"I kept replaying the ball, kept watching his action closely" - Mushtaq Ahmed recalls Shane Warne's magical Ball of the Century on 30th anniversary
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed reminisced about Australian legend Shane Warne's Ball of the Century to former England Chris Gatting on its 30th anniversary.
It was the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series in England when a 23-year-old Shane Warne got the delivery to pitch outside leg stump and turn sharply to hit the top of the off-stump.
A contemporary of the Late Great Shane Warne, Mushtaq Ahmed, who currently works as the spin-bowling coach for Pakistan, recalled being awestruck by the delivery. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Mushtaq Ahmed said:
"I was just wondering how it is possible. The pitch isn't supporting spin, there's so much grass on it, how could he bowl that ball? I kept replaying the ball, kept watching his action closely to see if I could deliver something like that. Honestly no - Impossible."
The 52-year-old also praised Shane Warne's tactical acumen as a cricketer apart from his incredible bowling ability. Mushtaq Ahmed added:
"Only very few are blessed with such ability and he was so natural. The best thing about Shane Warne was he was so much more than just his bowling. He would play around with the field, play with batsmen's mind, he would read the umpire's mind, read the pitches. He was a smart and very intelligent cricketer."
Shane Warne, who passed away one year ago, is the second leading wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket with 708 scalps, behind only Sri Lankan Mutthiah Muralitharan. He is also one of two bowlers with 1,000 International wickets, picking up a phenomenal 38 overall five-wicket hauls in his illustrious career.
"It was a perfect delivery for any leg-spinner or any spinner" - Anil Kumble on Shane Warne's Ball of the Century
Former Indian icon Anil Kumble referred to Shane Warne's ball to Mike Gatting as the perfect delivery for any spinner.
Kumble, who is fourth all-time in Test wickets and third in overall International wickets, felt that the significance of the delivery has gone through the roof thanks to the batting caliber of Chris Gatting.
Speaking about the delivery, the former India coach said:
"It was a perfect delivery for any leg-spinner or any spinner for that matter. It was the first ball that he ever bowled in England in a Test match and against someone of the ability and the quality of Mike Gatting, that probably took the significance of the delivery higher."
Kumble, who shared a healthy rivalry with Warne during the 90s and the 2000s, spoke about the Australian legend playing a vital role in making the art of spin bowling prominent. Kumble said:
"The emergence of spin or at least the focus on spin certainly came about a lot more. He has bamboozled many batsmen in his 700+ wickets and the amazing part about Shane Warne was bowling batters around the legs. I don't think we had seen that that often and here was someone who would literally go behind your back and get people out."
Shane Warne was the joint-leading wicket-taker of the 1999 Cricket World Cup in which the Aussies emerged triumphant, with 20 wickets in 10 matches. He was the Player of the Match in the semi-final and the final of the World Cup, helping Australia defeat South Africa and Pakistan, respectively, to clinch the title.