WATCH: Fans remember Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century as he passes away
Veteran leg spinner Shane Warne has passed away at the age of 52. Warne, one of the world’s all-time greatest spinners, suffered a suspected heart attack and died in Koh Samui, Thailand. If reports are to be believed, efforts were made to revive the legend, but to no avail.
The entire cricket fraternity mourned the demise of one of the legends of the game. The news of Warne’s death surfaced after another legend Rod Marsh embraced the heavens on Friday after a heart attack last week.
Shane Warne is no more
“Australia cricket legend and the greatest leg-spinner of all-time, Shane Warne, has died, aged 52,” a report in Fox Sports stated.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests a privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course,” the report added.
Also Read: Shane Warne and the occult pirouettes – Cricket’s most revered artistry
In the meantime, the fans went down the memory lane and recalled Warne’s ‘Ball of the Century’. Back in the 1993 Ashes, the tweaker castled England batter Mike Gatting with an absolute peach. The ball pitched way outside the leg-stump and it spun past the batter to take down the off-stump.
Here is the video of Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century and the reactions on it
The very first ball which defined the legend #shanewarne #rip. It will indeed take few days for all of us to digest that he is gone. He tweeted 12 hours back.
— Merwyn's cricwiz (@MervsT) March 4, 2022
To the greatest leg-spinner of all-time and one of cricket's great entertainers – we'll miss you, legend #ShaneWarne #rip pic.twitter.com/S2u8bWIMJ7
— Him@nshu Sury@v@nshi(माळी) (@Himansh24111393) March 4, 2022
Not just the greatest leggy to play the game, but a genuine artist in the true sense of the word Lost for words today
— AJB (@ajpufc) March 4, 2022
— Shah Mandokhail (@shah_mandokhel) March 4, 2022
The funny thing about that delivery is Mike Gatting's initial reaction appears to be "well that can't possibly be out!"
— Graham Woodhouse (@yankface1) March 4, 2022
One of the most astonishing rare and breathtaking dismissal in cricket. I saw accidentally on tv and got awestuck.
— theskpd (@theskpd) March 4, 2022
Watch that all day.
Spawned an excellent song as well!!!
— Losing My Religion (@bwlshanh) March 4, 2022
Warne retired from international cricket after the 2007-08 Ashes after playing for nearly 15 years. In 145 Tests, the leggie picked up 708 wickets with 37 five-wicket hauls and 10 10 wicket-hauls. Among the current set of bowlers, England’s James Anderson is nearest to him, but is 78 wickets away from the legend.
Warne also picked up 293 wickets in his ODI career with 12 four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul. He was no mug with the bat either, scoring in excess of 4100 runs with 13 half-centuries. He also had a top score of 99 in Test cricket.
Back in 2008, Warne also captained the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to glory in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With relatively lesser-known players, he brought the best out of the team. He played the IPL for four seasons before hanging his boots from the tournament.