The world of sports is still in shock at the demise of Shane Warne. The legendary Australian leg-spinner left a deep impact in international cricket at the highest levels with his ingenuity and determination. Warne dies at age of 52. He died of a suspected heart attack, reported Fox Cricket. “Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” said a statement on the Fox website. Considered one of the best spinners to grace the world of cricket, Warne’s legacy is unmatched. His presence was enough to send shivers down every batting order in the world. To get a glimpse of the talent he possessed, one just needs to look at his delivery that dismissed England batter Mike Gatting during the Ashes.
Warne’s first ball of the 1993-94 Ashes series has been written into the history books as the “Ball of the Century”. The ball turned from well outside leg stump to clip the off bail of Gatting’s stumps.
Warne was one of the best leg-spinners to embrace the game. He scalped 708 wickets in his illustrious career which spanned 145 Test matches. He played 194 One Day Internationals for Australia in which he scalped 293 wickets.
Warne is regarded as one of the best tacticians who never got to captain his country. The right-hander was also handy with the bat as he scored 3,154 runs in his Test career. The leg-spinner was famous for his guile. He took a total of 1,001 wickets, becoming the first-ever bowler to scale the peak of 1,000 international wickets.
Warne made his Test debut in 1992. His tally of 708 Test wickets was the record for the most wickets taken by any bowler in Test cricket until it was broken by Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Warne played domestic cricket for his home state of Victoria and he represented Hampshire in County cricket.