The Warne-again Spinner

The Ashes have given us cricket to savour and for all the joy they provided, there was actually a tinge of sadness when it was all over. A g...

The Ashes have given us cricket to savour and for all the joy they provided, there was actually a tinge of sadness when it was all over. A good spectacle is like that, it leaves you asking for more. I remember feeling like that one evening in Chennai four years ago. Australia and India had played out a fascinating three test series and even though everyone knew the cricket for the season was over, we didn8217;t feel like leaving the stadium. That should have been a five-Test series.

Indeed had the Ashes been played merely over three matches, Australia would still be holding on to that urn 8212; metaphorically, of course, because rather ridiculously, win or lose, the little trophy stayed in England. Now it is there by right for England have played superlative cricket, the kind Australia would have been proud to play. They did what the Aussies pride themselves on doing 8212; they never took a backward step and to be honest, England8217;s aggressive approach surprised many of us.

Brilliant though the Ashes were, there were two warriors, two fighters of sublime skill, who will cause this series to be remembered many years later. England revolve, maybe even a touch uncomfortably, around Andrew Flintoff, and Shane Warne has been Australia8217;s man for all seasons; bowling on first day and last, to keep the runs down and to take wickets. Their personalities rather pleasantly typified this series.

Richie Benaud made the right observation when he said that Flintoff had evolved from a batting all-rounder to a bowling all-rounder. Earlier he was a destroyer of ordinary bowling and provided support with the ball. Soon he could be England8217;s best bowler for he is more consistent than the temperamental Harmison and more troublesome than either Hoggard or Jones.

But by being that kind of bowler, and batting sensibly at number six, he allowed England to play five bowlers. All good teams must have five and that has been the cornerstone of England8217;s revival. Few teams in history have the luxury of four outstanding bowlers 8212; the West Indies did and so did Australia till recently 8212; but for everyone else having five is critical to winning matches.

For all his brilliance, though, to me the Ashes were about Shane Warne. He is as fascinating a personality as he is a bowler, spinning a yarn and a ball with equal felicity. You would have thought his shoulders and his fingers would have been complaining by now but if they were, his heart has quietened them. Every time there was a sniff of battle, he sallied forth and you would have thought a youngster had arrived on the horizon.

He couldn8217;t have had a worse start watching his marriage crumble before a ball had been bowled. Some men might have been devastated by that, Warne might have been too for his wife Simone said he cried more than she did when the time came to say good-bye. But Warne straddles two worlds, able to shut one while searching for glory in another. It couldn8217;t be easy.

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Like Andre Agassi, and with the same joie de vivre, he stands out in a young man8217;s game. Some of his tricks have deserted him but his bluster remains, and so does his extraordinary belief in his own powers. On the last day at The Oval, you could see that he was physically spent but the moment he had a ball in hand, he grew unrecognisable; searching deep within himself for reserves of energy. The body waned, the mind didn8217;t.

Now both teams must move on. England face the sterner tests but Number 1 is visible in the distance. Hopefully they will travel well for cricket could do with competition at the top. And Australia would want to show home crowds that England was a blip, like India was four years ago.

These are good times for Test cricket. And England and Australia made them better!