by SimonWilde (Author)
Shane Warne was the most glamorous and, arguably the best cricketer in the world for over ten years. He won a generation of followers by showing the fun to be had in bamboozling opponents. From the so-called 'ball of the century' that bowled Mike Gatting in 1993, to his single-handed defiance against England in the 2005 Ashes series and his key role in the 2006/7 whitewash. He is an enigma, a showman and a genius, but he is also a very human character with human frailties. Warne loves the limelight, but the limelight has also burned him. He's been in trouble over drugs, extra-marital affairs, and taking money from dodgy bookmakers, all of which have soured relations with his family and with his homeland. Ironically he is perhaps more loved by cricket fans in England than in his native Australia. This fascinating and well-researched biography draws on interviews with Warne and many of his teammates and opponents. On the heels of Warne's retirement from Test cricket with a record 706 victims to his name, this unique retrospective tells, for the first time, the whole story behind cricket's most flawed genius.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 17 Apr 2008
ISBN 10: 0719569419
ISBN 13: 9780719569418
Book Overview: The definitive warts-and-all biography of the greatest cricketer of the modern age
Prizes: Shortlisted for British Sports Book Awards: Best Cricket Book 2008.
Praise for Ranji: The Strange Genius of Ranjitsinhji, shortllisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award in 1990
'Outstandingly the best new sports book I have read this year'
* Ian Wooldridge, Daily Mail *Simon Wilde has been cricket correspondent at The Times and Sunday Times since 1998. He was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1999 for his biography of the Indian cricketer Ranjitsinhji.