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Shane Warne, legendary spin bowler, died of a heart attack at 52 in Thailand. He took 708 Test and 293 ODI wickets, and was crucial in Australia’s 1999 World Cup win.
Shane Warne managed 43 Test wickets in 14 matches against India while in ODIs, he took 15 in 18 appearances. (Image: KKRiders/X, formerly Twitter)
Shane Warne’s 3rd Death Anniversary: One of the greatest spin bowlers in history, Shane Warne died from a heart attack at the age of 52 while spending a vacation in Thailand. The tragic incident that left the cricket world in mourning happened exactly three years ago on this day (March 4). Warne, who graced the sport for nearly 15 years, revived the art of spin with his unorthodox bowling action.
Be it with his googly or leg-break, Warne troubled many top-class batters of his generation and also played a key role in Australia’s 1999 World Cup triumph.
The spin wizard made his international debut in 1992, appearing in a home Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Warner struggled a lot with accuracy in the early phase of his career. He had to remodify his wrist action to maintain the line and hit the desired length.
In the 1993 Ashes on English soil, Warne bamboozled Mike Gatting with a mystic delivery which is recognised as the “Ball of the Century”. The Aussie great played his first ODI in the same year during a tour of New Zealand.
Career Stats & Records
Shane Warne remains the highest wicket-taker in the history of the iconic Ashes. He picked 195 scalps in 36 Test appearances against arch-rivals England. In his first Ashes series, Warne fetched 34 wickets in six matches with his best figures being 5/82.
His performance in white-ball cricket was equally impressive. In the 1996 World Cup, Warne contributed with a game-changing spell of four for 36 in the semi-final against the West Indies. In the 1999 edition of the tournament, the legendary leg-spinner took a total of 20 wickets including a four-fer against Pakistan in the final.
Warne was the fastest bowler to breach both the 600 and 700-wicket mark in Test cricket. He donned the whites for Australia in 145 matches and registered 708 scalps at an average of 25.41.
He made 194 appearances in the ODIs and claimed 293 wickets. Warne also showcased his batting prowess on many occasions. He struck 13 half-centuries across formats while aggregating 4,172 runs.
Performance Against India
Despite being one of the best of his generation, Warne had disappointing records against India. His strike-rate of 91.2 and 64.9 in Tests and ODIs against the sub-continental giants was the worst among all the nations he played against. Warne managed 43 Test wickets in 14 matches against India while in ODIs, he took 15 in 18 appearances.
