Warne blows his chances of playing for Australia again

Former leg spinning sensation Shane Warne who has a fondness to get embroiled in controversy, is in the news again. This time for the wrong reasons. He has just finished playing the Big Bash League for Melbourne Hearts.

Going around with his partner Liz Hurley he is a photographer’s delight. Media men like to praise him and will not hesitate to spotlight his on field antics. The mercurial and controversial Warne, was fined a $ 5,000 for breaching the spirit of cricket and hit out at Cricket Australia.

Spade a spade

One to call a spade a spade and not some other implement, Warne probably played his final Big Bash League season. After a disciplinary hearing, he was fined for naming teammate James Faulkner as the Stars’ official captain for their semi-final defeat by Perth Scorechers at the WACA recently.

Warne was under threat of suspension if he allowed another slow over rate as captain and the Stars wanted to guard against him missing the final, had they won. This was deemed ‘against the spirit of cricket’ by Cricket Australia.

Cricket Australia had issued all teams with a memo stating: ‘If a team’s official captain is selected but not named as captain this ....may attract a code of behaviour charge’. Warne said the team’s management was at fault and not him, claiming he had no idea about the rule/law.

During his playing days Warne was easily the best leg spinner, with a variety of deliveries that even the best batsmen in the world could not read or play. With an action that was never questioned, he was a model.

Well disguised googly

When he was spinning out batsmen and making a mockery of them, especially with his well disguised googly – a ball that is bowled with a leg spinning action, but which pitches and comes in like an off break - he was unplayable.

Leg spin bowling is the most difficult art to bowl. It requires hours of sweat and toil to perfect. Many who started out as leg spinners gave up frustrated unable to go through the strenuous rigours.

World Class leg spinners who I could remember were Doug Ring, Bill O’Reilly and Ritchie Benaud of Australia, Doug Wright of England, Anil Kumble and Naresh Hirwani of India, Pakistan’s Abdul Qadir and Danesh Kaneiria and Sri Lanka’s D.Somachandra de Silva who later headed Sri Lanka Cricket.

Surfeit of leg spinners

During my cricket playing days in school there were a surfeit of leg spinners. Lareef Idroos, Michael Tissera and B.W.R. Thomas (STCML), Sarath Vidanage (Royal), Raja de Silva (St. Joseph’s), Vere de Silva (St. Sebastian’s), the writer and Kunju Balendra (St. Benedict’s).

Of an older vintage at SBC there was T. Shanmuganthan, Mervyn Silva and Neville Ponniah and his brother Fitzroy. Believe it or not three of us, Neville Ponniah, Kunju Balendra and the writer took hat tricks in inter-school cricket. A record I presume.

One match ban

Sorry for veering away from Warne and tooting my horn. The 43-year-old Warne was slapped a one match ban and fined $ 4,500 after a shirt-grabbing incident with Marlon Samuels of the Renegades in the BBL. Samuels was found guilty of unbecoming behaviour in relation to the incident.

Samuels only received an official reprimand as it was acknowledged that his ‘conduct resulted from extreme provocation’. He was also charged for engaging in inappropriate and deliberate physical contact – for grabbing David Hussey by the shirt as he turned for a second run – was dismissed.

Former Australian cricketer and Melbourne Stars batsman Cameron White was surprised that Samuels went free with a reprimand for throwing his bat at Warne. An underarm throw from hit Samuels, provoked the West Indian to hurl his bat in the direction of Warne.

It must be recalled that Samuels suffered a fractured eye socket from a bouncer from Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga failing to connect with the intended hook shot. Samuels was glad that it was only Malinga who asked about his welfare.

Warne was headline news here when he said he would like to make it to the Australian team for the back to back Ashes series against old foes England. But these incidents close the doors for his return. But Warne will remain a LEGEND.

Remember Darren Lehmann?

Former Australian left hand batsman, Darren Lehmann who coached Brisbane Heat to win the Big Bash League has struck a lucrative deal with Indian Premier League to coach Kings X1 Punjab. He will link up with Adam Gilchrist.

He was talked about to coach a Hyderabad Franchise Sunrisers, but another former Australian all rounder and coach and who also coached Sri Lankan to the World Cup final in the Caribbean Tom Moody beat him to that job.

It must be recalled that on a tour of Australia not so long ago, Lehmann cast some remarks at the Sri Lankan when returning to the pavilion after he was run out and the Lankan management complained to match referee Clive Lloyd who took stern action.

First tour to Australia

On my first tour to Australia in 1986/87 covering the Sri Lanka tour, Lehmann was playing for South Australia in a practice game against Si Lanka. The stylish left hander made a big score in that game at the Adelaide Oval.

I was seated with former Australian medium pace bowler Neil Hawke who was recovering from surgery gone wrong and in a chat with me, while Lehmann was batting told me to watch Lehmann because had the makings of being the next Neil Harvey.

Although Lehmann did achieve the heights of Harvey, yet he played for Australia scoring a lot of runs, bowling his gentle left arm spinners and also paying in one of Australia’s World Cup winning teams.

19-year-old Sloane stuffs Serena

The Australian Tennis Open is nearing its end and it threw up another American women’s singles champion in the making in Sloane Stephens who sidelined and ended Serena Williams’ 21-match winning streak.

When the two Americans took to the court, Williams was favourite to win the tournament. But the 29th ranked Stephens brought the rafters down when she, playing the better tennis, sent the former champion tumbling out winning 3-6,7-5,6-4. Before this game, Serena had pushed aside every opponent in recent tournaments winning the US Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Gold Medal.She had also won two tournaments before the Australian Open. Teenager Stephens came into the Australian Open having played justseven matches after tearing an abdominal muscle playing in last year’s US Open and early this year lost to Serena in Brisbane.

The bowler was John

Apropos my previous week’s column on the demise of former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Guy de Alwis, a regular reader of my column and an Old Royalist, Daya Samaraweera points out that De Alwis took the catch of Greg Chappell off the bowling of Vinodhan John and not Mevan Peiris.

Thank you Daya!

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