These are balls us legspinners dream of: Former cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed on Warne’s ‘Ball of the Century’

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed believes that late Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’ delivery is the kind spinners dream of bowling to a batter.

‘On This Day’ Shane Warne produced the ball of the century against England in 1993, the Australian dismissed English batter Mike Gatting with a delivery that turned the mentality of people about spin bowling.

While speaking about the delivery itself Ahmed said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, “It will always be an unplayable one. There was a delivery Adil Rashid bowled in an ODI to Virat Kohli in England, and Yasir Shah bowled one to Kusal Mendis – these are balls us legspinners dream of. I used to bowl my googly way outside off, making the batsman leave it, and it suddenly comes in between the legs to dismantle the stumps. That can’t be matched. Shane’s ball will be enjoyable to watch even 60 years later.”

Along with this Indian spinner Piyush Chawla and Alana King share a similar view about Warne’s special delivery.

“Hundred per cent. It is a beautiful sight to see the ball pitching on the leg stump and squaring up the batter – it is a drama ball for a legspinner,” Chawla said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“Absolutely, hands down. Don’t think anyone comes close to bowling something like that. He was a once-in-a-generation player for that reason, the amount of spin that he got. That was early on in his Test career too, so what he went on to do – over 700 Test wickets – it all started with that ball. Think that delivery will always be the pinnacle of leg-spin,” King said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

In an era where pace bowlers ruled the world of cricket, a 23-year-old bowler bowled a delivery that landed wide of leg but spun so much that it knocked over the off-stump of England’s batsman Mike Gatting. The batter stood at the crease in disbelief to process what had actually happened to him.

Warne passed away on March 4 last year after a suspected heart attack while vacationing in Thailand. One of the most loved and followed cricketers in history, the Victorian single-handedly reinvented the art of leg-spin when he burst onto the international scene in the early 1990s.

And, by the time he bid adieu to the sport in 2007, Warne had become the first bowler to collect 700 Test wickets. Warne finished his international career with 708 Test wickets and a further 293 in One-Day Internationals, placing him second on the list of all-time international wicket-takers behind his great friend and rival Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka at 1,347.

Warne, known to his Baggy Green mates as ‘Warnie’, also captained Australia in 11 One-Day Internationals, winning 10 and losing just once.

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