Shane Warne: The man who breathed life into dying art of leg-spin

Shane Warne, spin magician and one of cricket’s greatest stars, died on Friday of a suspected heart attack, his manager said. He was 52.

Warne’s manager, James Erskine, issued a media statement saying the cricket legend died at a resort island in Thailand. “It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand today, Friday 4th March,” the statement said.

“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”

Magician

Unquestionably the greatest leg-spinner of
all-time, Warne took 708 Test wickets in an illustrious 145-Test career. Though
a controversial figure in the arena of international cricket for being banned for
taking drugs, Warne never had let his skill slip away when he played the game. He
was called a ‘magician’ for art and craft that he produced on the pitch. For a little over one and half decades, he mesmerized cricket fans with the beauty of leg-spin.

A bulky cricketer, Warne revolutionised spin bowling on Australian soil and inspired a generation of cricketers to bowl leg-spin.

Also read: Shane Warne, Australia cricket legend, dies of suspected heart attack at 52

Warne’s finest and also the most memorable
moment of his career was his ‘ball of the century’; a sharp turning leg break
that shattered the stumps of England batter Mike Gatting with the Australian spinner’s first
ball in Test cricket on English soil in 1993.

Warne is second only to Sri Lankan great
Muttiah Muralitharan on the all-time wickets tally in Test cricket. In 2000,
Warne was voted by Wisden as one of the five greatest cricketers of the 20th
century. He took more than 1000 international wickets. Warne also took 293
wickets in 194 ODIs.

Warne announced his retirement in 2007.
Following his retirement, he was employed by Fox Sports as a commentator in the
recent Ashes summer.

Reviving
dying art of leg-spin

“Warney”, as he was known to his fans throughout the cricketing world, was without question one of the true icons of
world cricket, a man who almost singlehandedly revived the art of leg-spin in
the early 1990s.

Although cricketers such as Pakistan’s
Abdul Qadir had kept the dying art alive, Warne brought a new glamour and attacking
intent to leg-spin, with his blond hair allied to a keen tactical brain
that he used to bamboozle a host of unwitting opponents in his pomp.

After a forgettable debut against India
in 1991-92, where his solitary wicket came at a cost of 150 runs, Warne arrived at his full potential in bowling Australia to an unexpected victory over Sri Lanka in Morutuwa, before – in his fifth appearance – he ripped out seven match-winning
wickets against West Indies at his home ground of Melbourne in the 1992-93
Boxing Day Test.

Hero
of Ashes, battered by Sachin

Warne debuted in 1992 for Australia against
India and retired in 2007 after a 5-0 Ashes series whitewash against England.
Warne’s final tweet was paying respect to the family of Rod Marsh, who died
this week.

Warne shared great rivalry with Indian
batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Shane Warne made his debut three years
after Sachin Tendulkar but their rivalry continued till the end of their
careers. Both the greats of the game had a career which in no sense was just
normal or ordinary. Tendulkar made almost every batting record his own while
Shane Warne called it a day as Test cricket’s second-highest wicket-taker.

Also read: Shane Warne wife, children, net worth and other details

The duo shared a great bond off the pitch
as well and share a lot of mutual admiration for each other. Recently, while
commentating in the ongoing Test match against England and Pakistan, Warne
recalled his first encounter with Sachin Tendulkar.

Despite being battered by Tendulkar on the pitch, Warne will forever be remembered as the greatest leg-spinner for his tall achivements.