On Saturday, as Australia set forth to retain the Ashes and as England were knocking out Bangladesh, one man was perhaps celebrating the 12th anniversary of the days he bowled the ‘‘Ball of the Century’’.Well, if Shane Keith Warne was, Mike Gatting certainly wasn’t. ‘‘It was a very fine delivery but to call it the ball of the century, I’m not so sure’’, he told The Sunday Express ‘‘I was at the receiving end so it is tough for me to have an opinion on the ball. But it’s the ball that was unplayable and could have been bowled even at the club level by a club cricketer.’’Gatting admits, though, that Warne came with a reputation of being a big turner. ‘‘We had seen video footage of him bowling also but batting in the middle is something else altogether. I didn’t expect it to turn that much; no one did.’’‘‘It was the first ball he was bowling. I was just looking to see him bowl. You can’t charge down the wicket off the first ball you face. I was more worried about being bowled around my legs. ‘‘As it pitched outside leg, I lost sight of the ball only to hear a bail being dislodged. Even Ian Healy was going down leg side and I thought that he probably kicked the wicket by mistake or the wind blew the bail off. Then I was concerned about being stumped and immediately turned to see where my back foot was’’, he says.‘‘I told Healy I couldn’t have been given lbw but he told me it was fair and I was bowled. Even the umpire was clueless and asked the leg umpire to confirm what had happened’’, Gatting recollects. But he has great respect for Shane Warne who he calls the most accurate bowler in history.VITAL STATSThe Date: June 4, 1993The Place: Old Trafford, ManchesterThe Score: England 80/1, replying to Australia’s first-innings 289Shane Warne bowling his first-ever delivery against England. The ball pitched about 30 centimeters outside leg stump, spun back and clipped the top of offThe Effect: The match and series were decided, the future of leg spin deemed safe. And a legend was born
