THIRTY YEARS AGO THIS SUMMER, with his first ball in Ashes cricket, Shane Warne bowled what is now called the “BALL OF THE CENTURY”. For it was a ripper: Warne had the ball drift far outside Mike Gatting’s leg stump, and then turn — sharply, impossibly, gloriously — out of the rough, racing past Gatting’s pad before hitting the very top of his off stump.
Commentating, Australia’s former leg-spinner, Richie Benaud, explained that “Gatting has absolutely no idea what has happened to it. He still doesn’t know” — and little wonder. Warne clenched his fist in celebration. Ian Healy, the wicket-keeper, leapt in the air like a ballet dancer. Dickie Bird, umpiring, appeared dumbfounded, as though the Angel Gabriel had addressed him from Heaven. Gatting looked around expectantly, as though…
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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2023