The Ball of the Century, also referred to as the Gatting Ball[1] or simply That Ball[2], is the nickname given to a cricket delivery bowled by Australia's Shane Warne to England's Mike Gatting. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969 is a former Australian international Cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. Michael William Gatting OBE (born Kingsbury 6 June 1957 usually known as Mike, was an English Cricketer who played First-class cricket The incident occurred on day 2 of the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series, which took place at Old Trafford, Manchester. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations The Australian cricket team toured England in 1993 aiming to retain The Ashes for a second consecutive occasion having successfully defended them on home turf in the The Old Trafford Cricket Ground, usually known as simply Old Trafford, is a Cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, an area of [3] On his first ball against England, Warne produced a spectacular delivery that bowled Gatting. The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. Bowled is a method of dismissing a Batsman in the Sport of Cricket. It became recognised as being of considerable significance in not just the context of the match or series, but in cricket in general, helping to revive the neglected discipline of leg spin bowling. Leg spin is a style of Spin bowling in Cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a Wrist spin action causing the ball to spin anti-clockwise at the point
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Background
The 1993 Ashes series was the first to be played by a full-strength English team following the suspension of several players for touring South Africa during the Apartheid era. The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. See also International cricket in South Africa (1971 to 1981 The South African rebel tours were a series of cricket tours staged during the 1980s when South Australia had won the Ashes from England in 1989 and had easily defended the urn in 1990/91 against the depleted English team. With the return of several senior players in 1993, England looked able to seriously challenge Australia in the upcoming series. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar)
The pitch at Old Trafford traditionally favours spin bowling, and England picked two spin bowlers: Phil Tufnell and debutant Peter Such. Spin bowling, sometimes known as slow bowling, is a technique used for bowling in the Sport of Cricket. Philip (Phil Clive Roderick "Tuffers" Tufnell (born April 29, 1966 in Barnet) is a Television personality and former English Peter Mark Such (born June 12 1964 in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire) is an English Cricketer Such was bought into the In contrast, Australia picked three fast bowlers, with the inexperienced Warne as the only spinner. Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the Sport of Cricket. Warne had played in 11 test matches up to that point, and taken 31 wickets at a moderate average of 30. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations Bowling average is a Statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the Sport of Cricket. 80 runs per wicket. Although showing some promise, Warne's early career had been less than spectactular and his style of bowling - leg spin - was seen by many cricket followers as an antiquated art with little value in the modern game. Pace bowling had dominated the game since the legendary West Indian pace bowlers of the 1970s and 1980s. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989.
English captain Graham Gooch won the toss and elected to bowl first, hoping to use the pitch conditions to make batting difficult for the Australians. Graham Alan Gooch, OBE (born July 23 1953) is a former Cricketer who captained Essex and England. In the sport of Cricket, a Coin is tossed to determine which team bats first Andrew-Strauss-Cricketer-detailjpg|thumb|right|250px| Andrew Strauss batting for England during the 2005 NatWest Series]] In the Sport of Cricket, batting Despite Australia's Mark Taylor and Michael Slater scoring centuries, Australia were dismissed for a moderate total of 289 runs. Mark Anthony Taylor, AO (born 27 October 1964 in Leeton New South Wales; nicknamed "Tubby" or "Tubs" was an Australian Cricket Michael Jonathon Slater (born 21 February 1970 Wagga Wagga New South Wales) is a former Australian Cricketer who played in 74 Tests and 42 ODIs In the Sport of Cricket, a Batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in the Innings. England also began well, reaching 71 runs before Mike Atherton was dismissed by Merv Hughes. Michael Andrew Atherton, OBE (born March 23, 1968, in Failsworth Lancashire, England) is a broadcaster journalist and retired Mervyn Gregory Hughes (born 23 November 1961 Euroa Victoria) is a Australian former Cricket player Mike Gatting was the next man to bat, and he duly set about scoring runs. At this point, Australian captain Allan Border turned to his leg spinner, Warne. Allan Robert Border, AO (born 27 July 1955 is a former Australian Cricket captain However, Mike Gatting was renowned as a world-class player of spin bowling, and was fully expected to give the inexperienced Warne a tough time. Michael William Gatting OBE (born Kingsbury 6 June 1957 usually known as Mike, was an English Cricketer who played First-class cricket
The delivery itself
After a slow run-up of just a few paces, Warne rolled his right arm over and delivered a leg break to the right-handed Gatting. A leg break is a type of delivery in the Sport of Cricket. It is the stock delivery of a right-handed Leg spin bowler In slow-motion, it can be seen that the ball initially travels straight down the pitch towards the batsman. As it travels towards the batsman, the rapidly spinning cricket ball starts to drift to the right. A cricket ball is a hard solid Ball used to play Cricket. Manufacture Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered The ball ends up bouncing several inches outside Gatting's leg stump. For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings
Gatting responded by thrusting his left leg forward towards the pitch of the ball, and pushing his bat next to his pad. A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of Cricket. It is usually made of Willow wood This was a standard tactic used by most experienced batsmen, with the intention that the ball hits the pad or the bat. Since the ball lands outside the leg stump, the batsman cannot be given out LBW, and if the ball spins slightly more than expected, it will hit the bat and bounce safely to the floor. In the Sport Cricket, leg before wicket (LBW is one of the ways in which a Batsman can be dismissed.
Upon bouncing, however, the ball spun far more than expected. It passed the outside edge of Gatting's bat, and clipped the top of his off-stump, dislodging the bails. In the Sport of Cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a Wicket. As Warne and his team mates jumped up in celebration, Gatting stood casually for a few seconds, unsure what all of the fuss was about, until he finally realised that the ball had somehow hit his wicket. In a memorable image, Gatting simply stared at the pitch in unbelieving amazement for several seconds, before accepting his fate and walking off the field. Television images showed Gatting as he walked off the field, shaking his head repeatedly with an expression of sheer disbelief on his face.
The dismissal was captured in a famous photograph by Steve Lindsell, in which Gatting's mouth is formed into a perfect "O" of surprise, while wicketkeeper Ian Healy raises his arms in celebration behind and Gatting's off bail spins somewhere above his head[4]. Ian Andrew Healy (nicknamed "Heals" (born 30 April 1964 in Brisbane Queensland) is a former Cricketer who played for Queensland and
The aftermath
The fall of Gatting's wicket left England on 80 runs for 2 wickets, a position from which they never recovered, as Warne added the wicket of Robin Smith a mere four runs later. Robin Arnold Smith (born 13 September 1963, Durban, South Africa) is a former Cricketer for Hampshire and England Warne also accounted for Gooch and Andy Caddick in the innings, helping to reduce England to a first innings total of just 210. Andrew' ("Andy" Richard Caddick' (born 21 November 1968 is a domestic and former international fast-medium bowler. Encouraged by their bowling, Australia declared their second innings at 432 for 5 wickets. Warne then contributed four more wickets as Australia won the match by 179 runs, winning the man of the match award for his efforts.
This result of this match set the tone for the remainder of the series, and Australia cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory, with Warne taking a total of 34 wickets at an average of 25. 79 and sharing the man of the series award with Gooch.
Legacy
This series marked the beginning of a long domination of world cricket by Australia, coinciding with the incredibly successful career of Warne. Warne's bowling also provided an eye-opening insight into the subtleties and power of leg spin bowling for modern cricket audiences, who had become used to the spectacle of pace attacks, and marked a worldwide resurgence of popularity in the art of spin bowling in general, and leg spin in particular.
Soon after the event, media began calling Warne's delivery to Gatting the Ball of the Century. Since then, Warne has come to be acknowledged as one of the best bowlers in history. During the penultimate Test match of his career on Boxing Day 2006, in the fourth Ashes test against England, Warne took his 700th Test wicket, bowling Andrew Strauss to become the first cricketer ever to reach this milestone. Andrew John Strauss MBE, (born 2 March 1977 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an English Cricketer who plays County cricket for Many of those wickets have been the result of amazing deliveries, some perhaps technically as good as the ball to Gatting. However, the significance of the ball in so many contexts, as well as the sheer amazement generated in people who view video of its remarkable trajectory, have made the appellation stick.
Perhaps the most memorable and amusing quote which emerged as a result of Warne's now famous delivery came from England captain Graham Gooch, on the reaction of Gatting: "He looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch. Graham Alan Gooch, OBE (born July 23 1953) is a former Cricketer who captained Essex and England. ", particularly comical as Gatting is much-mocked for his rotundness. [5] This was further alluded to by journalist Martin Johnson, who said "How anyone can spin a ball the width of Gatting boggles the mind"[5], and again by Gooch who added "If it had been a cheese roll, it would never have got past him. " [6]
Trivia
- In 2002, the Ball of the Century was ranked 92nd in Channel 4's list of 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
- During the Old Trafford Test of the 2005 Ashes series, the long-retired Gatting re-created the Ball Of The Century with an automated bowling machine programmed to deliver leg spin. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Notes
- ^ Warnie's 'Ball of the Century'. Daily Telegraph (Australia) (November 21, 2006).
- ^ Shane Warne. BBC (2001).
- ^ 1st Test: England vs Australia, 3-7 Jun 1993. cricinfo.
- ^ Warne to set up base in England. BBC.
- ^ a b Fat bats and roly bowlers. cricinfo.
- ^ Warne turns myth into mastery. The Guardian (August 11, 2005).
External links
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