Published: Mar 05, 2022, 07:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 05, 2022, 07:42 PM (IST)
New Delhi: Shane Warne was one of the most fiercest competitors on the cricket field. Players around the world who have played against him would agree with the fact. With every series, Warne’s skills got sharper and difficult for the opposition to counter. Ashes 2005 was one such series where Warne was at his absolute best. The series created a lot of buzz before and after the series got concluded. Star players like Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist were part of the Australian squad.
However, “Warnie” as affectionately called by the players was one player who bothered English players the most who supposedly played spin “better”. To counter Warne for the series, ECB (English Cricket Board) bought a spin machine called Merlyn which could replicate his leg spin. Here is the photo:
The reason for ECB’s desperation was the impact Warne had against opposition batters and of course the famous “Ball of the century” against Mike Gatting who was considered “a murderer of leg spin” in county cricket. The spin machine was invented by Henry Pryor’s who named it after two famous magicians who were mentioned in King Arthur Legend.
ECB even got Mike Gatting to face Merlyn in front of 60-70 people. Here is the photo:
The 5 match test series ended 2-1 in favour of England, however, the magician picked up 40 wickets at an average of 19.92. This incident adds to the legacy of Warne who defied logics the moment he went on to bowl oppositions out when he wanted to.
Sadly, on 04th March 2022, the legendary spinner who inspired a generation of cricketers to bowl leg spin left us forever.
