Greg Chappell on the 1997-98 Cricketer of the Year (21 Mar 1998)

GREG CHAPPELL sees the 1997-98 summer's most influentual cricketer as a one-man contest

21-Mar-1998

21 March

Greg Chappell on the 1997-98 Cricketer of the Year

The Australian Cricketer

Greg Chappell on the 1997-98 Cricketer of the Year

(Reproduced with permission from Australian Cricket magazine)

GREG CHAPPELL sees the 1997-98 summer's most influentual cricketer as a one-man contest. "Shane Warne was first, second and third," he says.

I've faced Shane Warne only once, at Port Elizabeth this time last year when the Australians were doing a few centre square warm-ups and Shane was bowling a few to Ian Healy.

Grabbing a stump, I asked if I could pretend I was batting and stand there without actually touching the ball.

It was a fascinating five minutes. To get that close, see the ball spinning and hear it humming through the air reinforced what I already knew. Shane Warne would be a master bowler in any age and against almost anybody. I would have loved the challenge of going in against someone like that when he -- and I -- were at our best.

I'd have had trouble with him and I'm sure he would have got me out. But I'm equally sure on some days I would have had some success, too. He didn't give me the full repertoire but there was enough there for me to realise just how tough a proposition he is out in the centre. He has strong wrists and fingers and he gives it such a big rip, imparting enormous side-spin and top-spin which triggers extra bounce. Once cornered, a batsman has virtually nowhere to go, as the South Africans found out in Sydney in the New Year when Shane powered to his 300th wicket milestone with 11 wickets for the game.

Anyone who can take 40 wickets in a Test summer has had an enormous, pivotal impact on the series result. No wonder Australia won so handsomely against both NZ and the South Africans.

While a fit and motivated Shane Warne is in their X1, it's hard to see the Australians being extended in any immediate Test series. They'll sufffer an occasional loss or two, but until international batsmen consistently find the answer to playing Shane, he's going to mow down more teams than get to him.

He was outstanding from the first time I saw him and for years now, has been in a class of his own. I've never seen anyone with the same skill level, control, turn, variation or possessed as fine a temperament. Nor have I met a more balanced or nicer bloke in the situation he's in. He's come from nowhere to something special overnight. To be able to maintain a balance through it all is a great credit to him. Those closest to him say he's more humble now than when he first made it big. I believe he's been much maligned especially when it comes to his behaviour. Having been involved in the cauldron of international cricket, I know how difficult it is to have any privacy, or not to respond to barracking, especially when it is concerted, like it was against Shane in England in '97.

As the key player in the Australian team, he was hassled all tour and much was made of his antics at Trent Bridge after Australia had won the Ashes. To me he was just letting off a bit of steam. It was never anything more than a bit of fun, yet some people took it out of context and ruled his behaviour unforgivable.

In many ways, he's a big kid, enjoys a laugh and a good time and that's so important when it comes to striking a balance between cricket and normal life. Maybe as he gets older, he needs to be stricter with himself in regard to rest and nutrition to maintain his physical health.

But it's good he can get away from the game and relax -- even if it's for only short periods given the around the world globetrotting of the Australians.

Shane's performance in Sydney was clearly the outstanding individual effort in a summer full of highs. But the South Africans played into his hands. After forcing a draw in Melbourne, I thought they would approach the next Tests far more positively. Instead they went to Sydney with only a draw in mind, knowing that they were playing on a real turner and coming up against the best slow bowler in the world.

They were too negative and squandered an opportunity on the opening day to really take the game to Australia. With five wickets in the first innings and six in the second, including his 300th, Shane again cornered the headlines, many asking how many wickets he can eventually finish with.

I firmly believe if he can remain fit and his priorities are still with cricket for the next few years, he should surpass Kapil Dev as the alltime record holder. How far past that he can go is anyone's guess. Maybe 500, but it's a big ask.

Physically and mentally he'll probably have reached the end of his tether by the year 2000. Everyone has a use-by date. Provided he can stay fit, however, it becomes a mental rather than a fitness thing.

Maybe the Test captaincy would help him remain focused. I'm sure it would be more of a positive than a negative. Mark Taylor's successor needs to be naturally positive and attacking. To me, Shane would be the perfect choice. The responsibility could give him another lease of life. Otherwise in three years time he might have had enough.

It'd be a shame if he didn't go as long as he possibly could. He deserves to be at the top of the tree. I hope he can double his present mark and get 600 wickets, but I think it's going to be closer to 500.

To succeed against Shane, I believe you must make him bowl on the offside of you. He loves bowling leg stump and even outside if there's a bit of turn there. Bowling around the wicket used to a defensive ploy, but with Shane it's all part of his attacking strategies.

Only once have I seen him held up for any extraordinary length of time and they were tactics which bear repeating. It was at Edgbaston during the '93 tour and John Emburey, who'd come back into the side, was trying to hold the lower-order batting together. He's a gutsy player and a good competitor and clearly had thought very closely about his tactics when facing Warne.

As usual, he was bowling around the wicket into the footmarks and basically bowling behind them, but Emburey made him think again, by facing up very square on, with the old two-eyed stance and feet facing towards mid-wicket. "Embers" wasn't good enough to make truly big scores, but his tactics made Warne bowl in front of him and he got almost 100 runs for the game for just once out -- not bad for a 41-year-old batting at No.8 in a losing team!

To improve your chances of nullifying him for any period, you probably need to change your stance and move your guard across, allowing him to see the stumps.

Suddenly not only does he have to adapt to the changes, but so does his captain with the field placings. With an open stance, it's far easier to hit him straight down the ground, working with his flight rather than against it.

He deserves to be at the top of the tree.

Abdul Qadir was the best leggie of my time, but nowhere near as good as Shane. I saw Richie Benaud as a kid. He had the control and temperament but didn't turn it to the degree that Shane does. Very few people are blessed with the full range.

I never saw Bill O'Reilly bowl, but I did see Clarrie Grimmett bowl as an old man, in Adelaide in the mid-60s, when I went to his home with Terry Jenner and Ashley Mallett, who had just transferred from Perth. We had a fascinating time. Clarrie had a wicket in his backyard and even though he was in his 70s, he was still keen and alert and knew exactly what he was on about. His was a different style, a loopier sort of delivery. A batsmen inclined to get down the wicket and get the ball on the full or the half volley would have been more able to do it against Clarrie than they could against Shane. But being such a fine bowler he was, I'm sure Clarrie would have adapted and still been a handful.

Some of Shane's domestic battles, particularly against NSW and the Waugh twins have been fascinating. He's had his successes, but hasn't had as profound an influence on the results of matches as he has had at Test level. Maybe the Shield players tend to dispatch his bad balls, rather than treating everything like dynamite.

He can tell he's got their bluff. That does enormous things for his confidence.

Source :: Australian Cricket (https://www.citysearch.com.au/mel/kpcricket)