Shane Warne revisits getting out one run shy of test 100 against New Zealand

By: Luke Kirkness

Shane Warne never managed to score a century in test cricket.

Better known for his ability to terrorise batsmen with the ball in hand, the closest he came was scoring 99 against New Zealand in 2001 - before being caught on the boundary after trying to slog-sweep Daniel Vettori.

The all-time cricket great would never better that score, and recounted the innings speaking with Newstalk ZB's Martin Devlin.

"I had been batting pretty well for the day and we were in a lot of trouble," Warne said.

"New Zealand had played beautifully, were outplaying us and had been ahead in the game. I walked out to bat remembering we have to pass the follow-on."

Warne batted away and reached 99, when Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming took the opportunity to try and get in the head of Warne.

Slowing down the game and holding up Vettori from bowling his delivery, Fleming decided to field at bat pad - very close to the batsman.

"Flem comes in, says 'there's plenty of gaps out there for you' and I was thinking to myself, 'don't do anything silly, just pick the right ball'," Warne said.

"So a couple of balls go past and I think 'right, that's it. This one's going.'

"In my head, I just thought a little sweep out to the boundary where there's a couple of fielders. Just sweep it along the carpet and get a single.

"I took this almighty wind up and tried to hit it for 12 back to Melbourne from Perth and bloody Mark Richardson had to take the catch."

However, the Australian believed he was robbed of the momentous achievement that day, with replays showing Vettori had bowled a no-ball.

To this day, Warne remains the cricketer with the most career test runs in history without notching a century - with 3154 runs.

A right-handed leg-spinner, Warne was the second-highest wicket-taker in test cricket with 708. Muttiah Muralitharan recorded 800 wickets.

Recently, life had been turned on its head for Warne following the outbreak of the coronavirus, much like everyone else, he said.

But Warne had enjoyed his time, spending it with his children and staying in the one place for a good period of time.

Cricket worldwide has been stopped due to the virus but Warne hoped to see a return by around July or August.

Meanwhile, asked what Warne had hoped cricket fans thought of him following his extraordinary career, he said he hoped that people missed him.

"When I played I liked to be an entertainer - if they could just think 'jeez we miss him, I loved watching him play'," he told Devlin.

"That means I know that I did my role and played my part in cricket history, to say I entertained people, made it more interesting to watch and they had a bit of fun along the way."

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission