Shane Warne‘s “Ball of the Century” on June 4, 1993, altered cricket’s course forever. The comparatively unknown Australian leg-spinner stunned England’s Mike Gatting in the opening Test of the Ashes at Old Trafford with one stunning ball.
Warne’s ball seemed harmless as it slouched toward the leg stump. Recognized for his skill against spin spinners, Gatting readied himself to play the ball on his leg and middle stumps.
But the ball took a strong turn, veering over sixty degrees, and nicked the top of the stump.
Gatting seemed surprised and ghostly, while wicketkeeper Ian Healy was excitedly bouncing at this sudden action. Standing behind Warne, the umpire was in shock at what he had seen.
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[Watch] Shane Warne’s “Ball of the Century” Here
Although the Australian cricketer was to become one of the best leg-spin bowlers of all time, this delivery was cited as the one that kicked off Warne’s cricket career.
The defeat of one of the best spinners from England was due to Warne’s magical delivery ball which also revived wrist spin as an effective method to hit a goal.
A great extent of this performance can be credited to Warne, that’s why Australia succeeded in winning the Ashes series 4-1.
As for the logistics of the astonishing delivery, even Warne was to describe it as being a “fluke” that set in motion such a radical change to his destiny.
These are some of the facts about the cricketer – his 708 Test wickets are just next to Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and the victory in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (2008) with the Rajasthan Royals.
Subsequently, Warne passed on in March 2022 at the age of 52, but the virtue he contributed when alive, shown through his cricket, will never be eclipsed.
It is recognized for the technical merits of the match, which was significant in providing a lasting impact.
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