For English Ashes watchers of a certain age – okay, pretty much any age – these were the two most terrifying words from that era when The Blond reigned supreme. Shane Warne took 195 Ashes wickets – more than any other man – while featuring in seven series wins from 1993 to 2007. “My record stands up better than anyone’s,” he tells Phil Walker. You don’t say, Shane, you don’t say…
Tell us what the Ashes means to you…
Oh, jeez! Yeah, well I’ve been very lucky to have played in so many wonderful series, you know? I only lost the one series, in 2005 when England were fantastic and deserved to win. That was an unbelievable series for so many reasons but what stands out even now was the spirit of cricket, and the camaraderie – I think that’s why it really captured the public’s imagination, because of the camaraderie, and the sportsmanship and skill that was on display. So yeah, that one was a great series to be involved in.
It’s funny that you think of that series first, despite it being the only one you were on the wrong end of! It could even be considered your defining series – 40 wickets and all that – although it was the one you lost.
Yeah, but I don’t often think of it like that, I prefer to think back through every Ashes series as special in its own way. That ’93 series, my first one, that was special, but not especially from an individual point of view. I think of it more from the point of view of what we achieved as a team. That ’93 tour and the ’94 tour to South Africa were the two best tours I ever went on.
What else jumps out?
I also look back on the 2006/07 series and that Adelaide Test match when over 1,000 runs were scored over the first three days and after four days you didn’t think there was going to be a result, and suddenly – bang! We win from nowhere! That was an amazing Test match, definitely one of the greatest Ashes Tests that I ever played in.
But we don’t like to talk about that…
Oh yeah, of course, the Forgotten Ashes Series when we won 5-0! Yeah, no one talks about it…
You say that no one thought there would be a result at Adelaide but the story goes that if anybody did, it was you yourself. Did you truly believe you could pull it off?
Yeah right, the dance… For me, all the Ashes series contain special moments. I’m pretty happy with my Ashes record with the bat, the ball, the catches and all the rest of it, because it always brought out the best in me. Sure, I got a few noughts and dropped the odd catch – even the odd costly one, like with KP at The Oval, even though Gilly dropped him on nought off my bowling first, but no one likes to talk about that! But I’d like to think my record stands up better than anyone who’s played in Ashes cricket, because it just brought out the best in me. Every single series has got something special in there for me, and I was so lucky to have played in those great teams and watched so many players do such great things.
Give us some of your favourites…
Merv Hughes in ’93, hobbling off to fine leg with his bone on his knee and still charging in; Merv knocking over Mike Gatting to the last ball of the day at Lord’s; Goochie batting so well in ’94/95 in Australian conditions; Thorpey playing well at Perth in that series; Dean Headley coming in at Melbourne and blowing us away… [Pause] Some of Ian Healy’s stumpings! I bowled a wrong ‘un to Thorpe who was on a hundred at Perth and Heals took an unbelievable stumping there; I also remember Heals in the ’97 series taking a stumping off Michael Bevan against Mark Butcher down the leg side, that was one hell of a stumping; Mark Waugh’s catch at Leeds off Alec Stewart, the one-hander at slip; Michael Vaughan in 2005 making 170 and hitting a Simon Katich full toss to long on! There are millions of moments that make it so special. I still love watching Ashes cricket as much as ever, and I think this series is gonna be really close, and Australia are going to win.
