Monday Milestone: Warnie
“Here we go. Fleming took the last one. Merv Hughes before him. Ohhhh he’s got him! Has he caught him? Yes he has! He’s got him! It’s a hattrick!!! Yes he’s gone!! He’s gone!!! That’s a hattrick!!! That’s a hattrick to Shane Warne!!!"
– Channel Nine commentator Tony Greig calling the pivotal moment
1994, 29 December
Shane Warne takes the first hat trick at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 90 years in an Ashes Test.
Happy Boxing Day, the day where Australians dust off Christmas hangovers, and look towards Melbourne. Where Test cricket comes to life at the MCG, and legends are born. It has been the making of many wonderful careers, and none greater than Shane Warne.
Warnie has etched cult status in the hearts of many Australians, and disgusted others. But here at the Milestone we love him. Why? Why is Scarlett Johansson attractive? There is no answer. It is what it is.
And, probably because in a fifteen year international career, Shane Warne did everything and everyone. He spent a year on the sidelines for taking a tablet to look thinner. He had controversial dealings with John the bookmaker. Plus his text message scandals, sex scandals, and smoking scandals But somehow he found time to introduce a whole new generation to leg spin, take over 700 Test wickets and become, quite frankly, the best we’ve ever seen.
And Boxing Day was Warnie’s greatest stage. In the 1994-95 Ashes series, his name was chanted from the Great Southern Stand. With six wickets already in the first innings, and England slumping to 6-91, Shane Warne bowled to Phil DeFreitas. Warnie himself will admit his regulation leg break hit a crack in the MCG pitch, and instead of turning, spun straight on. Poor DeFreitas was trapped directly in front. Warne and Australia celebrated.
The cheers subsided, and Darren Gough strode to the crease. He’d caused the Australians some headaches in recent innings. So a sharply turning leg break pitching in line and turning fiercely from the rough, clipping the edge of Gough’s bat, straight to Ian Healy, was a welcome relief. Suddenly England were eight wickets down, and Shane Warne was on a hat trick.
So it came down to this: incoming batsman Devon Malcolm was hardly the most prolific of batsman and now he was facing the greatest leg spinner the game had seen, in front of a parochial Melbourne crowd, with Australia in sight of a Test match victory, on a hat trick. Intensity plus. Six men were placed around the bat. Warne moved in, and bowled a ripping leg break. The ball pitched and fizzed from the footmarks. Malcolm panicked, feebly prodding at the delivery. Incredibly it caught the glove and flew fast to bat pad.
Now David Boon is hardly the most inspiring athlete of modern (or any) time. But that day he gave the laws of physics the finger. Never more acrobatic, before or since, he dived full stretch, thrust his hand out, and that hat trick ball stuck in his fingers. David Boon couldn’t believe it. The Melbourne Cricket Ground couldn’t believe it. Australia couldn’t believe it. Shane Warne couldn’t believe it. The local hero had delivered in incredible style, on Australian cricket’s biggest stage. One over later, Australia would win the Test, and another remarkable chapter of Shane Warne’s colourful career was written.
Happy Boxing Day.
The Milestone Five: Memorable Boxing Day Test moments
5. 1950 – Australia and England play the first ever Boxing Day Test. Australia would go on and win by a thrilling twenty eight runs.
4. 2006 – In front of a near record 89,155 people Shane Warne becomes the first cricketer to take 700 Test Wickets.
3. 1995 – MCG fans are incredulous when Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralidaran is no balled from umpire Darrell Hair for throwing.
2. 1982 – Despite the best efforts from Jeff Thomson and Allan Border, in a remarkable tenth wicket stand, they fall just short and England snatch a three run win.
1. 1994 – David Boon takes a screamer at bat pad on his birthday to give Shane Warne a Test hat trick, the first at the MCG for ninety years.
With thanks to Chris Jackson/Getty Images Europe for the photo
