Shane Warne: Australia's 708 Test Wickets, Leg-Spin Master, Ball of the Century
Shane Warne is widely regarded as the greatest leg-spin bowler in the history of cricket and one of the two or three greatest bowlers of any kind. Born in Melbourne in 1969, he took 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 Tests — the second-most in Test cricket history. He is best known for the 'Ball of the Century' — his first Ashes delivery to Mike Gatting in 1993, which pitched outside leg stump and hit the top of off. He took 40 wickets in the 2005 Ashes (a losing series for Australia) and was named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century. He died on 4 March 2022 at the age of 52. In ODIs, he took 293 wickets at 25.73 in 194 matches.
Shane Keith Warne was born on 13 September 1969 in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He made his Test debut against India in January 1992 — taking 1/150 — and was famously dropped for two Tests before recall. His bowling was defined by exceptional wrist-spin: he could make the ball drift and dip in the air before spinning sharply on pitching, and he possessed a full range of variations — the flipper (a skidding delivery), the wrong'un (the googly, spinning the other way), and the zooter (a floated delivery that went straight). He was also an outstanding slip fielder and a capable lower-order batsman who scored three Test fifties. His career spanned from 1992 to 2007.
The Ball of the Century: Mike Gatting, 1993 Ashes
Warne's most famous delivery came in his first Ashes over, bowled to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 4 June 1993. The ball pitched around 18 inches outside Gatting's leg stump, turned enormously, went past his bat and pad, and hit the top of off stump. Gatting stood and stared at his stumps, visibly disbelieving. It became known immediately as the 'Ball of the Century'. It was, arguably, the moment that revived leg-spin bowling in international cricket after a decade in which it had largely disappeared from the Test game. Warne finished that Ashes with 34 wickets in six Tests. He went on to take 195 Ashes wickets in his career — the most by any bowler in Ashes history.
Career Statistics and the 2005 Ashes
Warne took 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 Tests — the second-most in Test cricket history after Muttiah Muralitharan's 800. He took five-wicket hauls 37 times in Tests and ten-wicket match hauls 10 times. The 2005 Ashes — a series Australia lost 2-1 — is considered the finest individual bowling performance of his career: he took 40 wickets at 19.92 across five Tests, including the famous dismissal of Andrew Strauss in the same manner as Gatting in 1993. He retired from international cricket in January 2007 after Australia's 5-0 Ashes whitewash, taking his 700th Test wicket (Andrew Strauss) in the series. He was named in Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century in 2000 — the only specialist spinner in the list. He died on 4 March 2022 at the age of 52 in Koh Samui, Thailand.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Ball of the Century in cricket?
The 'Ball of the Century' was Shane Warne's first delivery in Ashes cricket, bowled to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford on 4 June 1993. The ball pitched around 18 inches outside Gatting's leg stump, drifted in the air, then turned sharply on pitching — going past Gatting's bat and pad and hitting the top of off stump. Gatting stood and stared in disbelief. It is considered the most famous delivery in cricket history and the moment that revived leg-spin bowling in Test cricket.
How many Test wickets did Shane Warne take?
Shane Warne took 708 Test wickets at an average of 25.41 in 145 Tests — the second-most in Test cricket history after Muttiah Muralitharan's 800. He also took 37 five-wicket hauls and 10 ten-wicket match hauls. In Ashes cricket alone, he took 195 wickets — the most by any bowler in Ashes history. In his final series — Australia's 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2006-07 — he took his 700th Test wicket (Andrew Strauss). He retired in January 2007.