Wello's Ashes Blog

The rumours that began to circulate in Australia yesterday have proved to be true: leg-spinning genius Shane Warne is to retire at the end of this Ashes series. Shocked Aussie cricket fans are still digesting the news here, after Warne gave a very candid press conference at his beloved MCG today, explaining that he wanted to call time on his international career whilst still at the top.

It's hard to put into words the effect Warne has had on Australian cricket, and the worldwide game in general. In a recent poll, Warne came second only to Don Bradman himself as the most influential Australian cricketer ever and his contribution to the 15 or so years of domination enjoyed by the Australian cricket team has been simply immense. He revolutionised test cricket by re-inventing spin bowling as an attacking, match-winning art.

All England fans, and most England players come to think of it, will be breathing a huge sigh of relief that the fizzing, dipping, spinning deliveries Warne has produced against them since his Ashes debut in 1993 will not exert such huge influence on another series. The irony of Warne's decision is that he is arguably bowling as well as ever whilst scoring crucial lower order runs and catching almost everything that comes to him at 1st slip. Though some people will say he should have continued to play test cricket due to his skills and fitness levels being as good as ever, he has done what England rugby captain Martin Johnson did and retired at the very peak of the game.

To listen to Warne's admission that he would have liked to retire at the end of the 2005 Ashes series but couldn't due to there being 'unfinished business' gives a clear insight into why Australia have regained the Ashes after 3 tests down here. Ricky Ponting, and the Australian team felt they had let their country down by losing Australia's grip on the prized urn. The pain of the 2005 defeat has manifested itself in an unstoppable determination to win the Ashes back - and Warne has been a key factor in this, knowing full well that he could never retire on the back of a losing series, especially to England.

Warne's behaviour on the pitch has not always endeared him to opposition cricket fans and his off-field antics have sometimes strained his relationship with the Australian cricket authorities and public alike. Despite this, he commands a respect from both team mates and adversaries that is without parallel in the world game, for his ability to influence the outcome of any match he plays in. Without Warne, England would arguably be only 1-0 down in this series and might have beaten Australia 3 or 4-1 in the 2005 series.

His combination of supreme skill, razor sharp cricket brain, and astonishing competitiveness created the greatest bowler the world has ever seen, and he fulfilled the one category that determines all true sporting greats - produce your best when it's needed most. If you want an example of that, take a look at the 1999 World Cup semi-final between Australia and South Africa. Chasing just over 200 to win, South Africa had rocketed to 48 without loss after only 10 overs and seemed certain to win easily. The introduction of Warne to the attack changed everything, and in his 10 overs he dismissed Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje and Jacques Kallis for just 29 runs. The match was eventually tied, and Australia won by virtue of beating S.A in the round robin stage. Without Warne, their 1999 World cup win would never have happened.

The last two Ashes tests promise to be historic even though the series has already been decided. One senses the end of an era for Australian cricket with Glenn McGrath likely to end his test career at Sydney too. For Shane Warne, his legacy will be not only the massive contribution he made in making Australia the pre-eminent cricket team of the last decade, but also the thousands of youngsters throughout the world now bowling leg-spin after being inspired to do so by the finest bowler the world has ever seen.

Wello