Shane Warne: 708 Test Wickets — The Ball of the Century (1993), Greatest Leg-Spinner in Cricket History
Shane Keith Warne was born on 13 September 1969 in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia. He took 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 Tests — the second-most Test wickets in history (behind Muralitharan's 800). He is widely regarded as the greatest leg-spin bowler in cricket history and one of the two greatest bowlers of any type. His most famous delivery: the 'Ball of the Century' — his first ball in Ashes cricket, bowled to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford on 4 June 1993, which drifted in to Gatting's pads and spun sharply to hit the top of off stump (Gatting stood in disbelief). He was ICC Cricketer of the Year multiple times, Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1994, and one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the 20th Century. He won five Ashes series with Australia (1994-95, 1997, 2001, 2002-03, 2006-07). He also took 293 ODI wickets in 194 matches. He died on 4 March 2022 in Koh Samui, Thailand, aged 52.
Shane Warne was born on 13 September 1969 in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia. He made his Test debut in January 1992 against India at Sydney and took 1/150 — an inauspicious start for a bowler who would go on to revolutionise leg-spin bowling globally and become the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. He took 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 Tests and 293 ODI wickets in 194 matches. He was not only a bowler of genius — his mastery of the flipper, googly, slider, and wrong'un alongside the stock leg-break made him virtually impossible to read from the crease — but also a lower-order batsman of genuine quality (3,154 Test runs at 17.32) and a serial match-winner.
The Ball of the Century
On 4 June 1993 at Old Trafford, Manchester, Shane Warne bowled the first ball of his first Ashes series to England batsman Mike Gatting. The delivery drifted in to Gatting's leg stump, landed approximately a foot outside leg stump, then ripped sharply across to hit the top of Gatting's off stump. Gatting stood at the crease in disbelief, staring at where the ball had gone, then turned to walk off. The ball — bowled with extreme wrist-spin to drift in before breaking back an extraordinary distance — became immediately known as the 'Ball of the Century'. It announced Warne's arrival in Ashes cricket in the most dramatic fashion possible and signalled a renaissance of leg-spin bowling in world cricket.
Ashes Dominance, Five Series, and Legacy
Warne won five Ashes series with Australia and was central to Australia's dominance of England from 1993 to 2007. His performances in the 2005 Ashes — the series England won 2-1 after 18 years — were extraordinary even in defeat: he took 40 wickets in the series, scored 249 runs (including a last-wicket stand of 45 at Edgbaston), and was effectively the only reason Australia were competitive in a series England deserved to win more convincingly. He was named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the 20th Century in 2000 — one of only five players recognised across the entire century. He died on 4 March 2022 in Koh Samui, Thailand, aged 52, from a suspected heart attack — a loss widely described as one of cricket's greatest. Cricket Australia immediately retired his No.23 shirt number.
Frequently asked questions
What was Shane Warne's 'Ball of the Century' and why is it considered so famous?
The 'Ball of the Century' was Shane Warne's first delivery in Ashes cricket, bowled to England's Mike Gatting at Old Trafford on 4 June 1993. It drifted in towards leg stump, pitched about a foot outside leg stump, then spun sharply across to clip the top of off stump — a delivery that moved over two feet off the pitch. Gatting could not believe he'd been bowled and stood at the crease looking at his stumps before walking off. It is famous because: (1) it was Warne's first Ashes delivery; (2) the degree of turn was extraordinary by any standard; (3) Gatting was an experienced England captain; and (4) it signalled the revival of leg-spin bowling in world cricket.
How many Test wickets did Shane Warne take and where does he rank all-time?
Shane Warne took 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 Tests for Australia — the second-most in Test cricket history behind Muttiah Muralitharan's 800 (at 22.72 in 133 Tests). The gap of 92 wickets between Muralitharan and Warne is substantial. Warne also took 293 ODI wickets at 25.73 in 194 matches. He is widely regarded as one of the two greatest bowlers in cricket history alongside Muralitharan, and as the greatest leg-spin bowler of all time. He died in March 2022 aged 52.