In the morning today, 4 March, 52 year young Shane Warne condoles the death of the great Australian wicket-keeper, 74 year old Rodney Marsh, who passed away following a heart attack. Later in the day, Shane Warne, a most admired and loved cricketer apparently fully fit, succumbs to a heart attack! The world is shell-shocked. C'est la vie.
Warnie, as he was affectionately called, was a living legend. Tributes are pouring in and tomorrow's papers will be full of him. His bowling feats and records will fill pages and pages and we can all delve into them. Here, I just want to mention two incidents which come to mind immediately.
One, what is termed as 'The Ball of the Century', the delivery which heralded a most successful career. It was in Old Trafford in 1993 in the Ashes test and it was the first ball of his first over. He bowled a leg break which turned over two feet and knocked the stumps of Mike Gatting who was totally flummoxed! The expression on the face of Mike Gatting was incredible. He could not believe what had happened.
Two, my family's joy, being Jaipurites, when Rajasthan Royals coached and captained by Warnie won the inaugural IPL league in 2008. No one had given the Royals a chance to be in the finals let alone win it. Warnie had achieved the impossible.
Read about his numerous records in detail. For me, these two happenings make him unforgettable.
One of the most memorable cricketers for sure...
ReplyDeleteA life lived fully.
ReplyDeleteVijji
Thank you! What a feat! I remember Rajasthan in the Ranji trophy days in the sixties when the best they could do was to be runner-up to Bombay.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks also for prompting a short piece for my writing group, taking off from this. Not good enough to publish, of course, therefore will share privately since you so generously asked!
ReplyDelete