Despite retiring in 2007, the late Shane Warne is still the second-highest wicket-taker in the Test format
On this day in 2006, the crowd of 89,155 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground had nothing to do with the outcome of the fourth Ashes game between Australia and England. After all, the urn was already in Australia’s bag, given the Baggy Greens had won the first three matches. Therefore, the fourth game was all about one man and his legendary milestone – Shane Warne and his 700th Test wicket.
Batting first, Alastair Cook of the English opening duo had left early, but Andrew Strauss had taken a stand. He spent 206 minutes on the crease and faced 132 balls while two more English wickets were taken by Australia. However, Strauss completed his 50 and was determined to hit a 100.
That’s when Shane Warne took the onus and bowled a quick, well-pitched delivery from his favourite southern end. The ball spun and went through the gates of Strauss, leaving the opener baffled as he was successfully deceived by the legendary Warnie.
Shane Warne gave the spectator a Boxing Day to remember as he became the first-ever bowler to grab 700 Test wickets—a truly impossible achievement. However, this was only the beginning of another five-wicket haul day for Warne, his 37th in Test, and it was also his last.
Warne was also instrumental in getting the wickets of Kevin Pietersen, Chris Read, Steve Harmison, and Monty Panesar. Except for Pietersen, all were dismissed by Warne in less than ten runs, as England settled with a meagre score of 159 in the first innings.
In response, Australia scored 419 runs in the first innings, but England simply could not find its footing in the second innings, again succumbing to a meagre score of 161 runs. Warne also contributed two wickets, dismissing the likes of Sajid Mahmood and Steve Harmison.
For his five-wicket haul, i.e., 5/39 figures in the first innings and 2/46 in the second, Warne was awarded the Man of the Match.
Following the incredible achievement, an ecstatic Shane Warne expressed his joy by stating, “As it turned out, whoever writes my scripts is doing an unbelievable job.”
Overall, Shane Warne played Test cricket for Australia from 1992 to 2007, appearing in 145 games. He finished as the second-highest Test wicket-taker in the world with 708 wickets, and the only person to surpass him was Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, who remains the only player in the world to possess 800 Test wickets. Apart from 708 wickets, Warnie also picked 37 five-wicket hauls and 48 four-wicket hauls.
The iconic Aussie bowler shocked the best of batters, and his sudden tragic passing away was also a major shocker, given he was only 52 when he suffered a heart attack while vacationing in Koh Samui, Thailand, on March 4, 2022.
Warnie will forever be remembered as one of the greatest bowlers ever to grace the game of cricket.
