Shane Warne strode to the crease in his inimitable fashion, and produced an equally inimitable delivery. The man commentating the moment was, sadly, just as beyond peer and respectable copying as Australia’s greatest bowler. The ball fizzed through the air, held its line for most of the length of the pitch and then sharply curved and dipped to the leg side. The poor mug facing the ball was Mike Gatting, and he did what he had always done, and presented the face of his bat, but he had never before seen bowling like this.
The fizzing of the ball through the air was a fair clue of what was to come, as the ball bit the turf with severe venom and span past Gatting’s perfectly presented blade. The ball proceeded as if with divine intervention and clipped the top of the off stump. Warne flew into celebration, his first delivery on English soil largely regarded as the greatest ever bowled. Everyone lost their heads. Everyone, that is, except Richie Benaud.
He paused. He thought. Then he said, “He’s done it.” He paused again. “He’s started out with the most beautiful delivery.” Another pause. “Gatting has absolutely no idea what has happened to it.” One last pause. “Still doesn’t know. He asked Kenny Palmer (the umpire) on the way out, Kenny Palmer just gave him a raised eyebrow and a little nod.”