On this day, January 2,1992: The greatest leg-spinner ever, Shane Warner made his Test debut. When he first emerged in the international circuit, no one could have imagined the Australian spinner would end up with a tally of over 700 Test wickets, but he did and turned out to be the greatest. Warne made his debut 32 years ago on this day when India toured Australia for a five-match Test series.
After Australia comfortably won the first two games, a 23-year-old Warne was called up for the third Test, which kicked off on January 2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to make his debut. The leg-spinner did not have a good debut as he bowled 45 overs in the Test and managed to pick only one wicket, conceding 105 runs.
Shane Warne took 96 Test wickets in the calendar year 2005, which is the highest peak touched by any bowler in the longer format during a particular calendar year. He also bowled the famous ball of the century, a ripping leggie to knock over the batter.
Warne is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, with a total of 708 wickets. Only Sri Lankan spinner Muralidaran, who had 800 wickets to his name in the longer format is ahead of him. He has also won 17 Man of the Match awards in Tests, the third highest by a player. His eight ‘Man of the Series’ awards in Tests is also the fourth highest by any player.
Shane Warne ended his career with 1,001 international cricket wickets, which also includes 293 ODI wickets, he is the second-highest wicket-taker of all time. Once again, Muralidaran emerges as the highest wicket-taker in the sport ever, with 1,347 wickets.
Warne retired from the sport in 2007. He finished his career with 145 Tests to his name, in which he took 708 wickets and also scored a 3154 runs with the bat with 12 fifties. In 194 ODIs, he took 293 scalps and scored 1,018 runs with a fifty. His best bowling figures in Tests are 8/71 while they are 5/33 for ODIs. He was also a terrific character on the field and more fans to the game. Shane Warne left a legacy that will be cherished for the times to come.
