Shane Warne began his Test career with one wicket for 150 runs
Shane Warne ended up with 708 Test wickets, a world record at the time. His debut against India in January 1992 brought one wicket for 150, and after two Tests he had been dropped. As a small child he broke both legs and spent a year pushing himself around on an arm-powered trolley, which he later said built his wrists.
Born in a Melbourne suburb in 1969, Warne bowled a mixture of leg-spin and off-spin as a teenager and also played Australian rules football for St Kilda's under-19s, even reaching the reserves before being cut in 1988. He spent a season in Bristol living in a cricket club's attic, left the national academy in Adelaide after clashing with management, and in 1991 took 73 wickets for Accrington in Lancashire. The club still declined to keep him, wanting a professional who could bat too.
Back at the academy in 1992, former Test spinner Terry Jenner harnessed his raw talent and pushed him to prepare more seriously. The turnaround came quickly. In Colombo that August he claimed Sri Lanka's final three batsmen for no runs at all, sealing a tight match, prompting Sri Lanka's captain to marvel that a bowler averaging over 300 had stolen the game. That December he took 7 for 52 in a Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Warne played 145 Tests, scored more than 3,000 runs with a top score of 99, won the 1999 World Cup and retired after Australia's 2006-07 Ashes win over England. He is widely rated not only the finest leg-spinner ever but one of the greatest bowlers of all, credited with reviving an art many thought was dying. He also captained Hampshire in England and led the Rajasthan Royals to the first IPL title.
His career had storms: a ban after a positive test for a prohibited substance, a colourful private life and dealings with gambling figures. Later he worked as a commentator and for charities. Warne died of a heart attack in Thailand in March 2022, aged 52, and later received one of his country's top honours, becoming an Officer of the Order of Australia after his death.
Source: Shane Warne
