Shane Warne

Warne had played in just seven first-class matches before making his debut at Test level for Australia.[21] He had an undistinguished Test debut when called into the Australian team in January 1992 for a Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[21] He took 1/150 (Ravi Shastri caught by Dean Jones for 206) off 45 overs. He took 0/78 in the fourth Test in Adelaide, recording overall figures of 1/228 for the series, and was dropped for the fifth Test on the pace-friendly WACA Ground in Perth. His poor form continued in the first innings against Sri Lanka at Colombo, in which he recorded 0/107. However, on 22 August 1992, he took the last three Sri Lankan wickets without conceding a run in the second innings precipitating a second innings collapse and contributing to a remarkable 16-run Australian win. Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga commented in an interview that, 'a bowler with Test average of more than 300 came and snatched the victory from our hands'.

However, Warne's performances in the last two Tests in Sri Lanka were not to the satisfaction of the selectors, and he was dropped for the First Test against the West Indies in the 1992–93 Australian season. Greg Matthews played in Warne's place and despite Australia being in a strong position on the final day, was unable to dismiss the tourists on a turning surface. Warne was thus recalled for the Second Test in Melbourne, a Boxing Day Test, where he took 7/52 in a match-winning performance in the second innings.[22]

In 1993, Warne was selected for Australia's Ashes tour of England. He was the leading wicket taker for the six-Test series, with 34.[23] His first ball of the series was written into the history books as the "Ball of the Century", bowling the experienced English batsman Mike Gatting with a ball that turned from well outside leg stump to clip the off bail.[24] He took 71 Test wickets in 1993, then a record for a spin bowler in a calendar year.[25] New Zealand batsmen contributed significantly to his tally. He took 17 wickets in Australia's tour of New Zealand early in the year, tying Danny Morrison as the top wicket-taker for the series with 17. When New Zealand toured Australia for three Tests in November and December, Warne took 18 more and was named player of the series.[26][27][28]

Warne featured in South Africa's tour of Australia in 1993–94 and Australia's return tour in March 1994. In the second Test of South Africa's tour, held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Warne took ten wickets in a Test for the first time in his career. His 7/56 in the first innings and 5/72 in the second was not enough to secure victory for Australia; Warne was part of an Australian batting collapse on the final day of the Test that handed South Africa the win.[29]

Australia sought to retain The Ashes when England toured for a five Test series in 1994–95. Warne took a career-best 8/71 in the second innings of the first Test at the Gabba,[30] before going on to take 27 wickets in the five-Test series.[31] In the Second Test, a Boxing Day Test at Warne's home ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he took his first and only Test hat-trick, dismissing tail-enders Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm in successive balls, the last of which was caught by David Boon. He also grabbed his 150th test wicket, a caught-and-bowled off Alec Stewart. However, it was with the bat that Warne ultimately secured The Ashes for Australia. In the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he and fellow tail-ender Tim May survived the final 19 overs on the fifth day in fading light to secure a draw and a 2–0 series lead that meant Australia would retain The Ashes regardless of the result of the fourth and fifth Tests.[32] Later in 1995, he toured the West Indies, taking 15 wickets over four Tests as Australia defeated the West Indies in a Test series for the first time in almost 20 years.[33]

In the summer of 1995–96, Australia played home series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He took 11 wickets in the first Test against Pakistan but broke his toe in the second. Selectors included him in the squad for the third Test just days later to give him the chance to prove his fitness; he did so by taking four wickets in Pakistan's first innings and another four in their second to be named the player of the series.[34][35]

Warne was to be a key member of Australia's squad for the 1996 World Cup, held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Australia qualified for the final, with Warne having taken 12 wickets, including a man-of-the-match 4/36 in the semi-final against the West Indies.[36] Ahead of the final against Sri Lanka, Australian captain Mark Taylor publicly declared that Warne was not "vital" to his team, emphasising that Warne alone could not win the World Cup.[37] Warne conceded 58 runs for no wickets in the final; Australia lost the match to first-time champions Sri Lanka.[38]

The West Indies toured Australia for a five-Test series in the summer of 1996–97. Warne took 22 wickets in the series, and a further 11 in Australia's three-Test tour of South Africa early in 1997.[39] In the northern summer, Warne returned to England with the Australian team to attempt to retain The Ashes. After struggling for form early in the tour, Warne took 24 wickets at an average of 24.04 as Australia won the six-Test series 3–2.[40][41]

The following Australian summer (1997–98) saw a continued flow of wickets for Warne. He picked up 19 in New Zealand's three-Test series in Australia, before taking 20 wickets in three Tests against South Africa.[39] In the second of those three, he took five wickets in the first innings and six in the second, while becoming the second Australian after Dennis Lillee to take 300 Test wickets.[42][43] At the beginning of the summer, the Australian media had criticised Warne for his weight; now, The Australian wrote that he was one of Australia's three most "influential" cricketers (with Donald Bradman and Dennis Lillee).[44] Journalist and former English cricketer Derek Pringle observed as Warne passed the 300 Test wicket mark at the age of 28: "we are in the presence of true greatness and not some pretender to the great figures in the game's history."[45]

Later in 1998, Warne was a member of Australia's touring squad of India. Finding Indian food not to his liking, he had spaghetti and baked beans flown in from Australia. With Australia's two top pace bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie missing the tour due to injury, Warne shouldered more of the bowling burden. He took 10 wickets, but conceding 54 runs each, going for 0/147 in India's only innings of the second and series-winning Test in Calcutta. Warne's dismissal of Rahul Dravid in the first inning of the final test at Bangalore took him past Lance Gibbs' tally of 309 wickets making him the most successful spinner in Test Cricket. Australia lost the series, breaking a run of nine Test series victories.[46][47]

Warne did not play international cricket again until the fifth Test of the Ashes series in Australia in January 1999, suffering a shoulder injury. He missed Australia's tour of Pakistan and the first four Ashes Tests.[48] At the time, he was also at the centre of the John the bookmaker controversy. Warne's extended absence from the Australian team gave his understudy Stuart MacGill the opportunity to play in his place. MacGill responded by taking 15 wickets in three Tests against Pakistan—the most for any bowler in the series—and another series-high 27 wickets against England. Warne and MacGill bowled in tandem upon Warne's return to the team for the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where MacGill took 12 wickets and Warne two.[49]

The Ashes series was the last for Australian captain Mark Taylor, who retired. Steve Waugh was appointed as Taylor's replacement, while Warne was promoted to the position of vice-captain.[51] However, he was dropped from the Test team during Australia's tour of the West Indies in early 1999. Warne took just two wickets in the first three Tests of the series, leading to calls from the Australian media for his removal from the team.[52] He was replaced for the final Test by off-spinner Colin Miller. Miller and MacGill took eight wickets between them as Australia won the Test to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy.[53] Warne's form recovered in the ODI series against the West Indies, and he was selected to play in the 1999 World Cup in the United Kingdom.[54] Just before the start of the World Cup, he was given a fine and a two-match suspended ban by the International Cricket Council for telling a newspaper about Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga that: "There is plenty of animosity between Arjuna and myself. I don't like him and I'm not in a club of one".[55]

Australia were seeking to win their first World Cup since 1987. Warne took 12 wickets in the preliminary phases of the tournament as Australia qualified for a semi-final against South Africa. While the match became notable for the dramatic fashion in which it finished, Warne was the man of the match, dismissing four key South African batsmen: Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje and Jacques Kallis.[56] Australia faced Pakistan in the tournament's Final. Pakistan batted first, and were all out for only 132; Warne took 4/33. Australia chased down the target comfortably to win the World Cup. Warne was the tournament's joint top wicket-taker with Geoff Allott and was named the man of the match in the Final.[57]

After his World Cup performances, Warne was retained as Australia's vice-captain for the tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe later in 1999.[53] The following Australian summer, he played in all Tests of the series against Pakistan and India. He reached his highest score with the bat in the first Test against Pakistan in Brisbane, with 86, before matching that score in the first Test against India in Adelaide the following month.[58] Warne's performances in the Brisbane Test were overshadowed by the Joe the Cameraman controversy, in which a jibe about the abilities of Australian bowler Scott Muller was picked up by an on-field microphone during the match. A Channel Nine cameraman subsequently confessed to making the "can't bowl, can't throw" remark that many had believed was made by Warne.[59] Warne took 18 wickets over the six summer Tests and Australia won both series 3–0.[39] He then took another 15 wickets in Australia's 3–0 sweep of New Zealand in March 2000.[60] In the first Test of the series at Eden Park, he surpassed Dennis Lillee (with 355 wickets) as Australia's leading ever wicket-taker.[61]

Warne joined English county side Hampshire in 2000 and played for them during the year's English summer. Reports emerged that during the county season he had repeatedly sent lewd SMS messages to an English nurse. In August 2000, the Australian Cricket Board removed him as Australia's vice-captain, citing his history of indiscretions off the field. The Board's decision was contrary to the wishes of the team's selectors, including captain Steve Waugh. Warne was replaced as vice-captain by Adam Gilchrist.[62] Yet, he was awarded the Men's ODI Player of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony by the CA in 2000.[63]

Warne missed the entire Australian summer of 2000–01 with a finger injury, and found himself battling Stuart MacGill and an in-form Colin Miller to be selected for Australia's tour of India in early 2001.[64] MacGill was ultimately the spinner left out. Warne took 10 wickets over the three-Test series at an average of 50.50. His Indian spin counterpart Harbhajan Singh was the man of the series with 32 wickets at an average of 17.03.[65] Australia lost the series 2–1.[66] In the northern summer of 2001, Warne made his third Ashes tour and took 31 wickets in the five-Test series, which Australia won 4–1.[67] He took three five-wicket hauls in the series.[68] In the final Test at The Oval he took 11 wickets across both innings, including the 400th wicket of his Test career (Alec Stewart). He became the sixth person and the first Australian in the history of cricket to reach the milestone.[69]

In the 2001–02 Australian summer, Australia played home series against New Zealand and against South Africa. Warne took six wickets in three Tests against New Zealand, and in the third Test in Perth made his highest career score with the bat in international cricket. He was caught at mid-wicket off the bowling of Daniel Vettori (off what was later revealed to be a no-ball) while on 99 runs, one run short of a maiden Test century.[70] He took 17 wickets in the three Tests against South Africa—more than any other player—including a five-wicket haul (5/113) in the first innings of the first Test.[71][72] Warne was again the leading wicket-taker when Australia played a three-Test series in South Africa in February and March 2002, with 20 dismissals.[73] In February 2002, Ricky Ponting replaced Steve Waugh as captain of Australia's ODI squad. The elevation of Ponting—five years younger than Warne—appeared to extinguish any prospect of Warne ever being appointed to captain Australia.[74]

Australia played a three-Test series against Pakistan in October 2002, held in neutral Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. Warne, who had lost weight over the previous months, took 27 wickets, was named the player of the series, and was man of the match in the first Test (with 11 wickets) and the third Test (with eight wickets).[75][76][77][78] He returned to Australia for the Ashes series against England, starting in November 2002. He scored a half-century (57) with the bat in the first Test, before taking 11 wickets in the first three Tests of the series. However, in an ODI in December 2002, he suffered a shoulder injury.[79] The injury not only ruled him out of the remainder of the Ashes series, but put him in doubt for the World Cup, due to commence in February 2003.[80]

In February 2003, a day before the start of the World Cup, Warne was sent home after a drug test during a one-day series in Australia returned a positive result for a banned diuretic.[81] Warne claimed that he took only one of what he called a "fluid tablet" – the prescription drug Moduretic – given to him by his mother to improve his appearance.[82] A committee established by the Australian Cricket Board found Warne guilty of breaching the Board's drug code, and imposed a one-year ban from organised cricket.[83]

At the time, Warne took the view that the ban imposed would lengthen his Test playing career, after already having announced that he was going to retire from one-day internationals after the '03 World Cup, although the ban led him to briefly reconsider that decision which he ultimately stuck with.[84] That Warne was allowed to play in charity matches while serving his one-year ban was criticised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)[85] although WADA, in turn, was criticised by Warne for interfering in the matter.[86]

During his suspension, Warne was hired by the Nine Network, Australia's main free-to-air cricket broadcaster, as a TV commentator.[87] During the winter of 2003, he worked for the St Kilda Australian rules football club in an unpaid consultancy role, after the Australian Football League banned him from holding an official club position because of his drugs ban.[88] He also received invitations to play in various celebrity "park cricket" teams, and the newly renamed Cricket Australia reversed its decision on whether Warne, as a contracted player, should be allowed to play in such matches.

Warne returned to competitive cricket following his ban in February 2004.[89] In March, in the first Test of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle, he became the second cricketer after Courtney Walsh to take 500 Test wickets.[90] Warne took five wickets in each innings of the first and second Tests; a further six wickets in the third Test saw him named the player of the series.[91] He broke the record for most career wickets in Test cricket on 15 October 2004 during the second Test of Australia's series against India at Chennai. His dismissal of Irfan Pathan, caught at slip by Matthew Hayden, saw him overtake his Sri Lankan rival, Muttiah Muralitharan, with 533 wickets. Muralitharan, who was injured at the time, had taken the record himself from Courtney Walsh five months earlier.[92][93] Australia won the series 2–1; it was Australia's first series win in India since 1969. Warne's 14 wickets at an average of 30.07 was a marked improvement on his previous performances in India, when in six Tests he had taken 20 wickets at an average of 52 runs each.[94][95] For his performances in 2004, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.

On 11 August 2005 at Old Trafford, in the Third Ashes Test, he became the first bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets, at a time when he separated from his wife. In 2005, Warne broke the record for the number of wickets in a calendar year, with 96 wickets. His ferocious competitiveness was a feature of the 2005 Ashes series, when he took 40 wickets at an average of 19.92 and scored 249 runs. Warne shared player of the series honour with England's Andrew Flintoff. For his performances in 2005, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.

Warne (right) bowling to Ian Bell at The Gabba in 2006

Warne began his 2006/07 Ashes campaign with an indifferent Test in Brisbane and a poor first innings showing in Adelaide. However, his second innings performance, including bowling Kevin Pietersen around the legs, triggered England's fifth-day collapse and Australia's victory. Warne again bowled well in the second innings in the third Test, and took the final wicket of Monty Panesar as Australia regained the Ashes.

On 21 December 2006 Warne announced his retirement, which came into effect after the fifth Ashes Test match at the SCG. Warne said that it was his intention to "go out on top", adding that he might have retired after the 2005 Ashes series, had Australia won. In his second-last Test, he took his 700th Test wicket at 3.18 pm on 26 December 2006[96] (AEST) by bowling English batsman Andrew Strauss out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in what was almost certainly his final appearance at the ground. This was the first occasion that a player had taken 700 Test wickets. The wicket was described as a "classic Warne dismissal" to which the crowd of 89,155 gave a standing ovation.[97]

Warne's final Test was held at the same venue as his first, 15 years earlier: the Sydney Cricket Ground. Warne ended England's first innings by trapping Monty Panesar lbw for a duck and his 1000th total international wicket. His final Test wicket was that of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, stumped by Adam Gilchrist.[98] He is one of only two bowlers to have taken 1000+ wickets in international cricket, the other being Muttiah Muralitharan.[99] For his performances in 2006, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC and Cricinfo.[100] He was also awarded the Men's Test Player of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony by the CA in 2006.[63]

Warne has regularly worked as a cricket commentator, predominantly on Australia's Nine Network. He commentated during his one-year ban from cricket in 2003. On 13 July 2005, Nine announced it would not renew Warne's commentating contract, worth around A$300,000 annually, due to incidents in his private life.[116] He later rejoined Nine in 2008, and was a member of its commentary team until Nine lost the broadcasting rights in 2018. He was also signed by Sky Sports in 2009.[117]

In the Australian sitcom Kath & Kim, a recurring theme was that sports-mad Sharon Strzelecki idolised Warne. In 2007, Warne appeared in the final episode of Series 4, playing "Wayne", a Shane Warne impersonator who marries Sharon.

Warne took over from Ally McCoist as a team captain on the BBC television sports quiz A Question of Sport in September 2007.

In 2010, the Nine Network commissioned a chat show hosted by Warne, entitled Warnie. The program debuted on 24 November 2010, with Warne interviewing James Packer.[118] Celebrities interviewed on the programme included then captain of the Australian cricket team Ricky Ponting, and the singers Chris Martin and Susan Boyle.[119][120] The program experienced spiralling audience figures and was axed before its final scheduled episode, although the network denied that it had been cancelled due to poor ratings.[121]

In 2005, Warne signed a lucrative multi-year sponsorship deal[122][123] with Messages On Hold. The irony of promoting phone messages after his involvement in several text messaging scandals was not lost on Warne.[124] Several media sources, and even Messages On Hold's own promotional materials quote him as saying, "Trust me with this recommendation—I know a thing or two about spin."[125]

Warne also does promotional work for hair-loss-recovery company Advanced Hair. This matter was investigated by the British Advertising Standards Authority in relation to an illegal celebrity endorsement of medical services.[126] He has also endorsed the Codemaster video games Shane Warne Cricket and Shane Warne Cricket '99. Outside Australia these were known as Brian Lara Cricket and Brian Lara Cricket '99.

For the 2007/08 Australian cricket series, Warne took over as Victoria Bitter spokesperson from David Boon in the Boonanza promotion.[127] Warne had a talking figurine as part of the promotion, which continued from the "Talking Boony" doll.[128]

In January 2008, Warne signed a two-year agreement with 888poker to represent them at poker events around the world including the Aussie Millions, World Series of Poker and the 888 UK Poker Open. This sponsorship agreement ended in January 2015.[129]

In 2009 Warne started an underwear line called Spinners.[130][131][132][133][134]

Warne is a part-owner of the SevenZeroEight gin distillery. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Warne announced that the company would turn its production from gin to alcohol hand-sanitizer.[135]

In February 2016 Warne stated, while appearing on I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, that he does not believe in the scientific theory of evolution, and that he thinks humans have descended from "aliens".[136]

• Warne, Shane (2006). My Illustrated Career. Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 1-84403-543-3.
• Shane Warne's Century – My Top 100 Cricketers by Shane Warne (Mainstream Publishing, 2008) ISBN