A Tip Of The Hat To Shane Warne’s Amazing Record Against The Blackcaps
There was truly nobody else out there like Shane Warne. Not even just in cricketing spaces, there was nobody else like him fullstop. In any capacity. The bloke was one outta one, a genuinely unique character. No doubt that’s a sentiment that’s been tossed up like a Warnie flipper many times in tributes over the past weeks and no doubt there are many more that could be tossed up where that came from.
But this article isn’t a eulogy. Or, if it is then SK Warne was not the victim. There are already too many fantastic eulogies from those who knew and loved him, no need for inferior additions to the reading list. Instead this is merely a piece about the particular relationship that Shane Warne had with the Blackcaps, a very one-sided relationship that included a lot of wickets, some very inventive batting strategies, and an unfortunate Test high score.
Generally it’s the Ashes exploits that people go to first when it comes to Warnie. Himself included, the man was never shy of talking up an English humiliation. And fair enough given that he played England in 36 Test matches taking 195 of his 708 wickets against them. That alone is already fascinating. Far and away the most wickets any individual has taken against a single nation – keep in mind there are only 80 men in total to have taken 200 Test wickets and Warnie almost achieved that against one opponent alone. Probably no surprise that the next three on that list are all also against England: Dennis Lillee 167, Curtly Ambrose 164, Glenn McGrath 157. Then we get Ian Botham vs Australia with 148 wickets.
There are only 40 instances of a player taking 100+ wickets against a single opposition and Shane Warne did it against three different countries. Only New Zealander on that list is Richard Hadlee, naturally. He took 130 against Aussie and narrowly missed doing the same against England with 97 wickets. Unless of course you count Dunedin’s Clarrie Grimmett who took 106 wickets against England but took them all for Australia – this in the days just before Aotearoa had a national team thus Grimmett instead became a part of the long legacy of great Aussie leg spinners... a legacy that forms a direct line towards Shane Warne (Grimmett allegedly invented the flipper).
Warne also took 130 wickets against South Africa. And he took 103 wickets against New Zealand. No shocker that the only other man to take 100+ wickets against three separate nations was the man that Shane Warne’s career was so often linked with: the only man with more Test wickets, Muttiah Muralitharan. Murali also happened to take a heap of wickets against New Zealand too... but not as many as Shane Warne did. Nobody has taken more kiwi stumps than Warne. In fact it’s not even close.
To be fair, Murali did have a better average against NZ than Warne. He just played six fewer games. But longevity and opportunity is all part of this. Interesting sidenote: only Sachin Tendulkar (24), Allan Border (23), Steve Waugh (23), and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (21) played more Tests against the Blackcaps than SKW. Very curious to see three Aussies on that list considering their historical reluctance to throw us a bone.
There are some frightening numbers on that table. Ravi Ashwin for one, the bugger. Look at that average. And 66 wickets in only nine matches (with THREE ten-fors) is occupying some seriously disturbing areas. That 2016 tour of India he had match figures of 10/225, 4/115 & 13/140. 27 wickets in three Tests is pretty savage... however Richard Hadlee once took 33 wickets in a three Test series against Australia (including the legendary 9-for) so get that into ya. Funnily enough, Ashwin’s only ever played one game in NZ, taking 3/99 in a Blackcaps win during the last WTC cycle.
Or how about Dale Steyn? Another relatively contemporary dude on the list with another sizzling average that spreads his demolitions out quite evenly. Steyn played in three separate two-Test series against the Blackcaps in which he took at least 10 wickets at an average under 12. Scary thing is he only took two wickets in the notorious 45 all out game – Vernon Philander’s 5/7 did most of the heavy lifting that day. Steyn has a similar thing to Ashwin though in that he took most of those wickets in home matches. 59 in South Africa versus only 9 in Aotearoa.
A few pesky partnerships on the list too. Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram most of all, doing so much of their work in perfect tandem. There are two English duos who overlapped quite a bit too. Note that Broad and Anderson have the worst averages in the top ten... each with several golden performances against the Blackcaps but they’re as high on this list as they are due to the sheer amount of games played. Still not as many games as Warnie though. Warne who also shared plenty of wickets with Glenn McGrath, another partnership.
The reason Ashwin and Steyn got highlighted there, as well as being recent executioners, is to point out that home/away disparity. Because Shane Warne did not have that worry. Shane Warne took 54 kiwi wickets in Australia and 49 in New Zealand. His average was actually better in the Land of the Long White Cloud: 21.30 in NZ vs 27.16 in Oz. And 49 wickets is a very hefty haul, especially for a spinner in a country so rough on spin bowling that the Blackcaps don’t even tend to pick a spinner at all in home Tests these days.
Tell ya what, we’ll open this up to all spinners in Aotearoa. How many have taken more wickets than Shane Warne within these shining shores? One: Daniel Vettori, who took 159 of them at an average of 37.11. Pretty solid numbers for a Blackcaps spinner in fairness. Much better than the rest of them jokers who were all outdone by the visiting Shane Warne... with the exception of Dipak Patel who also took 49 wickets but he did so at an average over 40 so not even in the same ball park, really.
Warne’s stats in NZ are so good they stack up with visiting seamers too. Here are the top 15 Test wicket takers in Aotearoa against Aotearoa...
| Player | Nat | Span | Mat | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasim Akram | PAK | 1985-1995 | 7 | 50 | 7/119 | 11/179 | 17.18 | 2.51 | 41.0 | 6 | 2 |
| Shane Warne | AUS | 1993-2005 | 9 | 49 | 5/39 | 7/86 | 21.30 | 2.48 | 51.4 | 1 | 0 |
| Chaminda Vaas | SL | 1995-2006 | 8 | 36 | 6/87 | 10/90 | 22.55 | 2.79 | 48.3 | 4 | 1 |
| Erapalli Prasanna | IND | 1968-1976 | 7 | 35 | 8/76 | 11/140 | 19.25 | 2.30 | 50.1 | 3 | 1 |
| Stuart Broad | ENG | 2008-2019 | 9 | 34 | 6/51 | 8/126 | 28.47 | 2.84 | 60.1 | 2 | 0 |
| Waqar Younis | PAK | 1993-2001 | 8 | 34 | 6/78 | 9/81 | 27.17 | 3.00 | 54.3 | 2 | 0 |
| Zaheer Khan | IND | 2002-2014 | 7 | 33 | 5/29 | 7/122 | 28.27 | 3.37 | 50.3 | 4 | 0 |
| Sonny Ramadhin | WI | 1952-1956 | 6 | 32 | 6/23 | 9/81 | 15.06 | 1.69 | 53.3 | 3 | 0 |
| Courtney Walsh | WI | 1987-1999 | 7 | 32 | 7/37 | 13/55 | 20.75 | 2.47 | 50.3 | 3 | 1 |
| Glenn McGrath | AUS | 2000-2005 | 6 | 30 | 6/115 | 7/89 | 18.40 | 2.28 | 48.3 | 1 | 0 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | SL | 1995-2006 | 6 | 30 | 6/87 | 10/118 | 19.96 | 2.29 | 52.2 | 2 | 1 |
| Ishant Sharma | IND | 2009-2020 | 6 | 28 | 6/51 | 9/162 | 28.10 | 3.51 | 47.9 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Willis | ENG | 1971-1984 | 7 | 28 | 5/32 | 7/97 | 22.50 | 2.24 | 60.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ian Botham | ENG | 1978-1992 | 7 | 27 | 5/59 | 8/111 | 27.44 | 2.78 | 59.1 | 3 | 0 |
| Andy Caddick | ENG | 1997-2002 | 5 | 27 | 6/63 | 9/172 | 20.40 | 2.59 | 47.1 | 2 | 0 |
(Quick word of honour for West Indian great Sonny Ramadhin who is on that list, another legendary spinner who also passed away within the last couple weeks – Ramadhin played in NZ’s first ever Test victory back in 1956)
Only Wasim Akram tops him. Wasim Akram who would have been bowling in conditions that suited him to an absolute tee. It’s a surprising thing that, digging deeper into those numbers, Warne only ever took one fiver in there. Tells you first of all that he was part of a killer Aussie bowling line-up where there were weapons from top to bottom and as a spinner he was probably coming on to bowl with the likes of McGrath, Gillespie, Lee, etc. already having taken the top off. It also tells you that he spread out his scalps with intimidating consistency.
The only Test innings in which he bowled in NZ without taking a wicket was a 3.2 over spell in the second innings of a drawn match in Wellington in 2005. The Blackcaps were following on and staring at defeat at 48/3 on the last day when rain intervened. Day one had been washed out too. There’s one instance of him taking only one wicket and that’s all. Multiple poles in every other innings. We’re talking 18 innings in NZ from which he took 5 wickets once, 4 wickets four times, 3 wickets five times, 2 wickets six times, 1 wicket once, and 0 wickets once.
The five-bagger was in the previous match of that 2005 series. A Hamish Marshall ton helped the Cappies to a first innings of 433 in Christchurch, Craig Cumming also adding 74, and at one stage Aussie were 201/6 in response. Cue a 212-run seventh wicket partnership between Simon Katich (118) and Adam Gilchrist (121). Took them to 432 all out, a deficit of one run, and Shane Warne subsequently ripped through the order with 5/39 as the Blackcaps were bowled out for 131. Aussie won by nine wickets. One of Shane Warne’s second innings bangers in that game was his 1000th in first class cricket...
Warne’s average in New Zealand was his second best in any country. Only the 48 wickets at 20.45 in Sri Lanka (in the same amount of games) nudges ahead of it – not counting the two games he played in the UAE in 2002 where he took 16 wickets at 9.62, since that’s such a small sample size.
The first time Warne played against the Blackcaps in his home conditions was in Perth in 1993. He took match figures of 1/113 in a draw set up by Andrew Jones’ 143 in the first innings. Not exactly a sign of things to come. In the second Test in Hobart both David Boon and Mark Waugh tonned up as Aussie set a first innings total of 544/6 and then bowled NZ out for exactly 161 in both innings having enforced the follow-on. Warne took 6/31 in the second set. He also took eight combined wickets in the third Test in Brisbane, four in each innings – another crushing defeat in which Aussie only needed to bat once.
The only series where the kiwi batsmen ever seemed to have an answer for him was that memorable 2001 tour. A rain-affected first Test ended in a fascinating draw in which both teams made generous declarations and despite seemingly trailing for most of the match the Blackcaps only fell ten runs short of victory as time ran out. Still with four wickets in hand. They got as close as they did thanks in part to really attacking ol’ Warnie. Chris Cairns smacked him for a couple sixes and he and Craig McMillan combined to take 17 off the fourth to last over... as assault which caused Warne to be taken out of the attack for Brett Lee who promptly dismissed Cairns.
The second Test was also a weather-influenced draw then the third was that legendary one where four NZers scored hundies in the first innings (Vincent, Fleming, Astle, Parore) to set up a rare chance at a series victory... but Aussie batted out 110 overs (381/7 chasing 440 for the win) to save the match and keep the series tied. Warne’s series figures were 124.2 overs conceding 430 runs for 6 wickets at an average of 71.66. It was the only series against NZ in which his bowling average was over 28.
That series, and in particular that third Test, still provided a major milestone for Shane Warne though. Not because of his bowling but with the bat because it was in that match that he slugged his highest ever Test score. Coming in at 192/6 with his team still 342 runs in first innings deficit, he and Damien Martyn put together a counter-attacking 78-run partnership and then Warne kept it going after Marto was dismissed. Took his team past the follow-on and took himself to the brink of a maiden Test century. Then this happened...
Out for 99. Warne never would get that elusive hundred and he therefore holds the Test record for the most career runs without ever reaching triple-figs (3154 total runs). Of course, as he made clear in that video, based on replays it did appear to be an uncalled no-ball from Daniel Vettori. Eh, so it goes. Gotta shout out an iconic celebration from Mark Richardson after taking the catch. Plus also the “Warney’s Grouse At Cricket” fan who lost his damn mind as his hero was dismissed. Silly shot, wasn’t it? If he plays that sucker on the ground then he would’ve been raising the bat rather than tucking it under his arm, regardless of any no-balls.
No New Zealander was dismissed more by Shane Warne than Craig McMillan. 8 times in Tests, 6 times in ODIs. To be fair, Stephen Fleming averaged a pitiful 8.66 runs per wicket when facing Warne in Tests and maybe got ‘lucky’ dodging him more often thanks to batting in the top three (and thus getting out before spin came into the attack). Also three of Chris Martin’s NZ-record (and third all-time) 36 ducks came against the bowling of Shane Warne, only Dale Steyn getting him out for naught as often.
But Macca seemed to have a special relationship with Shane Warne. At times entirely bamboozled, at other times thrillingly ballistic. The pendulum turns from this...
To this...
And somewhere in the middle we pivoted to this...
Creative thinking from a future Blackcaps batting coach.
Warne’s ODI bowling against NZ wasn’t quite as dominant. He’s down at eighth on the all-time wicket list with 49 of them from 27 matches. Just didn’t get enough opportunities in there... his last ODI against NZ was in 2002. Did average 19.24 yet didn’t take a five-for at any point. Three four-baggers though. Best of 4/19 in a thriller in 1993 when the Cappies were set 203 to win and fell three runs short.
But similar to some of those Test numbers, even on the off days he tended to still pick up wickets. He only once failed to scalp against the Blackcaps... a famous New Zeland win in the opening match of the 2002 VB Series which came straight after that 2001 Test series. Took 0/37 from his ten as NZ were restricted to 199/8 from 50 overs but three wickets from Shane Bond on debut headlined a fantastic 22-run victory and heralded one of the great kiwi fast bowling careers... even if injury meant we only got about half of what it might have been. Also making his ODI debut that day: Mark Richardson.
If you’re wondering who the top ODI wicket takers against Aotearoa are, wonder no more...
| Player | Nat | Span | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waqar Younis | PAK | 1990-2002 | 37 | 79 | 6/30 | 15.84 | 4.19 | 22.6 | 2 | 5 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | SL | 1994-2011 | 41 | 74 | 5/9 | 17.94 | 3.55 | 30.2 | 3 | 2 |
| Wasim Akram | PAK | 1984-2002 | 38 | 64 | 5/19 | 18.54 | 3.80 | 29.2 | 2 | 1 |
| Glenn McGrath | AUS | 1993-2007 | 32 | 59 | 5/37 | 19.83 | 4.27 | 27.8 | 2 | 1 |
| Brett Lee | AUS | 2000-2011 | 28 | 52 | 5/42 | 20.98 | 4.78 | 26.3 | 0 | 1 |
| Javagal Srinath | IND | 1992-2003 | 30 | 51 | 4/23 | 20.41 | 3.93 | 31.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Chaminda Vaas | SL | 1994-2007 | 35 | 49 | 5/39 | 22.22 | 3.84 | 34.6 | 3 | 1 |
| Shane Warne | AUS | 1993-2002 | 27 | 49 | 4/19 | 19.24 | 3.88 | 29.7 | 3 | 0 |
| Shaun Pollock | SA | 1996-2007 | 43 | 48 | 4/45 | 27.31 | 3.74 | 43.7 | 1 | 0 |
| Allan Donald | SA | 1992-2003 | 25 | 40 | 4/43 | 21.07 | 4.04 | 31.2 | 1 | 0 |
Many of the same jerries who rip it up at Test level to go with a few extra fearful fast bowlers. Waqar Younus and Wasim Akram seriously enjoyed their games against New Zealand, didn’t they? Absolutely terrifying. That they were so often doing that in partnership with each other, bowling one from each end, is the stuff of nightmares.
The Blackcaps did have a little more success in ODIs against Warne’s Australian teams. There was a famous five-wicket win at the 1999 World Cup in which Roger Twose’s unbeaten 80 saw NZ home as Warne took 1/44 from his overs. That one wicket being Craig McMillan, naturally. The two teams also played out a classic quarter-final when they met at the 1996 World Cup. Chris Harris’ 130 set up a very competitive total of 286/9 (Warne taking two wickets including that of Harris) but Australia chased it down with 6 wickets and 13 balls to spare, Mark Waugh leading the way with 110. Shane Warne played a surprising hand that day coming in as a pinch-hitting number four and smacking two sixes on his way to 24 off 14 before Nathan Astle trapped him LBW.
Warne never played a T20 international despite being a familiar presence on the early T20 franchise scene. So we didn’t get Warnie with a moustache or a mullet in that original beige-tinged Twenty20 between Australia and New Zealand.
However he did fly over for some charity one-day cricket playing for a World XI in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami that struck Sri Lanka as they were touring Aotearoa in 2004. That tour was cancelled and NZ Cricket filled out the calendar with three of these fundraisers. One in Christchurch, one in Wellington, one in Hamilton – raising over a million dollars for the relief fund.
Shane Warne captained the World XI team, which also featured the likes of Lance Klusener, Heath Streak, Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Hick... and some Sri Lankan heroes such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, and Muttiah Muralitharan. They were unofficial games played in a jovial spirit. This was around the time Jeff Wilson made his cricketing swansong and he was part of the Blackcaps team.
Stephen Fleming hit a 54-ball hundy in the first game (chasing only 159 to win). Astle tonned up in the second though fifties from Matthew Elliott and Kumar Sangakkara saw the World XI chase down 257 to win. As for the third game... well the third game was a disaster as terrible pitch had the World XI fumbling all over themselves to be bowled out for just 81. Nick Knight top-scored with 43. The final nine wickets fell for 22 runs. The Blackcaps only got there with four wickets to spare themselves.
Such was the disappointment, and also factoring in the charity aspect, that the teams decided to come back out for a bonus 10 over match. This was even more unofficial than the original unofficial matches, pretty much a literal hit-and-giggle. But great fun all the same because it was during that exhibition that we were served up an over from Shane Warne in which he bowled some pace off a long run up mimicking Merv Hughes, as well some Greg Matthews offies, and we even got Craig McMillan bringing back the sideways stance. Beautiful stuff.
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