Latest news with #ShaneWarne
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Kevin Pietersen is wrong to say batting was harder 20 years ago
Kevin Pietersen did not often bowl, although he first came to English attention when he represented KwaZulu Natal as an off-spinner on England's 1999-2000 tour of South Africa, but he has delivered some bouncers at Joe Root. Root in the course of his 150 at Old Trafford rose to second place in the all-time list of Test run-scorers. But this was not enough to impress Pietersen. Far from it. He declared, like a real old-timer, that batting was twice as hard back in his day. 'Don't shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago!' Pietersen posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Probably twice as hard back then.' Pietersen names 22 bowlers of his time and dares the cricket follower of today to name 10 bowlers to compare with them. Of his contemporaries, he nominates four Australians: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne; four Pakistanis in Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed; three Indians in Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh; three New Zealanders in Shane Bond, Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori; three South Africans in Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and, bizarrely, Lance Klusener but not Dale Steyn; two Sri Lankans in Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan; and two West Indians in Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. A single England bowler was nominated by Pietersen in Darren Gough. His colleagues in the Ashes-winning attack of 2005 seem not to have impressed him. Most of the variable factors in Test cricket have changed little in this century: balls, pitches, DRS and so forth. The biggest change has been the impact of T20 – the first professional T20 tournament was started in England in 2003, by when Pietersen was starting out for Nottinghamshire. My interpretation, therefore, would be that Pietersen is wrong to say that the standard of pace bowling has gone down. The finest seamers today are a match for their equivalents of '20/25 years ago'. Don't shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then! Waqar, Shoaib, Akram, Mushtaq, Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan, Donald, Pollock, Klusener, Gough, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Gillespie, Bond, Vettori, Cairns, Vaas, Murali,… — Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) July 26, 2025 'Please name me ten modern bowlers that can compare to the names above,' Pietersen goes on to say. Well, in that case, Australia's Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon can all compare; South Africa's Kagiso Rabada is up with his forebears, not bowling so fast but moving the ball more; Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have been timed as England's quickest ever; New Zealand's Will O'Rourke is a serious customer, as is Jayden Seales, even if West Indies are nowhere near what they were; while a case for Jasprit Bumrah being rated the best of all time has been made, although he has been down on pace in the Old Trafford Test. Where Pietersen is right, although he does not spell it out, is that the standard of finger-spin bowling in Test cricket has decreased, while that of wrist-spin has plummeted. And this is where T20 must have had its impact: spinners bowl a higher percentage of the overs in a T20 game than they do in a red-ball or Test match, but it is a different sort of spin: fired in, flat, at the batsman's legs, denying him room. It is a distant relation of flight and dip and turn and defeating the batsman past either inside or outside edge. The presence of finger-spinners in international cricket has faded. If the Test match is in Asia, they will have their say all right, but elsewhere? New Zealand and West Indies might not select one at home. Pakistan, to defeat England last autumn, had to dust down a couple of veterans. It is Lyon and South Africa's Keshav Maharaj who keep this show on the road outside Asia. Of wrist-spinners, Pietersen had to face Warne, Kumble and Mushtaq, and he might have added Yasir Shah who took five wickets per Test for Pakistan. Their successors are not visible, in England or anywhere else: India do not select Kuldeep Yadav, and while Afghanistan have Rashid Khan, they have been able to play only 11 Tests. England have been as culpable as any country in allowing spin to decline, whether in the county championship or the national side, and especially wrist-spin. In almost 150 years of Test cricket only one wrist-spinner has taken a hundred Test wickets for England, Doug Wright, and only one other has managed 50 wickets, Adil Rashid.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Lions Letter: The 'G will convert non-believers into devoted fans on Saturday
The trams on the way out from Flinders Street Station were busy on Thursday evening as fans from Hawthorn and Carlton made their regular pilgrimage to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for their weekly dose of the AFL. We know it as Aussie Rules and to supporters of this city's nine professional AFL teams in this sports-mad city, their destination is simply 'The 'G'. As a kid growing up in 1970s and 80s England, where the football season morphed into cricket every May, the biennial glimpse of an Ashes tour Down Under focused on the MCG and the Boxing Day Test was a beacon of summer warmth amid the Christmas festivities, though for English sides going into the lion's den they rarely emerged unscathed. This was the ground where the late, great Shane Warne, that most mercurial and talented of Australian spin bowlers bowled the first Ashes hat-trick in 91 years when he skittled out the English tail-end on Boxing Day 1994 as the visitors crumbled to 92 all out to lose the match by a whopping 295 runs. The English journalists among the visiting media being shown around the 100,024-seat stadium on a rain and windswept Tuesday lunchtime were reminded of that fact during a fascinating tour in the company of former Australian cricketer Damien Fleming. Fleming, who was in that Aussie bowling attack that day 31 years ago, also pointed to the only seat in the MCG's vast stands that was coloured red, to mark the longest-hit six at the stadium, way up on the second tier. It invited an innocent question from an Irish rugby journalist of 'what's a six?'. All of which goes to prove that cricket remains a mystery to many, and that tales from "The 'G" are still to be learned from those not steeped in the games to have been played here. Mack Hansen plays hurling during the British & Irish Lions squad captain's run at the MCG in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Rugby union takes another tentative step into the MCG on Saturday night, when the British & Irish Lons break new ground against Australia in the second Test of this 2025 series. A crowd of 95,000-plus is expected at this iconic venue and centrepiece of the 1956 Olympics and Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson is eagerly anticipating running onto the hallowed oval. 'It's super special. For Australian sport, there's no bigger stadium,' Wilson said. 'You grow up here watching Boxing Day tests, the AFL Grand Finals all here. It's always sold out, packed. It doesn't get much better than that, so I guess the feeling of probably running out here in front of 90 plus thousand people is truly special.' It is also a stadium where the great Jim Stynes, the AFL's finest import from Ireland, has been cast in a bronze statue on the plaza surrounding it in tribute to his feats with the Melbourne 'Demons' Football Club. All this was new to John Fogarty on Friday as the Lions wrapped up their captain's run training session at the MCG. The Ireland and Lions scrum coach is a recent convert to the MCG's iconic status. 'I didn't know what the MCG was, I have never watched cricket, never seen the game, we didn't play it when we were kids so I hadn't got a clue,' Fogarty admitted. 'Andy (Farrell) has been telling us: 'Wait until you see this'. When he got back from doing a recce he was 'oh my God, this stadium, that stadium' but nothing landed until we walked out. 'My brother Denis is over and he came to the (AFL) game last night and was telling me it was going to be some stadium to play in, it is an amazing place. 'I remember the first time I walked out to Croke Park when I was a kid and I was 'oh God, look at this' so when we walked out you could see a lot of us looking around and going 'Jesus, this is bigger than anything we have been in before'. 'Certainly for me it is bigger than anything I have been in before, it is an unbelievable privilege to be here, I know have said it a couple of times, but I mean it. I feel unbelievably lucky, and the players are the same, to be able to do this stuff. It is not normal.' Whether the Lions win or lose on Saturday morning, you can be sure the MCG will have converted a few more non-believers into devoted fans of this magnificent sporting cathedral.
Daily Telegraph
7 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
Who is the greatest Aussie cricketer of the 21st century?
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News. Australia has no shortage of cricketing legends, with the country consistently producing an array of stars. But as the 21st century continues to unfold, almost weekly through the Aussie summer, fans and pundits debate who is the greatest cricketer of the modern era. To celebrate the launch of the new app, we're celebrating the people, places and events we'll never forget from the first quarter of the 21st century by asking for Australia's view. Our 25@25 series will finally put to bed the debates you've been having at the pub and around dinner tables for years – and some that are just too much fun not to include. From the pace and leadership of current Australian Test captain Pat Cummins to the unparalleled batting prowess of Ricky Ponting, to the spin king himself Shane Warne, each player has a serious claim to GOAT (greatest of all time) status. But after delved into the debate, it can be settled once and for all as former cricket greats and those closest to the players themselves unanimously declared without missing a beat that one man in particular stands above the rest. After almost 10,000 votes, Shane Keith Warne was a clear-cut choice, ahead of Ponting and Steve Smith. Which Aussies can stake a claim as the 21st century cricket GOAT? We only included cricket played from 2000 onwards. So for this reason Steve Waugh, who retired from Test cricket in January 2004, was a tough omission. In 1999 he was appointed Test captain and led an Australian team that in the years ahead scored a record 16 successive straight victories, truly incredible. And while his crowning year was 2001 when he won the Allan Border medal, Tugga and his lucky red handkerchief didn't quite squeeze into our top 10. Who is the greatest Australian male cricketer of the 21st century? Australia has been blessed with some incredible cricketers in the past few decades but there can only be one GOAT. Ponting completely transformed what it meant to be a No.3. With an average of 51.85 and a highest score of 257, he lays claim to the third most Test hundreds in the history of the game. Ponting was also the definition of a true leader, someone who when he opens his mouth, you stop whatever you are doing to listen. Then there are the likes of Smith and Michael Clarke, whose batting statistics hold them among the greats not just in Australian cricket but world cricket. While with the ball Cummins and McGrath both revolutionised fast bowling in their own way. Cummins has also won everything possible as captain of Australia, and McGrath is seen by many still as Australia's greatest-ever fast bowler. Then there's Lyon, the only spinner since Warne to be a regular in the Australian Test side, undroppable throughout his Test career and a bowler who thrives on any pitch condition. The tweaker sits third on the list of most wickets in Australian Test cricket history with 556, just one behind McGrath, and by the time he retires will almost certainly be second behind only Warne. While Gilchrist revolutionised what it means to be a wicketkeeper. Before 'Gilly' you could be just a quality keeper who could barely bat but his range of free-flowing strokes and quick game-changing runs has changed the requirements of modern wicketkeepers. But when asking who is the best player of this century, there was one name we kept hearing, Shane Warne. Aussie cricket legend Adam Gilchrist didn't even hesitate. 'There is more to it (the GOAT debate) than just statistics,' Gilchrist told earlier this year. 'Shane Warne is the greatest ever. 'Away from his wickets, Warnie was also an incredible batsman. He just left way too many runs out there when he played. I don't even think he knew his own batting talent. 'When it comes down to pure batting and bowling talent, catching and just all-round brilliant cricket brain, Warnie is No.1. 'For Warnie to achieve what he did and especially living the way he did and still managed to achieve it all, it shows he is a true champion.' Sports presenter Mark Howard echoed a similar sentiment. 'Without a doubt number one I would say Warnie because he changed the game. We hadn't seen a leg spinner like Shane before Shane and we haven't seen a spinner like Shane since,' Howard said. 'So if you compare him to all other leg spinners he's that far in front statistically and then you can get to the bums on seats factor. 'Any time Warnie was bowling you couldn't get out of your seat. At the game or watching on telly, which I've got some extremely fond memories of growing up, you are glued to the game. 'He is best clearly even though only half his career was in this century for me. He's not just the best but the most exciting, the most effective, the most captivating, the most controversial and the most extraordinary.' 'Every time I sat next to Shane in a commentary box, which was one of the great experiences of my life, he would say stuff that I would think just think wow,' Howard added. 'You would be blown away every time he talks and think gee he would have made a fantastic captain of Australia.' Warne truly revolutionised the art of leg-spin bowling and had a staggering tally of over 700 Test wickets. His ability to turn matches single-handedly, coupled with his charisma, captivated fans worldwide and left an indelible legacy in Australian cricket, making him the Aussie cricket goat of the 21st century. Who is the greatest Aussie female cricketer of the 21st century? The two women up for consideration are Elysse Perry and Meg Lanning. They are unanimously considered the best two women to ever play the game for Australia. The only others who could possibly be in that conversation are Karen Rolton and Belinda Clark. However, Clark retired at the end of 2005 and her body of work in that time isn't enough to lay claim to being the greatest of the 21st century. While Rolton is an Australian cricket icon, it would be a hard case to make that she has a superior resume this century than the aforementioned duo. And when asked Howard who springs to mind, he immediately said it is between Lanning and Perry. 'It's very hard to split Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry. Meg Lanning is the best batter in the female game I've ever seen and just gets runs when required,' Howard told 'Ellyse in the last three or four years she's completely changed her game and been truly exceptional. Perry has been the most dominant female cricketer around the world for the 20th century no doubt. 'And the fact that she's represented her nation in World Cups in two different sports and has scored a goal shows she's just a phenomenon.' Not just a cricket nuffie? Take the rest of our 25@25 polls Originally published as Who is the greatest Aussie cricketer of the 21st century?
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Greatest stadium on earth' - Lions set for debut at The 'G
Second Test: Australia v British and Irish LionsDate: Saturday, 26 July Kick-off: 11:00 BST Venue: Melbourne Cricket GroundCoverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app, with post-match analysis on BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live and online Days out from the second Test between Australia and the British and Irish Lions, and Damien Fleming is holding court pitch side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 100,000 seats empty for both the rugby posts and Aussie Rules sticks up behind him, the former fast bowler is reminiscing about the legendary Shane Warne's hat-trick on the hallowed middle in the 1994 Ashes series against England."I just think this is the greatest sporting stadium in the world," reflects Fleming, a proud Victorian who played in two Ashes Tests at his home ground."There is an aura about this stadium. It has a wow factor, and I love it."But despite its name, the MCG is not just a cricket venue. It is the home of Australian Rules football - a religion in these parts - often hosting two or three games a week during the AFL has staged State of Origin rugby league and football as well as events in the Olympic and Commonwealth on Saturday, for the first time, it will be the venue for a British and Irish Lions Test match. The official capacity is 100,024 and this weekend's crowd is expected to surpass the 84,000 that attended the Lions deciders against the Wallabies in Sydney in 2001 and 2013."As a kid you are dreaming of playing AFL here as a kid, you are dreaming of playing cricket for Australia," adds Fleming."For the Wallabies to have the opportunity to play in front of 90,000 people [is amazing], but also for the Lions. How many times do they get to play in front of 90,000 people?" The 1999 World Cup winner leads us from the pitch down into the bowels of the stadium and the away changing room, where the Lions will prepare to try and wrap up the series and where many an England cricketer has sat and pondered their fate, hoping to get their name on the honours board that hangs high on the back wall."I played for 14 years as a Victorian player and eight times here for Australia, but when there is a cricket game and you go down to the pitch I still get nervous even 'though I am not playing," Fleming adds."Good luck to the Wallabies and Lions players, because I hope it is a highlight of their sporting careers." 'A Mecca of sport' The MCG is the heart of Melbourne. A short stroll along the Yarra River from the Flinders Street station to Melbourne Park, and you are hit by a stack of world-famous arenas. Towering over them all is The ' enormous in size, in keeping with the traditional boldness of Australian sport, the venue has touches of quaintness, such as the Lord's-esque Long Room and the sofas with a view of the cricket from behind the arm, where places are reserved for more venerated seeps from every part, from statues of legends that surround the perimeter - with great figures from cricket and Aussie Rules immortalised - to the museum that contrasts the old with the 1888 the Lions played 19 matches of Victorian football on their 35-match tour, including a game against Carlton at the MCG. A cap from that tour is in a cabinet alongside Sam Warburton's second Test shirt from 2013, when the Wallabies beat the Lions down the road in the Docklands."It's going to be really awesome for me," says Australia forward Rob Valetini, a Melbourne boy who is charged with leading the Wallaby backlash after the Lions' win in Brisbane."It is a Mecca of sport in my eyes," adds wing Harry Potter, who moved from England to Melbourne as a 10-year-old. 'The heart of the city' Valetini used to go to The 'G to watch his side St Kilda in the AFL; a rite of passage for everyone from the state of Victoria is Aussie Rules heartland, where rugby union barely gets a look in. At the school where the Lions are based in the Melbourne suburbs, rugby posts had to be bussed in so the tourists could man, woman or child 'barracks' for a team, whether it is Carlton, Hawthorn, St Kilda, the unpopular but successful Collingwood, or Fleming's team Essendon, where his daughter plays for the women's side."AFL is such a part of Victorian and Melbourne culture," Fleming explains."But if I'm guessing, 10- to 15,000 [Aussie Rules fans] will want to be part of Saturday, because it is a unique event."Victorians who have never been to a rugby game before [will come], and their first one will be the Wallabies against the Lions, 90,000 people."This is a view shared by Tanya Gallina, the general manager of the Melbourne Cricket Melbourne is not a rugby union city, and Victoria not a rugby union state. But the locals love their sport, they love their big events, and they love The G."Melbourne is known for its love of sport and the MCG is the heart of the city - it is really important to this state and the country," says Gallina, who is Melbourne born and bred."People know there have been so many amazing moments here, from the 1956 Olympics, to AFL Grand finals to soccer matches to different events. It is iconic, and a meeting place where people come together."We know there are lots of British and Irish fans over here, but we know the Melbournians and Victorians will come and watch a spectacle."It is about being part of something and being part of a moment in time and it is such a unique moment for us to have the Wallabies and the Lions playing here."The exact number of Lions fans flocking to Melbourne is hard to pinpoint, given the amount of ex-pats living here and in Australia in a rough estimate has more than 30,000 making the trip. Some have been here for weeks. Others are coming in for a matter of days, with flights costing up to £3,000 each. But all of them will know Saturday is a once-in-a-lifetime Ellis Park in Johannesburg to Eden Park in Auckland to Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the Lions have played in some famous rugby stadiums this they may never have played a Test match in such an iconic sporting venue. The stage is set. Now, hopefully, it will be a game to match the occasion.
NDTV
22-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Is It Too Hot To Play Cricket In India? Experts Say: "12 Per Cent Danger Of Heat Stroke"
Even before the experts from British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS) came up with the report- Hit For Six, The Danger Zone, former Australian legend Shane Warne spoke about it. He said on the impact of Climate Change on Cricket. "I think we all have to admit now that climate change is a huge issue. Before I'd seen the report I hadn't really thought about how it would impact the game of cricket. I was really taken aback. I'm more than happy to put my hand up. I have got three children - 22, 20 and just about to turn 18 - it's a different world for them. People want to put their head in the sand, and say I'm not going to be around in 50 years. That's just wrong." A bunch of climate scientists and researchers, having analysed the IPL's 18th season or 2025 say that this year's matches were played under "Extreme Caution" or "Danger" on the Heat Index - a measure that combines air temperature and humidity to assess heat-related risk. More than 36% of 2025 IPL games took place under "Extreme Caution" conditions, where heat exhaustion becomes a serious threat, with a further 12% reaching a "Danger" classification where the risk of heatstroke becomes significant. Is it too hot to play cricket in India? What are experts saying? NDTV's @cheerica brings you this report — NDTV (@ndtv) July 22, 2025 The findings come from a report produced by the British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS), Climate Central, Frontrunners and The Next Test. A total of 65 IPL matches were assessed for the study. Scientists are saying that they are witnessing a clear trend towards more frequent and more intense heat conditions for key cricketing nations. Players are now being asked to perform in environments that are not just uncomfortable, but potentially dangerous, with rising temperatures and humidity levels pushing human physiology towards its upper limits. This isn't just about performance - it's increasingly a question of player safety. The report charts a sharp rise in hazardous heat days at almost every major cricket stadium in India since 1970. In Mumbai, the number of these high-risk heat days has jumped by 125%, while Thiruvananthapuram recorded more than 100 hazardous heat days in 2024 alone. These are days when temperatures exceed safe limits for human health, dramatically increasing the risk of heat-related illness. And it is not just India, nations like Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa also seeing a significant surge in extreme heat days. Several elite sports like Wimbledon, the Club World Cup have also been impacted. When in comes to cricket, no major nation has been spared- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean and the UK are all facing a variety of climate extremes that are impacting the professional and grassroots game. Cricket stars and cricketers of all generations tell Hit for Six: the danger zone of the impacts to the game they love. Daren Ganga, former West Indies Captain (48 Tests) 'There is no doubt in my mind that today cricket faces its ultimate test. Forget concerns around different formats, TV deals or the battle for eyeballs in a multi-screen age. This challenge is an existential one and it comes in the form of a rapidly changing climate. I have played in blistering heat and vividly recall the nausea, the dizziness, the cramps that come with feelings of heatstroke. I have witnessed the disruption, despair and uncertainty sown by extreme and unpredictable weather. And things are only expected to deteriorate for the next generation of players, fans and clubs.' Ashton Turner, Australia (28 Tests), Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants, "We can't separate cricket from the places we play in - under open skies, on natural turf, in conditions that are changing faster than ever. As players, we've seen firsthand how weather extremes are already impacting the game. It's time cricket wakes up to the reality of climate change - not just for the future of our sport, but for the communities and countries we represent. We can't afford to sit on the sidelines." 2025 is set to be in the top 3 warmest years on record, says the UN's WMO weather agency, a phenomenon that scientists say is overwhelmingly due to the burning of three fossil fuels: coal, gas and oil. The report takes into account the psychological and physiological responses from cricketers of all the major test playing nations. The report says," Cricket is a game that requires its players to have a wide range of physical and psychomotor skills, including concentration, hand-eye coordination, agility, fast decision making, fast reaction times, sprinting and endurance. These technical skills, cognitive and physiological capabilities, must be maintained at the highest of levels over the course of often long periods. Many of these functions are adversely affected by the heat and high body temperatures. The implications for cricket matches being played in very hot conditions are many and varied." This extreme heat threatens to affect the cricketers and fans. Perhaps time for policy makers to act on it.
