Warne the magician puts the wand away

It was a sad day in the history of cricket. On the 21st of December, 2006, one of cricket’s all time best, Shane Warne announced his plans to retire from test cricket after the ongoing Ashes series which Australia lead by 3-0. His departure from test cricket will end a remarkable 15 year career, which will always be cherished both at home and abroad. Warne, like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar has a huge fan base around the world.
Warne revolutionized the art of leg-spin bowling with his huge armory of deliveries which have left the best batsmen bamboozled at times. He made his international debut in Test cricket during the third test against India in 1992. Although he started off poorly, he was endowed with immense talent and it was only time before he began decimating batting orders around the world. He has scalped a staggering 700 wickets from 143 test matches, with 36 five-fors at an average of just over 25; a phenomenal achievement.

During the 70s and the 80s, the world of cricket spiraled around fast bowling, which was what brought about the majority of the excitement. Warne changed that notion forever with his prodigious talent for spinning the ball into oblivion. Before Australia lost the safe hands of Ian Healy to retirement, Warne and he made a deadly combination. They had an excellent coordination and many times Healy positioned himself to receive stray deliveries from Warne that were meant to discombobulate the batsman.

Like any popular star, Warne was always surrounded by controversies and rumors. In 1998, Warne admitted to have taken money to provide details to a man who was linked to bookmakers. In 2003, shortly before the commencement of the world up, Warne was sent back home after failing a drug test. He faced a two year ban if charged guilty of the offense to which he pleaded ignorance. However, he was found guilty by the Australian Cricket Board’s drug code and banned for a period of 12 months. In addition, Warne is known for passing scathing remarks towards other players, including, but not limited to Arjuna Ranatunga (former Sri Lankan captain) and Kim Hughes (former Australian captain).

Warne will always be remembered as the ‘spin doctor’ or ‘spin maestro’ and it will be difficult for Australia or world cricket to find a replacement for ‘the master’. Despite all the controversies, the ups and downs in his career, Warne has managed to gain the respect of the greatest batsmen from around the world. He will however, continue to play for Hampshire for another two years, so to all his fans; catch him there while you can, and observe the spin guru work his magic.