Dec 21, 2006 10:12 PM
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He might have taken hundreds of wickets in all the forms of game, he might have helped his team win most of the games, he might have held on to some outstanding catches in the slips and he might have hit some lusty blows, but there is one image that struck to my mind, the image that changed cricket for ever.
I am talking about Mike Gatting trying to pad out the leg spinner and getting bowled round his legs and looking shell shocked. This one moment according to me has changed the world cricket, at least in this era. This was starting point of the journey which 15 years later is regarded as "THE GREATEST". Most of us would remember the way he was hit out by our own Ravi Shastri in India's tour of Australia. His come back almost a year and half later is the example of how good a bowler he is. He is one bowler who can bowl 6 different deliveries in an over, all with great precision and equally destructive.
His contribution is more than 700 wickets(I am sure he will get to this mark in the rest of the Ashes) in tests. He made Spin Bowling fashionable. He resurrected the art of Spin Bowling. His success made every team in this world look at Spin as Match Winning option.
The fact that there are only few batsmen who played him consistently with ease, probably, I can count only 4. Lara, Sachin, Laxman and Peterson is a testimony of his variety, accuracy and consistency. Few might have dominated him for a while, but the great almost every time had the last laugh.
He might have had few problems on the field and few off the field. Any player who plays for 16 years will have to go through these. What matters is his nature of hitting back aggressively and hitting back with success. If not for few of these issues, he could have easily been the captain of Australia.
As Bishan Bedi said any bowler who takes 700 wickets with a legitimate bowling action is to be regarded as the GREATEST and rest assured, he will remain "THE GREATEST"........
The World Bows .....WARNE.......Cricket will not be the same without you.......
