Aussies in a spin without the genius of Shane Warne

Shane Keith Warne made an unassuming entry into Test Cricket in 1992, replacing Peter Taylor and taking 1-150 and recording match figures of 1-228 – admittedly against the Indians, the premier players of spin.

His haul of 7-52 against the West Indies in 1992 at Melbourne cemented his place in the team and from there the legend grew ... from the 'ball of the century' that bowled Mike Gatting in The Ashes series of 1993 through to the unchallenged period of dominance of the Baggy Greens throughout the nineties and into the new millennium.

Warne’s impact was the revival of what was regarded as a dying art in the world of cricket after the golden era of pace bowling, with Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee  the pre-eminent Australian strike bowlers, and, of course, the fearsome attack of the West Indians.

Despite off-Field notoriety – bookmaker controversies, banned substances and numerous infidelities – Warne was the only bowler to be counted among the five Wisden players of the century.