For many cricket fans, Shane Warne’s “Delivery of the Century” is their favorite memory when talking about the Ashes Series.
On 4 June 1993, a very young Warne – with pink cheeks and a big bush of blond hair – caught the Dukes cricket ball at Old Trafford.
Now if you’ve ever wondered what the calm before a cricket storm should look like, take a look at the video on YouTube.
At the time, the legendary spinner jogged a few steps, moved the fielders around like a punt man and swung his bowling arm a time or two before he was ready to take on Mike Gatting.
A short time later, the perfect delivery took ground outside the England batsman’s by-pin, spun past his Gunn & Moore bat and hit the away leg.
While Warne (and the whole of Australia) celebrated, an overwhelmed Gatting had to make his way back to the dressing room.
But the cricket icon – who ended up taking 195 wickets against England – died last year at the age of 52.
“We miss Shane a lot, but hopefully as Australian cricketers we can play well enough to make him proud,” Nathan Lyon said in the run-up to the latest Ashes Series.
In addition to his success in 1993 against Gatting and co, Warne almost single-handedly won a bunch of Tests against the pale leg batsmen.
In the 2005 Ashes Series, England walked away with the laurels, but Warne still took 40 wickets at a fantastic average of 19.92.
“If it wasn’t for his heroics, we probably would have won that series 4-1,” Michael Vaughan (former England captain) told The Telegraph writing.
“Everyone wanted to be seen with Shane, but he was really just an ordinary guy who could do extraordinary things. He lived an incredible life.”
Shane Warne is certainly still synonymous with Australia’s cricket success against England.
Most Test cricket wickets against England:
- Shane Warne: 195 wickets
- Dennis Lillee: 167 wickets
- Curtly Ambrose: 164 wickets
- Glenn McGrath: 157 wickets
- Courtney Walsh: 145 wickets
