#OTD in 1993: The day when the Showman made leg-spin 'talk of the town' again

They say leg-spin is an art. Using one’s wrist to turn the ball and deviate its course of direction isn’t everyone’s cup of team. And if bowling leg-spin is art then Shane Warne is the Picasso of it. We can unanimously claim that leg-spin = Shane Warne. After all, we have all tried the iconic run up & action whilst casually walking down the street, haven’t we?

On the 4th of June, in the year 1993, Shane Warne’s leg-spin created a historic cricketing moment and it was deemed the ‘Ball of the Century’. Let me assure you, it was more than extraordinary, majestic & magical. After all, it happened in an Ashes Series at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester.

It was the first of the five Tests of the Ashes, between rivals Australia who were touring England. In the 1st innings, Australia had managed to put up a score of 289 runs. In the 2nd innings, England was at 80 runs with the loss of 1 wicket. 

Mind you, Shane Warne wasn’t a household name back then. Warne who was 24 then got hold of the ball and produced a magical ball to Mike Gatting. The English Batter did not see this coming though. Was it an unusual delivery? Yes. Was it extraordinary? Yes. Was it something Cricket Lovers had never witnessed? A BIG yes.

The ball off Warne’s right-hand wrist landed way outside the leg stump, spun drastically, bamboozled the right-handed batter, and went on to hit the off stump. Yes. You read that correctly. 

This never-seen-before ball produced a huge deviation from where it landed till the impact on the Off Stump. Everybody was shell-shocked for the initial seconds once this had happened including the umpires, spectators & the Commentary Box.

As Shane Warne rejoiced along with his Australian lads, Mike Gatting had to walk off as he was clean bowled by Shane Warne. In hindsight, he wouldn’t mind being on the receiving end of what was termed as the ‘Ball of the Century’.

Australia won the Test by 179 runs and the leggie was declared as the ‘Player of the Match’. Warne produced figures of 4/5, and 4/86 in the first and second innings respectively. Australia Clinched the Ashes series 4-1 and Shane Warne was also announced as the ‘Player of the Series’ as he ended with 34 wickets.

Although, Shane Warne is not with us anymore. The celebrated leggie from Victoria, Australia suffered a tragic Heart Attack on 4th March 2022. 

Recently, in the ongoing Test Match between England & New Zealand at Lords, the Barmy Army paid an emotional tribute to Australian cricket legend Shane Warne. Players from both teams halted play at the end of the 23rd over and stood together to offer the leg-spin legend applause, as a video tribute played on the big screen. Warne wore the number 23 during his cricket career.