Shane Warne, Mike Gatting discuss ‘Ball of the Century’

Shane Warne gifted the cricket fans with many sights to cherish forever, but the ‘Ball of the Century’ tops the list. The die-hard Ashes fans can never forget Warne’s 1993 delivery to Mike Gatting in the first Test at Old Trafford. The awkward turn off Warne’s first ball in Ashes not only left Gatting, but also the spectators in awe, before hitting the off-stump. 24 years since the masterclass, Warne and Gatting discuss the famous incident and it is a gem.

“Gatt and I get along very well,” said Warne, as quoted by perthnow.com, before mischievously adding, “I’m going to thank Gatt for missing a straight one.” Gatting then showered Warne with praises for that brilliant delivery. “Warnie if only it was a straight one. I keep seeing this ball on TV and it’s almost 25 years ago. First ball anyone ever bowls at you. You don’t expect him to turn it that much. I’m quite wide, and it missed an awful lot of body as well before it hit the off stump!”

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

Batting with Gatting was Graham Gooch, who, however, had a different take on Gatting’s dismissal.

“I was walking off with Goochy,” recalls Gatting, “and he said, you were thinking about tea mate weren’t you? You were thinking about those doughnuts and sandwiches and you lost your concentration. If it had been a cheese and pickle roll mate, you wouldn’t have let the bugger bounce.”

Warne, as always, said the delivery was a fluke, as he never could imitate it later on.

“In all the different matches I played I never was able to do it again first ball. It was one of those things that was meant to be.”

“The fact you ended up getting 708 wickets was fantastic. Most of us appreciate what you’ve done,” Gatting cheered Warne up.

“I was 24 when I bowled that ball to Gatt,” said Warne. “A year of two after that Gatt and Goochie retired and I got a lovely letter from Mike Gatting and from Graham Gooch, just wishing me the best in my career. It was a very nice gesture and something I’ll never forget and I still have those letters. We talk about that ball and what it meant, and I think Mike Gatting and Graham Gooch showed a lot of class writing a young kid a letter — it meant a lot. So thank you Gatt,” Warne concluded.