Ball Of The Century
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The Ball of the Century, also referred to as the Gatting Ball or simply That Ball, is a
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
delivery bowled by Australian spin bowler
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
to English batter
Mike Gatting Michael William Gatting (born 6 June 1957) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex (1975–1998; captain 1983–1997) and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test ma ...
on 4 June 1993, the second day of the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series, at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
in Manchester. With his first ball against England, in his first Ashes Test, Warne produced a spectacular delivery that bowled Gatting out. It became recognised as being of significance not just in the context of the match, but more generally in signalling a revival of
leg spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
bowling.


Background

The pitch at Old Trafford traditionally favours
spin bowling Spin bowling is a bowling technique in cricket, in which the ball is delivered slowly but with the potential to deviate sharply after bouncing. The bowler is referred to as a spinner. Purpose The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ...
, and England picked two spin bowlers:
Phil Tufnell Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell (born 29 April 1966) is a former English international cricketer and current television and radio personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler (cricket), bowler, he played in 42 Test cricket, Test matches and ...
and debutant
Peter Such Peter Mark Such (born 12 June 1964) is an English cricketer, cricket coach, and match referee. An off-spinner, Such was brought into the Test arena in 1993 as a replacement for John Emburey but, despite taking 6 for 67 on debut and being the h ...
. In contrast, Australia picked three
fast bowlers Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', ...
, with the inexperienced Warne as the only spinner. Warne had played in 11
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...
es up to that point, and taken 31 wickets at a moderate
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
of 30.80 runs per wicket. Although showing some promise, Warne's early career had been less than spectacular 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 Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. ...
had dominated the game since the legendary West Indian pace bowlers of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. New Zealand's captain and leading batsman, Martin Crowe, had praised Warne before the series, but ''Wisden'' notes that Crowe's proclamation was widely dismissed as excusing New Zealand's frailties rather than genuinely endorsing Warne. English captain
Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
won the toss and elected to bowl first, hoping to use the pitch conditions to make
batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...
difficult for the Australians. Despite Mark Taylor scoring a
century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...
, Australia were dismissed for a moderate total of 289 runs. England also began well, reaching 71 runs before
Mike Atherton Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...
was dismissed by Merv Hughes. Opposite Gooch,
Mike Gatting Michael William Gatting (born 6 June 1957) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex (1975–1998; captain 1983–1997) and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test ma ...
was the next man to bat and he duly set about scoring runs. At this point, Australian captain
Allan Border Allan Robert Border (born 27 July 1955) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test ma ...
turned to his leg spinner, Shane Warne. However, Gatting was renowned as a world-class player against spin bowling, and was fully expected to give the inexperienced Warne a tough time.


Delivery

After a slow run-up of just a few paces, Warne rolled his right arm over and delivered a
leg break Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
to the right-handed Gatting. The ball initially travelled straight down the pitch towards the batsman. As is apparent from slow motion replays, the rapidly spinning
cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork core wound with string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level. The trajectory of a crick ...
began to
drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...
to the right (due to the
Magnus effect The Magnus effect is an observable phenomenon commonly associated with a spinning object moving through a fluid. The path of the spinning object is deflected in a manner not present when the object is not spinning. The deflection can be expl ...
). The ball ended up pitching several inches outside the line of Gatting's
leg stump In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day. Part of ...
. Gatting responded by thrusting his left leg forward towards the pitch of the ball, and pushing his
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
next to his pad, angled downwards. This was a standard defensive tactic used by most experienced batsmen against leg-spin balls which pitched outside leg stump. The intention is for the ball to hit either the pad or the bat without danger of being out. Because the ball pitched outside the leg stump, the batsman cannot be out
leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...
, and if the ball spun slightly more than expected, it would hit the bat and rebound safely down to the ground so the batsman cannot be
caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...
. However, the ball landed in a patch of the pitch which had been worn by the follow-through of pace bowlers earlier in the game ( footmarks). This increased the
friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...
between the ball and the surface, causing it to turn far more than Gatting (or anyone else) expected. The ball passed the outside edge of his bat, then clipped the top of his off stump, dislodging the
bails Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries, ...
. Gatting stared at the pitch for several seconds, before accepting that he was out bowled and walked off the field. The dismissal was captured in a photograph by Steve Lindsell, in which Gatting is in shock, while wicketkeeper
Ian Healy Ian Andrew Healy (born 30 April 1964) is an Australian former international cricketer who played for Queensland domestically. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international c ...
raises his arms in celebration behind and Gatting's off bail spins somewhere above his head.


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. Warne also accounted for Gooch and
Andy Caddick Andrew Richard Caddick (born 21 November 1968) is a former cricketer who played for England as a fast bowler in Tests and ODIs. At 6 ft 5in, Caddick was a successful bowler for England for a decade, taking 13 five-wicket hauls in Test mat ...
in the innings, helping reduce England to a first innings total of just 210. 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. The 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 being named the Australian man of the series (each team being awarded a separate Man of the Series award by the other in that series).


Legacy

This series was another step in the early stages of a long domination of world cricket by Australia, coinciding with the exceedingly 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. Warne's delivery to Gatting has become known as the Ball of the Century. Since that incident, 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 Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
to become the first cricketer ever to reach this milestone.
Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
commented on the reaction of Gatting, "He looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch", as Gatting was much mocked for his rotundity. This was further alluded to by journalist Martin Johnson, who said, "How anyone can spin a ball the width of Gatting boggles the mind", and again by Gooch who added, "If it had been a cheese roll, it would never have got past him." It was said that Gatting visited Warne in the Australian Dressing Rooms at Old Trafford and asked: "Bloody Hell, Warnie, What Happened?" to which Warne replied: "Sorry, Mate; just got lucky". Gatting later remarked that he was happy to be part of a great moment in cricket history. Gooch was as equally bemused: "That delivery would've got anyone out; it was the perfect length and speed. the perfect ball" 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. The delivery was the subject of the song "Jiggery Pokery" on The Duckworth Lewis Method's eponymous cricket-themed album. During the
2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
unorthodox bowler
Kuldeep Yadav Kuldeep Yadav (born 14 December 1994) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a bowling all-rounder who bowls Left-arm Unorthodox spin bowler is and a capable Lower order batter who plays for India and for Uttar Pradesh in domestic crick ...
's dismissal of
Pakistan's Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
Babar Azam Mohammad Babar Azam (Urdu, pa, ; born 15 October 1994), is a Pakistani international cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all formats. Regarded as one of the finest batters in contemporary world cricket, he is the o ...
drew comparisons to Warne's ball, with James Gheerbrant of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' calling the delivery " uldeep'sown 'ball of the century'.". Similarly in 2018, England legspinner
Adil Rashid Adil Usman Rashid (born 17 February 1988) is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents York ...
bowled
Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (; born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India national cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kohli plays as a right-handed Batting (cricket), batte ...
(in the final ODI at Headingley) and
KL Rahul Kannanur Lokesh Rahul (born 18 April 1992) is an Indian international cricketer who currently is the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team in test cricket. He is a Right-handed batter and occasional wicketkeeper. He plays for Karnataka in ...
(in the final Test at The Oval) with the Ball of the Century. In the final ODI of the 2021 Pakistan Tour of England, Matt Parkinson bowled
Imam-ul-Haq Imam-ul-Haq ( ur, ; born 22 December 1995) is a Pakistani international cricketer. On his One Day International (ODI) debut against Sri Lanka, he became the second batsman for Pakistan, and thirteenth overall, to score a century on debut. In A ...
, placing the ball in the rough, and generating a large amount of turn. The ball was stated to be the 'biggest spinning ball in the history of ODI cricket', as the ball spin 12.1 degrees. In the second Women's Twenty20 match of the Indian women's tour of Australia 2021,
Shikha Pandey Squadron Leader (retired) Shikha Subas Pandey (born 12 May 1989) is an Indian cricketer and former officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She plays for the national cricket team as a right-arm medium pacer and middle-order batter, and was an I ...
bowled a ball that has been described as 'Ball of the Century', to get rid of
Alyssa Healy Alyssa Jean Healy (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Australian women's national team and New South Wales in domestic cricket, as well as the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL. She made her international debut in Februa ...
.


References


External links


''Cricinfo'' article on the Top 50 Magic Moments in Cricket
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball Of The Century Bowling (cricket) History of Test cricket The Ashes 1993 in English cricket Shane Warne