‘Without a doubt, he is the number one ever’ – Mike Gatting, victim of ‘ball of the century’, after Shane Warne’s demise

In a piece of devastating news, legendary cricketer Shane Warne passed away on March 4. The shocking development has left everyone across the globe in a state of shock. The former Australian cricketer had some great memories throughout his career, but the one that stands out for everyone is the ‘ball of the century,’ that dismissed Mike Gatting.

In an interview, Gatting opened up on what he thought of the legend. Without any hesitation, he said that Warne was the number one cricketer according to him. He also added that Warne checked all the boxes as a player and most importantly he enjoyed the game.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said, “Absolutely devastating and I just feel so sad for his family. It is a huge loss to many, many people. Without a doubt, he is the number one ever. I should think there have been a lot of great cricketers, great spinners and great leg-spinners but Warnie will always be, certainly from my point of view, the number one.

“He had all the things a cricketer needed, a lot of self-confidence, a lot of ability, the discipline, passion and desire. Above all, he had time to enjoy it. He had great fun playing cricket and resonated with a lot of youngsters. The inspirational leg-spin he bowled I am sure inspired many, many guys to take up leg-spin bowling.”

The ball of the century

Meanwhile, the delivery that cleaned up Gatting, was pitched outside the leg stump and spun to hit the top of the off-stump. The ball had a good number of revs to it and the it landed in the rough. The ball also had a bit of flight to it, this gave him the assistance to get the wicket.

Recalling the incident, Gatting said, “When it came down I knew it was a leg break but I didn’t expect it to spin that much. When we often spoke about it, I am not sure he expected it to spin that much.

“He said he just tried to get it down the other end the best he could. Well, it was a bit too good for me.”