Top three Shane Warne spells in ODIs
The cricketing world has been sent into a state of shock with the tragic news of Shane Warne's passing. The Australian legend passed away at the age of 52 due to a suspected heart attack on Friday.
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Legendary Australian cricketer, Shane Warne has died due to a suspected heart attack.
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Known as the 'King of Spin' and arguably the biggest match-winner with the ball, Warne scapled 1001 international wickets. 708 of them came in Test cricket while the remaining 293 came in the 50-over format.
Warne never represented Australia in the T20 format. However, he famously led a barely experienced Rajasthan Royals (RR) unit to the inaugural Indian Premier League title in 2008.
Shane Warne was arguably the best spinner in the game
Shane Warne represented Australia in 194 ODIs, even captaining the team in 11 of those. He remains the country's most successful spinner in the format and was the joint highest wicket-taker at the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999.
A match-winner par excellence, Warne was one of the lynchpins behind the Australian dominance in the 90s and the noughties. While the cricketing world struggles to come to terms with it, there can be no two arguments over his skillset and pure genius.
Here we look back then at three of Shane Warne's best spells in one-day internationals:
#3 4/19 versus New Zealand in Melbourne, 1993
In just his fifth ODI, Warne bamboozled the Kiwis at his home, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the fifth match of the Benson & Hedges World Series and Australia crawled their way to a modest 202/5 in their 50 overs.
Skipper Ken Rutherford, Rod Latham and Mark Greatbatch put the Kiwi chase right on track. At 99/2, New Zealand were coasting along until Shane Warne happened!
Latham was stumped by Ian Healy and 10 runs later, the dangerous Chris Cairns was caught behind by the same man. Australia still needed to get past Greatbatch though and Warne was their solution. He upset the left-hander's castle to leave the Kiwis walking on thin ice.
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Warne would also remove wicket-keeper Tony Blain to finish with 4/19 off his 10 overs. Despite Shane Thompson's efforts, New Zealand fell short by three runs.
#2 4/29 versus South Africa at Edgbaston, 1999 Cricket World Cup
Yup, that game. That tied semifinal in the 1999 World Cup. One of the chief protagonists of that dramatic thriller was the 'King of Spin'.
Australia scored 213, only for South Africa to level the same at Edgbaston in the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999. Allan Donald fell short of his crease with two deliveries to go, allowing Australia to qualify by virtue of a better Super Six finish.
Warne, though, was the man who orchestrated Australia's incredible defense. Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten were castled soon after their brisk opening stand before skipper Hansie Cronje departed a couple of deliveries later. Just like that, Warne threw the tournament wide open within no time.
Hard to fathom. We all idolised Warnie growing up for his showmanship, will to win from any position and his incredible skill. Players all over the world owe him so much for what he has brought to cricket. He had a huge affect on all he met. He transcended cricket.
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Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes led the South African recovery. They seemed determined to book a ticket to Lord's with Lance Klusener still to follow. But again, it was Warne who had a final say as he got Kallis to spoon one into the hands of Steve Waugh at cover.
It was a dramatic finish thereafter, of course, and the game remains a classic today. A classic that, in large parts, is owed to Shane Warne.
#1 4/36 against West Indies in Mohali, 1996 Cricket World Cup
165/2, chasing 203 to book a berth in the Cricket World Cup Final - West Indies were cruising. They were waltzing to their target. Skipper Richie Richardson and batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul were in complete control. Surely they were winning?
Nah! Not with Shane Keith Warne around! In one of the most spectacular turnarounds, Warne cut the Windies batting lineup to size, triggering a scarcely-believable collapse.
Of course, it was his partner-in-crime Glenn McGrath who orchestrated it with the dual strike of Chanderpaul and Roger Harper. Warne, however, ensured that it wasn't just a case of delaying the inevitable.
While he did pick up the first wicket of Courtney Browne in the seventh over, three wickets in each of his final three overs blew the Windies away. Mixing his pace and lengths for fun, Warne took the wind out of the Windies' sails. It left Richardson flummoxed as he bore witness to the carnage.
West Indies fell agonizingly short as Australia went on to play the final against Sri Lanka in Lahore. They didn't attain glory that year, but three years later he won both the semifinals and the final. In the 1999 world cup, Shane Warne announced to the world why he's king.