Shane Warne’s landmark victims talk through the balls that made him an Australian icon

Shane Warne‘s Test career took in 708 wickets, with the Australian legend specializing in making batters look foolish.

He dismissed the likes of Jacques Kallis, Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick in a career that reinvented the art of leg spin.

Only Muttiah Muralitharan took more Test wickets, and no one did as much to excite and inspire fans. 

The Victoria star particularly enjoyed playing against England, taking 195 Ashes wickets and winning seven of the eight series he played in.

Warne’s landmark victims speak to Neil Manthorp, Richard Gibson and Rex Clementine about how it felt to face the legendary slow bowler.

Shane Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second most in the history of the game

His 100th Test wicket came as he dismissed Brian McMillan just two years after his debut

100 Brian McMillan lbw b Warne 4 (v South Africa, Adelaide, 1994)

Pat Symcox, Daryll Cullinan and I formed a think tank to decide the best way to play Warne. We decided to treat every ball as if it was the flipper, seeing as we couldn’t pick it. If it wasn’t, then we would have time to adjust and play it on merit.

There would be no pulling — in case it was the flipper. So he’d go round the wicket and we would pad away everything that pitched outside leg stump. Warney hated that, and he would invariably come back over the wicket, and we would revert to Plan A. His 100th wicket was… a flipper. The best-laid plans! I played back, and it hurried through. Warne was incredibly competitive, but I loved playing against him.

200 Chaminda Vaas c Healy b Warne 4 (v Sri Lanka, Perth, 1995)

It was the first time I had played against him and he got me twice — both caught behind by Ian Healy. The second dismissal, the result of a big drive that went straight up in the air, was his 200th.

Looking back, I sense he had the wood over some of us. Rather than playing him on merit, we were obsessed with analysing him and we paid the price. When he’s making the team’s best batsmen look ordinary, there was little the rest of us could do. Warney was great, but not because of all his variations, his ability to turn the ball or his accuracy; there were spinners more talented than him. Warney played with your mind.

He took a number of famous scalps, including South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis for his 300th wicket

300 Jacques Kallis b Warne 45 (v South Africa, Sydney, 1998)

He was a showman and as a batter you were part of his show. At Sydney, he was all over us. He took five wickets in the first innings, and he’d already taken five in the second by the time he got me.

He came round the wicket, which we used to think was a good sign because he was getting frustrated. I was looking to use the pad as much as possible, but he was pitching everything in line with the stumps, so I had to play. He beat me in the flight with a googly, from round the wicket! It slipped under the bat, and hit two-thirds of the way up middle and off.

400 Alec Stewart c Gilchrist b Warne 29 (v England, the Oval, 2001)

I played a forward defence and didn’t quite cover the ball, which allowed it to pitch and turn. As I played it, I hit the bottom of my pad with my bat. I just felt I didn’t hit the ball, and I got called into the match referee’s room afterwards, as I’d been reported for dissent. It cost me £1,000. I got out to Warne 14 times in Test cricket, more than anyone else, and if I had my time again, I would have attacked him more.

He possessed an unbelievable cricket brain and, because of his control, he could put his plans in place seamlessly. We were never ahead in enough games against Australia to change his thinking.

Hashan Tillakaratne was caught close by Andrew Symonds for Warne’s 500th Test pole

500 Hashan Tillakaratne c Symonds b Warne 25 (v Sri Lanka, Galle, 2004)

Shane was on his comeback after his 12-month ban (for taking a banned diuretic), and the race for 500 wickets was intense between him and Murali, who began the game on 485 to Warne’s 491. By the time I was dismissed in the second innings, Australia had the game in the bag.

He came on for a fresh spell and I scored a straight boundary from his first ball. Next ball, I went for a big sweep, but got a top edge and was easily caught close in by Andrew Symonds. I remember his parents were there to see him get to 500. He was player of the series, unstoppable.

600 Marcus Trescothick c Gilchrist b Warne 63 (v England, Old Trafford, 2005)

The dismissal was really annoying, because I was so unlucky. The ball was outside off stump. I tried to sweep it and it bounced round off my body, caught the back of my bat, deflected on to Adam Gilchrist’s knee and popped up into his gloves.

Shane was the first to get 600 Test wickets, and on my wall at home I’ve got a picture of the ball in mid-flight, with Gilchrist about to complete the catch. Warne signed it for me.

It was the execution of his skills that made him so special. Other spinners tried different things and you would always feel there was a period in which you could get a few away. I never felt like that with Warne.

Andrew Strauss was his 700th victim after a classic leg break bowled him through the gate

700 Andrew Strauss b Warne 50 (v England, Melbourne, 2006)

There wasn’t a lot of turn, so it felt like an opportunity to score. He moved midwicket away, which was very clever as he’d offered me a big gap. People ask why I played the shot, or how I could have missed it, as it didn’t really do that much. But it needs context. You have to take the field setting into consideration.

He bowled the ball wider and I tried to fetch it from outside off stump. Once again, Warne was one step ahead. He did me. 

He was a brilliant bowler but what made him so special was his showmanship, an ability to use the occasion in his favour. He would just project his presence on to you. Warne’s skill was to know what you were going to do before you did it.