Watch: The Shane Warne Ball of the Century
Watch: Shane Warne will be remembered as arguably the greatest spin bowler cricket has ever known, with the moment he announced himself going down as one of the best balls ever bowled, fondly called the ‘Ball of the Century’.
The delivery was Warne’s first in Ashes cricket, bowled to Mike Gatting, supposedly England’s best player of spin. It showcased much of what made Warne great, with the batter beaten by the drift and flight as by the wicked spin that followed after the ball pitched.
There was a greater air of trickery to the delivery too, with Warne deliberately keeping his best back when playing in a tour game to convince England’s batters there was nothing to be feared.
The ball has gone down in cricketing folklore. It is so famous that Wikipedia lists that it can be referred to simply as ‘That Ball’, with The Duckworth/Lewis Method making the delivery the subject of one of their songs, ‘Jiggery Pokery’.
Warne went on to take more than 700 Test wickets, a tally better by only one other bowler in cricket history, having been credited with revolutionising the formerly dying art of leg-spin bowling.
His death, aged 52, has shocked the cricketing world, with tributes pouring in.
