Shane Warne’s top records in his 15-year career

You may like him or hate him, but he was never one to be left out of the news for as long as he played, and in bursts, even after he quit playing. The chubby man from Victoria, Australia, led a life filled with drama, often likening his life to a soap opera. From his exquisite leg-breaks to women, to forbidden pills to bookmakers, Warne always made his way to the headlines.

But he is most famous for his exploits on the field. Who can forget the way to bamboozled Mike Gatting in 1993 with an unplayable delivery that pitched way outside leg stump to shatter the off-stump? Or the brilliant comeback in 2004 after a 12-month hiatus to take Sri Lankan wickets in three Tests? Or the world record 96 Test wickets in 2005? As we mourn the passing away of a legend, here are some of his records.

Most wickets in a calendar year (Test)

Shane Warne took 96 wickets in 2005, a record that stands till day. His closest competition was from Muttiah Muralitharan who took 90 wickets the very next year. Noone else has breached the 90-wicket mark in a single year and in the last decade, only Ashwin has claimed more than 70 (72) wickets in a single year.

First to take 700 wickets

He was the first to claim 700 wickets, reaching the feat on Dec 26, 2006 against England in Melbourne. He did so in his 144^th match, a feat which was surpassed by rival Muttiah, who did so in just 113 matches.

Most consecutive 4-wickets in an innings (ODI)

Shane Warne also holds a joint record of taking 4 wickets in an innings three times consecutivle in ODIs. He holds the record with 10 other players. The list also includes Waqar Younis, who repeated the feat thrice, a record unbeaten.

Most runs in a career without a hundred (Test)

Warne holds an unlikely record of the most runs in Test cricket without a hundred with 3154 runs. He scored this across 199 innings at an average of 17.32 which included a dozen half centuries. He came close to a century once, but fell at 99.

Most runs in a career all formats combined without a hundred

Warne scored 4172 runs across Test, ODI and T20I at an average of 16.72 with 13 fifties, but never scored a century. His highest score was 99 that he scored in a Test match. He was also dismissed 44 times for a duck – the ninth most for any player in history.

Second on the list of most wickets taken (All formats combined)

Warne’s total wicket haul of 1001 wickets across formats is second only to Muttiah’s 1347 wickets. Warne’s 1001 wickets came from 339 matches where he bowled 51,347 balls, conceding 25,536 runs.

Second-most 10-wicket hauls in a match (Test)

Warne’s tally of 10 ten-wicket hauls in a single Test match is second only to Muttiah’s 22. Ashwin who has seven such feats is the closest in the current pool of players who can beat Warne.

Second on the list for most victims stumped (All formats)

Over his 15-year career, 86 of Warne’s wickets were from stumpings. He was surpassed only by Muttiah with 104. He has 36 wickets through stumpings in Tests, which is also the second most in the format.