It was a fluke, says Shane Warne on ‘Ball of the century’

Australian legendary spinner Shane Warner has admitted that the ‘Ball of the Century’ with which he bamboozled Mike Gatting was a fluke. He bowled the magical delivery in 1993 Ashes Test series. The ball still remains an iconic one down the line after 24 years and no other bowler has been able to produce such a delivery again. Warne himself recalled the historic moment on his 48th birthday.

During the first Ashes Test in 1993, the Australian managed to bowl the incredible delivery and wrote his name in the history books. It was the first ball of his spell and England batsman Gatting was on strike. Warne bowled a delivery which pitched outside the line of leg-stump and as the batsman struggled to pick the line of the ball, it went on to hit the off-stump. Everyone including the bowler himself was awestruck after the dismissal. Especially, Gatting who was left speechless as he kept wondering what happened to him.

I am proud that I could do that

In a video shared by International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter account, Warne termed his celebrated delivery as a ‘fluke’. “The ball of the century was a fluke. It really was. I never did it again in the first ball of any time. So it really was a fluke and I think it was meant to be. As a leg-spinner, you always try to bowl a perfect leg-break every ball and I managed to do it first up which was pretty, like I said was a fluke really. It sort of changed my whole life really back on the field and off the field,” Warne said.

He also felt proud that he could bowl such a delivery which people still recall even after 24 years. “It was one of those deliveries which all leg-spinners want to bowl and I am proud that I have bowled it, especially to someone like Mike Gatting who was a fantastic player and the best player of spin in the England team and he is a good guy too. So to do that first up here in England, it was a very special moment,” the 48-year-old added.

On his birthday, here's @ShaneWarne reflecting on his famous ball of the century on his first ball of the 1993 Ashes against Mike Gatting. pic.twitter.com/sgeRGZU0nY

— ICC (@ICC) September 13, 2017