Shane Warne added sheen to the game of cricket

It was often said that when a delivery left Shane Warne's hand, it had a fizz and a whirr that one associated with a well-oiled machine.

No one is bigger than the game goes an old cricket adage. But a select few go a long way in making the game itself great. The inimitable Australian spinner Shane Warne who died on March 4 at the age of 52 belonged to the rare category of those who added lustre to the sport itself.

His sudden demise, being found unresponsive in a villa in the Thai island of Koh Samui where he had arrived for a holiday with a few friends, has plunged the cricket world into shock and grief. Even in death Shane Warne has kept people guessing as he did batsmen in International cricket for over 15 years.

His immense cricketing ability was matched by a flamboyance and a showmanship that few peers in the game managed to equal. Statistics often do not tell the real story of a player's stature. In Warne's case the stats were further incontrovertible proof of him being a colossus of the game, and arguably the greatest spin bowler that ever played cricket.

Frailty in a star makes them even more charismatic. Warne did have his flaws, mostly with his behaviour off the field. Never far from controversy, and with a willingness to throw caution to the winds in the manner he lived his life, his shortcomings hardly dimmed the aura of his achievements.

In 1993, when his first delivery in an Ashes Test in England bamboozled Mike Gatting, and became dubbed as the ‘Ball of the Century’, the cricket world knew they were looking at someone special.

Warne could make the ball talk on just about any surface. Conditions hardly mattered as he went about with his bag of tricks. His shrewd cricketing brain could be seen sizing up each batsman, working his way through their defences with each delivery, and with the banter of a ‘Bowling Shane’ from an Ian Healy or an Adam Gilchrist behind the stumps, it made for riveting viewing.

It was often said that when a delivery left Warne's hand, it had a fizz and a whirr that one associated with a well-oiled machine. Except that even a machine with artificial intelligence would have struggled to come up with so many variations.

His vast repertoire of skills meant that an over would often have six different type of deliveries. His flipper, googly, quicker ball, and the viciously turning leg break were often supplemented by subtle variations in flight and length. Watching him bowl was like watching a chess player plotting their opponent’s downfall.

That Warne played in what was a great Australian team, first in the Steve Waugh era and then in Ricky Ponting's team that included the likes of Glenn Mcgrath, Gilchrist, the Waugh brothers, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Ponting himself did not in any manner take away from the sheer class and quality of Warne’s cricket.

His vast repertoire of skills meant that an over would often have six different type of deliveries. His flipper, googly, quicker ball, and the viciously turning leg break were often supplemented by subtle variations in flight and length

His charisma, a larger than life personality, and relationships kept Warne in the news long after he retired from the game. His commentary was incisive, and the fact that he was outspoken marked him out from many of his fellow commentators who were often content to play safe for fear of antagonising cricket administrators or fellow cricketers.

Though Warne was often called ‘one of the greatest cricket captains Australia never had, he was not one to fit into that mould. In 1994 he was found guilty of having made deals with a bookie, and the 2003 drug scandal, when a diuretic was detected in his urine sample leading to a ban, ended his hopes of captaincy. Almost as if to prove a point to Cricket Australia, Warne accepted to lead Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and led the team to win the title. It was his way of telling the cricket establishment that he could be a mentor and had it in him to lead the side—though it came after he retired from international cricket.

Few embellished the game as Shane Warne did. As so many have said after his passing, "he made me want to watch cricket." That perhaps is the greatest tribute to the man that the game itself was enriched because of him.

Sumanth Raman is a sports commentator, TV anchor, and political analyst. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.