him on the innings he's just played.

That moment in itself even within the heat of a very close Ashes Test encapsulates how much Warne loved the contest and the game of cricket itself above all else and I think is a fitting memory to end on.

Goodbye Shane, you will be missed