I used to like Shane Warne. The cheeky chubster with the crooked smile and the sprig of blonde hair waving above the forehead before he whirled his ample arm and usually bamboozled the world's best batsmen with prodigious leg-breaks. He deserves legendary status just for making Mike Gatting look such a plonker twenty years ago. I could even forgive him his occasional discretions off the pitch. He is simply the most exciting slow bowler I have ever seen. Murali took more wickets, had a better average and had the crazier eyes, but Warney almost single-handedly reinvented the art of leg spin and changed cricket as we know it.
It is therefore very sad to see the slimline Mr W blowing his top during the Melbourne derby BBL clash on Sunday. Marlon Samuels was hardly blameless for his manhandling of David Hussey earlier in the match. Nevertheless, Warne's constant swearing (enhanced by his being 'mic'd up' for TV) and childish lobbing of the ball at Samuels' body made him look ridiculous. I know that things can get heated in the middle but this was just pathetic. Given Warne's role model status, a one-game ban looks woefully inadequate. Perhaps he was given a bonus from Fox Sports for livening up their BBL coverage, but at least it should kill off any lingering speculation about the 43 year-old being recalled to the national side!
Contrast Warne's actions with the dignified retirement of Mike Hussey. Just five years younger, the batsman gave the world only a few days' notice of his intention to quit Test cricket after the third Sri Lanka match, and he was thre at the end on 27, even if he couldn't be the one to strike the winning run. The affection his team-mates had for him was obvious, as was the respect held by the opposition. Seeing genuine sportsmanship on the field of play always tugs at my emotions. Just as the Proteas' guard of honour for Ricky Ponting's last innings sent a proud shiver down my spine, so did the standing ovation for Mr Cricket at the SCG.
Such was the competition for batting places in the early 90s and early 2000s, Hussey didn't get a chance in the Aussie Test side until he had reached 30. However, his batting average was already past 50, with some prolific seasons in England and Western Australia behind him. His debut at Brisbane against the Windies in November 2005 saw him opening with Matthew Hayden, scoring 1 and 29. In his first ODI almost two years previously, he batted at seven, typically steering his side home against India.
He may have played only 79 Tests and 185 ODIs but he accumulated around 12,000 runs for Australia, averaging 52 in the five-dayers and an incredible 48 in 50-over fixtures. One of the true batting all-rounders, he was just at home in any format, and it seems such a shame that the Board tended to pick him for Tests and brother David for ODIs. They are (were?) both exceptional strokemakers, with the ability to 'finish', anchor or raise the strike rate, as I blogged a few years ago. Nevertheless, Michael has won the most plaudits for his batsmanship, professionalism and reluctance to play the celebrity fame game. Unlike Warne. And so it is Hussey who should be remembered this week, not his former team-mate.
