• Cricket
  • The Royals
    • The Academy
    • From The Physio's Table
    • Hampshire Legends

Shane Keith WARNE

Shane Warne was already a legend when he arrived in England for the 1999 World Cup. Hampshire’s Chairman made an audacious offer to him at a reception at Buckingham Palace and he arrived the following year for what looked like a single season.

He performed pretty well in a struggling Hampshire side that was relegated at the conclusion of the first season of divisional county cricket, taking 70 wickets at 23 apiece – then in the following season he returned to Ashes duty and another successful tour of England. But during those two years there were dramatic changes at the county as Rod Bransgrove, the then-named "Rose Bowl" and its PLC replaced the old Members’ Club and Committee structure that had presided at Northlands Road for over a century. Warne was always a cricketer that would excite attention and achieve fine things but now he was the cricket world’s most appropriate superstar for such a bold venture at a once modest shire county club.

Perhaps even the controversy that prevented his appearance as captain in 2003 was part of this new world – whatever, he was there in 2004 to take on an underachieving club. Over the previous twelve seasons, Hampshire had a single best of sixth in 1998 and they were generally much nearer the foot of the table. In this first year, Warne led them back into the top division and in 2005 they finished frustrated runners-up to Champions, Nottinghamshire. They also won the C&G Trophy – their first in any competition for 13 years and, while Shaun Udal captained as Warne missed some games touring with Australia, his impact on the players and team was palpable. He had come as the world’s greatest wrist spinner but his drive, determination and imagination as a captain were just as important.

In 2006 (third) and 2007 they held their place in Division One and the only disappointment was that, having taken Hampshire to another Lord’s Final in 2007, the team failed to fire on the day and were heavily defeated by Durham as it literally rained on Warne’s parade. He took fifty first-class wickets for Hampshire in each of those two seasons and, while he hardly played any T20 matches, he contributed fully in limited-overs competitions, with 120 wickets at less than 20 each. In just 66 First Class matches for the county he took 276 wickets and he averaged 25 with the bat including the only two first-class centuries of his career.

As a Hampshire captain he was perhaps the 21st Century equivalent of those great characters Hon Lionel Tennyson and Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie. He attracted more media attention and controversy partly because he was thoroughly modern and partly because that is the nature of the world he inhabits. His legacy as a captain who transformed attitudes at the club lives on through the players and coaches who worked with him and it is no coincidence that, following his departure, Hampshire won four trophies between 2009-2012. But while we can make such comparisons with other captains, ultimately Warne was also one of the greatest cricketers the world has ever known and Hampshire players were once again very fortunate in the opportunity to watch a player of such quality at close quarters.

Since retiring from most forms of the game he has been in demand from the media and elsewhere and has proved as astute in his commentating as he was as a captain but he still finds time to commit to Hampshire and support initiatives off-the-field. He has a real fondness for the county.