'Ball of the Century', twenty years on.
June 3, 2013 11:04 PM Subscribe
Twenty years ago today, as England faced Australia in the first Test at Old Trafford, a young spin bowler prepared to deliver his first ball in Ashes cricket. What came out of his hand that afternoon in Manchester has since become the stuff of legend, baffling commentators, generating encomia, and creating iconic images: Barney Ronay reflects on Gatting b Warne 4, Shane Warne's Ball of the Century.
"Jiggery Pokery" by The Duckworth Lewis Method (Neil Hannon's side project).
It was jiggery pokery, trickery, jokery.
How did he open me up?
Robbery, muggery, Aussie Skullduggery.
Out for a buggering duck.
What a delivery,
I might as well have been,
holding a contra bassoon.
Jiggery pokery who was this nobody,
making me look a buffoon?
Like a blithering old buffoon.
posted by Hartster at 12:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [5 favorites]
It was jiggery pokery, trickery, jokery.
How did he open me up?
Robbery, muggery, Aussie Skullduggery.
Out for a buggering duck.
What a delivery,
I might as well have been,
holding a contra bassoon.
Jiggery pokery who was this nobody,
making me look a buffoon?
Like a blithering old buffoon.
posted by Hartster at 12:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [5 favorites]
Sports writing is often dull bog standard stuff but I always look forward to an article from the unfailingly entertaining Barney Ronay - "It is a full-body deception, like being knocked out by a cruiserweight boxer who is simultaneously engaged in beating you at chess and also stealing your wallet."
Poor unsuspecting Mike Gatting.
Graham Gooch (English captain at the time): "He looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch" and "If it had been a cheese roll, it would never have got past him."
Martin Johnson (journalist): "How anyone can spin a ball the width of Gatting boggles the mind"
posted by quosimosaur at 12:32 AM on June 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
Poor unsuspecting Mike Gatting.
Graham Gooch (English captain at the time): "He looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch" and "If it had been a cheese roll, it would never have got past him."
Martin Johnson (journalist): "How anyone can spin a ball the width of Gatting boggles the mind"
posted by quosimosaur at 12:32 AM on June 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
Wonderful writing. Thanks very much.
posted by Wolof at 1:20 AM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Wolof at 1:20 AM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
I thought Shane Warne's Ball of the Century was Elizabeth Hurley
Bada bing!
posted by C.A.S. at 2:57 AM on June 4, 2013
Bada bing!
posted by C.A.S. at 2:57 AM on June 4, 2013
American. Midway through the article, I still have no idea whether this is a description of a real event or an incredibly elaborate put-on. It's like cricket itself in microcosm.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:30 AM on June 4, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:30 AM on June 4, 2013 [9 favorites]
Twenty articles about the greatest moments in Ashes history. I love it. It may take me til mid July to get through all of it. Perfect timing.
posted by mosessis at 3:36 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by mosessis at 3:36 AM on June 4, 2013
Also a great post to kick off this double-Ashes season. Cricket heaven; 10 Ashes tests. And it looks like the banter has already started. From the BBC:
Asked if England's long-standing rivalry with Australia was a clash of cultures, Gower replied: "I'm tempted to say, how can you have a clash of cultures when you're playing against a country with no culture? That would almost be sledging."
posted by Wordshore at 4:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Asked if England's long-standing rivalry with Australia was a clash of cultures, Gower replied: "I'm tempted to say, how can you have a clash of cultures when you're playing against a country with no culture? That would almost be sledging."
posted by Wordshore at 4:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Bowling Shane. Bowling, Warney lad.
posted by gergtreble at 5:19 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by gergtreble at 5:19 AM on June 4, 2013
What I want to know is why that image hasn't become image macro fodder.
posted by eriko at 5:43 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by eriko at 5:43 AM on June 4, 2013
American. Midway through the article, I still have no idea whether this is a description of a real event or an incredibly elaborate put-on. It's like cricket itself in microcosm.
Obligatory.
posted by burnmp3s at 5:49 AM on June 4, 2013 [8 favorites]
Obligatory.
posted by burnmp3s at 5:49 AM on June 4, 2013 [8 favorites]
American here as well, with no knowledge of cricket, except that baseball's supposed to be related to it.
So let me get this straight...Warne threw a curve ball? And it curved more than expected?
I have no context here; I'm not grasping exactly what makes this pitch (bowl?) so stunning.
posted by magstheaxe at 5:59 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
So let me get this straight...Warne threw a curve ball? And it curved more than expected?
I have no context here; I'm not grasping exactly what makes this pitch (bowl?) so stunning.
posted by magstheaxe at 5:59 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
pitch (bowl?)
Ball.
One of the things that makes is so special is the giant question mark that seems to appear over Gatting's head just after it bounces.
posted by colie at 6:12 AM on June 4, 2013
Ball.
One of the things that makes is so special is the giant question mark that seems to appear over Gatting's head just after it bounces.
posted by colie at 6:12 AM on June 4, 2013
Warne is a spin bowler, that is to say his central aim is deception: he seeks to send the ball down in such a way to make the batsman think it will do one thing, and it does another, thereby getting him out (mainly either by hitting the wicket the batsman is seeking to protect, or by getting him caught). The beauty of this ball is its perfection. It is unplayable. The ball does three things that almost defy conventional physics: (i) drift: initially the ball looks straight, but just before it bounces it drifts away to the viewers' right, and the batsman gently follows it, exposing his wicket; (ii): dip: its trajectory changes, again, just before it bounces, as the ball suddenly seems to fall away, meaning that it bounces further away from the batsman than he had anticipated, again, leaving him exposed; (iii) spin: Warne has spun the ball as it leaves his hand, and it is revolving so quickly that when it hits the ground it grips and rips back sharply, completely altering the trajectory of the ball. Warne has done all of these things, intentionally, through the brilliance of his delivery and his strategic cunning. He's just bowled, essentially, the perfect ball.
posted by hydatius at 6:17 AM on June 4, 2013 [13 favorites]
posted by hydatius at 6:17 AM on June 4, 2013 [13 favorites]
That's more than just a curve ball.
I grew up steeped in baseball, in fact I live in London now with two boys and coach their baseball teams here, but they also play cricket now - which is interesting.
There are lots of parallels, cultural and technical, but also some key differences. I hoped that they could grow up as if in a bi-lingual house, easily able to move between worlds, but its harder than that.
Bowling and pitching, quite different arts technically even if analogous.
posted by C.A.S. at 6:20 AM on June 4, 2013
I grew up steeped in baseball, in fact I live in London now with two boys and coach their baseball teams here, but they also play cricket now - which is interesting.
There are lots of parallels, cultural and technical, but also some key differences. I hoped that they could grow up as if in a bi-lingual house, easily able to move between worlds, but its harder than that.
Bowling and pitching, quite different arts technically even if analogous.
posted by C.A.S. at 6:20 AM on June 4, 2013
The key difference is playing the ball off a bounce to the batter - that spin is able to drop the ball off, but also change its direction on the rebound.
posted by C.A.S. at 6:22 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by C.A.S. at 6:22 AM on June 4, 2013
Yes, what happens after it bounces is important - depending on how it grips a ball pitching (bouncing) in much the same spot could travel past your shins or your throat. So the ball drifted late one way and dipped, then spun sharply the other way.
But it's not the quality of this ball that makes it matter. Warne bowled many better and deliveries identical to that one were successfully negotiated by lots of batsmen over the years. As the Ronay article notes, it wasn't even Warne's best ball that innings, and I seem to recall the there was an really unplayable Reiffel leg-cutter later in the series.
It's the re-emergence of spin as a weapon that the ball is known for. A moment. It was Warne's first ball in England, at what was then called "headquarters" Over a number of decades, spin in England had become a defensive art. And even in places where good finger spin (the subcontinent) and wrist spin (Australia) still had an attacking role, it was mostly towards the end of games where the surface had worn and cracked. On normal pitches, most batsmen regarded spin as mostly a test of patience. The Gatting ball brought back spin as a weapon.
posted by hawthorne at 6:44 AM on June 4, 2013 [9 favorites]
But it's not the quality of this ball that makes it matter. Warne bowled many better and deliveries identical to that one were successfully negotiated by lots of batsmen over the years. As the Ronay article notes, it wasn't even Warne's best ball that innings, and I seem to recall the there was an really unplayable Reiffel leg-cutter later in the series.
It's the re-emergence of spin as a weapon that the ball is known for. A moment. It was Warne's first ball in England, at what was then called "headquarters" Over a number of decades, spin in England had become a defensive art. And even in places where good finger spin (the subcontinent) and wrist spin (Australia) still had an attacking role, it was mostly towards the end of games where the surface had worn and cracked. On normal pitches, most batsmen regarded spin as mostly a test of patience. The Gatting ball brought back spin as a weapon.
posted by hawthorne at 6:44 AM on June 4, 2013 [9 favorites]
"If it had been a cheese roll, it would never have got past him."
One of my favourites.
posted by Wolof at 6:58 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
One of my favourites.
posted by Wolof at 6:58 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
From the comments section of Barney Ronay's article for The Guardian, NonOxbridgeColumnist's comment:
posted by quosimosaur at 7:02 AM on June 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
This could run and run, I suppose, but how many of those undeniably great balls fulfilled as many additional criteria as Warne's?To expand on his second point, Shane Warne almost single-handedly revived the popularity of spin bowling, specifically leg spin—a difficult and almost arcane technique that had been superseded by pace, or fast, bowling throughout the 70s and 80s. Warne's performances revitalised leg spinners as viable high risk, high reward attacking bowlers.
- First ball in an Ashes Test
- Renaissance of lost art
- Instantly created the game's biggest celebrity of the last 20 years and possibly longer
- The man went on to take 708 Test wickets and set a record since beaten by only one other Test cricketer
- He's the only out and out bowler in Wisden's top five cricketers of the century
I think it deserves the title. Unless you want to reduce the argument to one about the intrinsic merit of the ball in isolation, which to me seems crazy. It's cricket's answer to Carlos Alberto for Brazil 1970, or Gareth Edwards for the Barbarians in 1973.
posted by quosimosaur at 7:02 AM on June 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
I remember watching this on the telly, and my own overly-pretentious reaction is to point out the remarkable "double-empathy" of this encounter for the (Australian) spectator.
When the ball started to perform its impossible magic, anyone watching would have (and did have) that same, split-second reaction that Gatting had, i.e., "what the fuck is - ?" Almost immediately, that reaction was followed by the joyful impact on the stump.
That is, at one moment you are thinking exactly what Gatting was thinking (i.e. "???"), and in the very next instant you are thinking exactly what Shane Warne was thinking (i.e. "!!!").
So in all fairness to Gatting, there are only two things going on that separated any Australian spectator from the English batsman at that momentous event: first, because the Aussie is facing the "right" way, he or she sees the bail fall an instant before Gatting does. And second: while everyone is wondering what the fuck just happened, the Aussie is pretty happy about it, and Gatting is pretty obviously not.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:56 AM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
When the ball started to perform its impossible magic, anyone watching would have (and did have) that same, split-second reaction that Gatting had, i.e., "what the fuck is - ?" Almost immediately, that reaction was followed by the joyful impact on the stump.
That is, at one moment you are thinking exactly what Gatting was thinking (i.e. "???"), and in the very next instant you are thinking exactly what Shane Warne was thinking (i.e. "!!!").
So in all fairness to Gatting, there are only two things going on that separated any Australian spectator from the English batsman at that momentous event: first, because the Aussie is facing the "right" way, he or she sees the bail fall an instant before Gatting does. And second: while everyone is wondering what the fuck just happened, the Aussie is pretty happy about it, and Gatting is pretty obviously not.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:56 AM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
It is an amazing piece of history for all the reasons mentioned above. I watched it live and definitively had a WTF, Warneeee you rippa! moment.
I just watched an hours worth of cricket highlights on youtube. I'm a massive fan of impossible swing bowling. This dismissal of Tendulker being something rather special -> Tendulkar vs Allan Donald.
posted by vicx at 8:14 AM on June 4, 2013
I just watched an hours worth of cricket highlights on youtube. I'm a massive fan of impossible swing bowling. This dismissal of Tendulker being something rather special -> Tendulkar vs Allan Donald.
posted by vicx at 8:14 AM on June 4, 2013
I am really trying to not be ignorant about cricket (in fairness, I hate baseball), but Shane Warne was literally born in a town called Ferntree Gully, and his bowling style is "legbreak googly."
I mean, HONESTLY.
posted by Madamina at 8:16 AM on June 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
I mean, HONESTLY.
posted by Madamina at 8:16 AM on June 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
I am really trying to not be ignorant about cricket
This is nothing to be concerned about or apologise for; and in fact one should consider the differing complexity of different sports by noting how official decisions are made and discussed.
So baseball is a simple sport, and we can tell that because all the players know the rules - hence, the players (who feel they know best) often argue with the umpire about specific calls (similarly, football is even simpler, and hence has more arguments).
Gridiron (say) or rugby is slightly more complex; the players are vaguely aware of the rules, but often when the umpire/referee makes a decision they have to stop the whole event and explain to the players what they have decided and why.
Cricket, however, is so perversly complicated that there are two different umpires, and when something happens they have to ask another umpire to watch what happened on TV and get back to them about what the fuck it means. If it rains, they actually hire different groups of mathematicians to invent rival algorthims to find out who won.
It is, frankly, a totally ridiculous pastime and everyone involved should be deeply ashamed.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:38 AM on June 4, 2013 [5 favorites]
This is nothing to be concerned about or apologise for; and in fact one should consider the differing complexity of different sports by noting how official decisions are made and discussed.
So baseball is a simple sport, and we can tell that because all the players know the rules - hence, the players (who feel they know best) often argue with the umpire about specific calls (similarly, football is even simpler, and hence has more arguments).
Gridiron (say) or rugby is slightly more complex; the players are vaguely aware of the rules, but often when the umpire/referee makes a decision they have to stop the whole event and explain to the players what they have decided and why.
Cricket, however, is so perversly complicated that there are two different umpires, and when something happens they have to ask another umpire to watch what happened on TV and get back to them about what the fuck it means. If it rains, they actually hire different groups of mathematicians to invent rival algorthims to find out who won.
It is, frankly, a totally ridiculous pastime and everyone involved should be deeply ashamed.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:38 AM on June 4, 2013 [5 favorites]
It is, frankly, a totally ridiculous pastime and everyone involved should be deeply ashamed.
Cricket is truly the most human of games.
posted by lrobertjones at 8:58 AM on June 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
Cricket is truly the most human of games.
posted by lrobertjones at 8:58 AM on June 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
I bet if Shane Warne had known that moment was going to make him famous he would have wiped the cocaine off his face beforehand.
posted by rocket88 at 9:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by rocket88 at 9:23 AM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Apparently that moment is the apex of British civilization. This is why empires fall.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:32 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:32 AM on June 4, 2013
Apparently that moment is the apex of British civilization. This is why empires fall.
Did you misspell nadir? Warne is actually Australian (the zinc sunscreen on his nose and lip is a dead giveaway). This delivery also stands out for encapsulating the brilliance of the imperious Australian cricket teams from 1989 to 2005. Against such talent and discipline, the English could do naught but lose.
posted by quosimosaur at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2013
Did you misspell nadir? Warne is actually Australian (the zinc sunscreen on his nose and lip is a dead giveaway). This delivery also stands out for encapsulating the brilliance of the imperious Australian cricket teams from 1989 to 2005. Against such talent and discipline, the English could do naught but lose.
posted by quosimosaur at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2013
Australia is part of the British Empire. Even though the monarchs have granted its Australian subjects some limited autonomy as a Dominion, technically those subjects are still personal property of The Queen.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:36 AM on June 4, 2013
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:36 AM on June 4, 2013
Cool, thanks for clearing that up.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:41 PM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:41 PM on June 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
That was a smashing ball, but I must say, cricket has alway seemed a bit labyrinthine to me. In perusing the associated videos accompanying these links, it strikes me that you people have set an astonishingly low bar for "fights" in this sport. Most of the "cricket fight" videos shown would hardly qualify as a "quibble" here in the colonies. I mean, really. A spot of finger pointing and word bandying hardly rates. Perhaps I will be back to elucidate you further on the numbed palet/jaded tastes of american sports fans. Until then ... carry on.
posted by DaddyNewt at 1:55 PM on June 4, 2013
posted by DaddyNewt at 1:55 PM on June 4, 2013
I have to admit, almost any time it comes up on Metafilter, I try to read the Cricket links, but I just fail. I mean, I read them and I recognize the words as words I know, but they are never configured in any kind of order that makes them make any sense to me. The sentences just sort of swim around and I can't seem to grab hold of anything that makes them sit still and behave.
I sometimes wonder if this is what dyslexia feels like.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:13 PM on June 4, 2013
I sometimes wonder if this is what dyslexia feels like.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:13 PM on June 4, 2013
I love cricket threads, for all of the reasons. I'm an american, but i was fortunate enough to be an exchange student in Sri Lanka, where i learned to play and appreciate both rugby and cricket.
I also love 'sports moments' threads. It's wonderful to get a sense for what makes the moment so...momentous for that particular sport.
I'm the kind of sports fan that watches, pretty much anything, in hopes of witnessing this kind of storied moment.
I hate the fact that so much of Olympic coverage has become the histrionics of Olympic moments, but man, Franz Klammer on the Hahnenkamm is the kind of thing that can only happen once in the history of a sport, and this ball, for everything that led up to it and came about because of it, fits that bill too. thanks.
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:01 PM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
I also love 'sports moments' threads. It's wonderful to get a sense for what makes the moment so...momentous for that particular sport.
I'm the kind of sports fan that watches, pretty much anything, in hopes of witnessing this kind of storied moment.
I hate the fact that so much of Olympic coverage has become the histrionics of Olympic moments, but man, Franz Klammer on the Hahnenkamm is the kind of thing that can only happen once in the history of a sport, and this ball, for everything that led up to it and came about because of it, fits that bill too. thanks.
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:01 PM on June 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
Drawn to watching more cricket videos on youtube, there're some spectacular catching footage out there too (for instance). And if those don't impress you, remember that the catches are without gloves and a cricket ball is a little smaller and a littler heavier than a baseball.
posted by NailsTheCat at 6:43 PM on June 4, 2013
posted by NailsTheCat at 6:43 PM on June 4, 2013
Let's not forget sledging, although my mind had wrongly attributed the "biscuit" retort to Warne.
posted by NailsTheCat at 8:58 PM on June 4, 2013
posted by NailsTheCat at 8:58 PM on June 4, 2013
Ball of the century - what about this one ?
Which century, the 17th?
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:51 PM on June 4, 2013
Which century, the 17th?
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:51 PM on June 4, 2013
The ball of the 21st century will always be this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-4F_SFWxA
It's a bit of annoying clip with the talking heads, but man, I still welled up rewatching it.
posted by Hartster at 6:37 AM on June 5, 2013
It's a bit of annoying clip with the talking heads, but man, I still welled up rewatching it.
posted by Hartster at 6:37 AM on June 5, 2013
Americans confused about cricket may wish to follow US Cricket Guy on the twitter. He's tweeting about the ICC Champions Trophy, the current one day international competition. All will become clear.
posted by Wordshore at 4:51 AM on June 6, 2013
posted by Wordshore at 4:51 AM on June 6, 2013
It's a bit of annoying clip with the talking heads, but man, I still welled up rewatching it.
posted by Hartster at 6:37 AM on June 5 [+] [!]
Oh, you had to bring that up. The beginning of an end in the history of Australian cricket.
This is truly the ball of the twenty first century.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 10:26 PM on June 6, 2013
posted by Hartster at 6:37 AM on June 5 [+] [!]
Oh, you had to bring that up. The beginning of an end in the history of Australian cricket.
This is truly the ball of the twenty first century.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 10:26 PM on June 6, 2013
I sometimes wonder if this is what dyslexia feels like.
Did you check out this link posted upthread? You'll love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEH4ahCCrJo
posted by colie at 9:36 AM on June 7, 2013
Did you check out this link posted upthread? You'll love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEH4ahCCrJo
posted by colie at 9:36 AM on June 7, 2013
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