Warne bowled 40,704 balls in Test cricket. This one he left us is a treasure we’ll never forget
When thinking back on the greatest Ashes moments of the modern era, the first player that comes to mind is Shane Warne.
Right from outset, he was creating history. The Ball of the Century. Old Trafford. Gatting. That was his first delivery in the Ashes furnace. The English still didn’t really know who the blonde Victorian was at that point.
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Fast forward eighteen months, Warne snared his lone Test hat-trick during a Boxing Day contest against England. David Boon, under the lid, lunging to his right with an outstretched arm to grab the chance. A decade later, Warne claimed 40 wickets during the unforgettable 2005 Ashes campaign in the United Kingdom, while the following summer he inspired Amazing Adelaide, the unlikeliest of Australian victories.
There will never be another Shane Warne. He rejuvenated the dying art of leg spin, captivating millions with his wizardry.
Thousands of children spent their summers trying to recreate his deliveries in the backyard and see how far they could spin the ball, working out how to produce a wrong-un, or a flipper. One of those budding cricketers, fellow Victorian Alana King, is in the process of creating her own legacy in canary yellow.
Warne’s influence on the game is akin to that of Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar, while he’s arguably the greatest cricketer since Sir Donald Bradman. He entertained millions, while on the field he bamboozled hundreds.
ASHES GREATEST MOMENTS COUNTDOWN
NO. 2: Headingley stunner capped by icon’s brutal text
NO. 3: One man walked out on Waugh’s epic ton
NO. 4: Behind closed doors after Bairstow outrage
NO. 5: Inside MCG carnage no one saw coming
NO. 6-15: Ironic twist over Broad farce
NO. 16-25: Truth about Poms’ ‘cheat’ tactic
He bowled 40,704 deliveries in Test cricket, but everyone remembers where they were for his 40,334th. Boxing Day, 2006. The MCG, his favourite venue.
This final hurrah, the moment he passed 700 Test wickets, a milestone never previously achieved, we consider the greatest Ashes moment of the 21st century thus far. Not so much for its influence on the match, or the series for that matter, but because it encapsulated the transcendence of witnessing Warne at his peak. The awe-inspiring spectacle. The dizzying highs. The breathtaking feats.
Shane Warne bowls Andrew Strauss for his 700th Test wicket.Source: News Corp Australia
Six days earlier on December 20th, the 37-year-old had announced his retirement from international cricket, confirming the Melbourne Test would be his penultimate appearance in Australian colours. Two days before that, he had knocked over England tailender Monty Panesar at the WACA, his 699th Test wicket, to reclaim the coveted Ashes urn that Australia had lost possession of 18 months earlier.
Ricky Ponting’s powerhouse team had dominated the series, leading 3-0 with two matches remaining, so with the series already decided, the Boxing Day Test became a chance for Melbourne to farewell a champion, their most famous sporting icon, on the biggest day of the cricket calendar, in front of a record crowd, at his home ground.
It’s as though the stars had aligned for him.
“I don’t know who’s writing my script, but it’s pretty good,” Warne laughed at the time.
A generation ago, 700 Test wickets was an unfathomable achievement. Only five years earlier, West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh became the first player to reach 500.
But during the second half of his illustrious career, Warne flew past the former greats, ticking off Dennis Lillee’s 355, Ian Botham’s 373, Richard Hadlee’s 431, Kapil Dev’s 434, and then Walsh’s 519. And after becoming the first cricketer to take 600 Test wickets during the 2005 Ashes, fans inevitably questioned how far he could go.
On December 26th, 2006, Warne was up at sparrow’s fart for the Shane Warne Foundation breakfast, which commenced at 6 am. When Australian captain Ponting flipped the coin a few hours later, the exhausted Warne quietly hoped his team would bat first.
As fate would have it, England captain Andrew Flintoff won the toss and asked the Australians to have a bowl.
It was a cold, overcast, unpleasant morning in the Victorian capital, but despite the unseasonal weather, 89,155 fans packed the stands — at the time a Boxing Day attendance record — to farewell the King of Spin. Fast bowler Glenn McGrath was also playing his penultimate Test, having announced his retirement three days prior, but the patriarchal Melburnians were understandably chanting the hometown hero’s name, the only Victorian in the starting XI.
Before walking out for the first ball, Warne told his teammates not to focus on milestones or the crowd. They had a job to do. His teammates rolled their eyes. Today was all about one man.
“It wasn’t about us leading 3-0,” fast bowler Brett Lee reminisced.
“It was about Shane Warne.”
It was a cold morning in Melbourne.Source: News Corp Australia
Ponting knew what the crowd wanted to see, but he made them wait. Courtesy of the seam-friendly conditions, Warne wasn’t required during the morning session, standing in the slips cordon for the first 40 overs of the day.
Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood, who was 15 at the time, watched the action unfold on the television, as did most of the country.
“I remember as a kid just watching the build up,” he recalled.
“It was like, ‘When’s he gonna get it? When’s he gonna get it?’”
The MCG spectators were becoming restless – as was the man of the hour.
“You could see he was getting a bit more anxious by the minute,” Ponting laughed.
“He wanted to impose himself on the game.”
England opener Andrew Strauss, fully aware of Warne’s looming milestone, wasn’t daunted by the occasion, notching a patient half-century. The tourists, desperate for a consolation win after three heavy defeats, were at one stage in a decent position at 2-101.
“I felt like this was my opportunity to really go on and get a big score and turn my series around,” Strauss said.
Finally, after hours of anticipation, Warne handed his floppy hat to umpire Rudi Koertzen ahead of the 41st over and warmed up his shoulder. The crowd rose to its feet as he discussed field placements alongside Ponting at the non-striker’s end.
It took a few deliveries for the leg-spinner to get into his groove, with his fingers adjusting to the cold conditions. There was a nervous hush between each delivery, with the crowd going silent whenever he commenced his nine-step stride towards the crease.
“It was so quiet,” Warne recalled.
“I’d stand at the top of my mark, and there was suddenly a hush, an eerie silence of 90,000 people.”
Warne conceded 15 runs across his first three overs, with Paul Collingwood thumping a couple of early boundaries against the frustrated tweaker courtesy of wayward deliveries down the leg side.
The St Kilda product soon acknowledged that Strauss was attempting to get into a position to sweep him, so he made a prediction to McGrath, telling his veteran teammate he was going to bowl the left-hander through the gate while sweeping.
He was only half-wrong.
Shane Warne bowls Andrew Strauss for his 700th Test wicket.Source: News Corp Australia
At 3.18 pm, Warne floated a delivery above Strauss’ eyeline before it drifted and dipped, landing on a good length outside off stump. Unwilling to leave his crease against the spin maestro, Strauss took a tentative half-step forward and attempted to flick Warne through a vacancy at mid-wicket.
“I fell right into the trap that he’d set me,” Strauss languished.
“I tried to play it too square and heard that horrible death rattle moments later.”
Opener Usman Khawaja added: “It tricked him. It’s actually drifted away and made him play outside his eyeline, and spun back.
“That’s a beautiful ball, honestly.”
The ball spun past Strauss’ inside edge and crashed into the top of middle stump. Wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist yelped with delight, soon accompanied by the roars of 89,155 others. The MCG has never been louder.
And then, he was off. With right arm raised and an index finger wagging in celebration, Warne sprinted towards the outfield. There was no destination in mind, no target. He just ran.
“We couldn’t catch him,” Lee continued.
Justin Langer got to him first, followed by Michael Hussey. Soon, all ten Australians had caught up to puffed Warne, mobbing him in front of the Great Southern Stand – which has aptly since been renamed the Shane Warne Stand.
“That’s why the stand’s named after him,” Hazlewood quipped.
Shane Warne bowls Andrew Strauss for his 700th Test wicket.Source: News Corp Australia
After plenty of handshakes and hugs, Warne lifted the ball aloft, almost sheepishly, but the pride was evident. Perhaps there was a sense of relief as well.
The moment has since been embedded in Australian culture. You can’t scroll past it.
“I reckon I watch this dismissal once a week,” spinner Matthew Kuhnemann said.
“Honestly, every week it comes up on my algorithm. And I will always watch it.”
All-rounder Cameron Green added with a laugh: “I was six at the time. I think I remember watching this live, but maybe I’ve just watched the video so many times.”
By stumps on day one, Warne had elevated his career tally to 704 Test wickets having orchestrated another collapse.
Chris Read chipped to cover, Steve Harmison slogged towards mid-on, while Kevin Pietersen skied a lofted drive near the sight screen, where Andrew Symonds held onto a tough chance. Warne wrapped up the innings by removing Panesar, sealing his 37th and final five-wicket haul in Tests. The last eight wickets fell for just 58 runs.
England had been rolled for 159 in 74.2 overs, ultimately losing the match within three days by an innings and 99 runs. 4-nil. See you in Sydney.
“It was just uncanny the way it all panned out,” Warne said.
Despite first-innings centuries for opener Matthew Hayden and all-rounder Symonds, Warne was named player of the match. It had to be Warne.
“It’s amazing how a lot of the scripts fell into place for him,” Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell said.
“The first ball in the Ashes. Ashes hat-trick. 700th at the G. It’s pretty special.”
Shane Warne walks off after his five-wicket haul.Source: News Limited
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who had missed the five-Test Ashes campaign due to injury, was in Australia preparing for the ODI series when Warne’s 700th wicket occurred.
“It was always going to be at the MCG that he was going to get that historic number,” he said.
“Great sportspeople, they write their own script, and they deliver when the fans expect.”
The 2006 Boxing Day was a celebration of Warne and his contribution to the game. It was an opportunity for Australia to say thanks for everything.
Nearly 16 years later, the MCG hosted 55,000 people for a memorial service commemorating the life of Warne, who died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52 while on holiday in Thailand. On the same turf he claimed his 700th Test wicket, Victoria farewelled the King one final time.
