The Warne and McGrath Era

Lore & Background

Warne made 145 Test appearances, taking 708 wickets, and set the record for the most wickets taken by any bowler in Test cricket, a record he held until 2007. Warne was a useful lower-order batsman who scored more than 3,000 Test runs, with a highest score of 99. Warne was a member of the Australian team that won the 1999 Cricket World Cup. He retired from international cricket at the end of Australia's 2006–07 Ashes series victory over England. Warne published his autobiography, No Spin, in 2018. Warne revolutionised cricket thinking with his mastery of leg spin, then regarded as a dying art. After retirement, he regularly worked as a cricket commentator and for charities and endorsed commercial products. During his career, Warne was involved in off-field scandals including a ban from cricket for testing positive for a prohibited substance, a colourful personal life and interactions with gambling figures. On 4 March 2022, Warne died of a heart attack at the age of 52, while on holiday in Thailand. After his death, many tributes and memorials were made to Warne, both in his home city of Melbourne and elsewhere in the cricketing world. Warne was posthumously appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his service to cricket.

Reader's Guide

His first ball of the 1993 Ashes series, at Old Trafford, was called the 'Ball of the Century'. Warne bowled experienced English batsman Mike Gatting, with a ball that drifted through the air and then turned from well outside leg stump to clip the off bail. Warne claimed 34 wickets in his first Ashes series, leading all bowlers, at an average of 25.79. Australia won the six Test series 4–1. Warne took 72 Test wickets in 1993, a then-record for a spin bowler in a calendar year.

Did You Know?

• Warne captained Victoria in the 1999–00 season and briefly in 2000–01, but not in 2002–03.
• Warne played Australian rules football for St Kilda Football Club's under-19s and reserves teams before focusing on cricket.