I picked up this book at the second-hand market in Abids. I loved the competitive spirit Shane Warne brought to the match, his leadership of Rajasthan Royals which was brilliant and his skill with the bat and ball. I remember watching his debut match where he got hit around by Ravi Shastri and a very young Tendulkar. One way or another, Warne is not someone who will fade out of public life. He's just not that kind.
The book covers a bit of his parents' and grandparents' history which was interesting because one gets a sense of the hard life, the character of his lineage. Then his growing up years in Melbourne with his brother Jason (for some reason the entire family - father. mother, and the two sons called each other Harry, which was interesting). The kids loved sports, played Australian League Football which was what interested Shane, more than cricket until he got a scholarship to an elite school to play cricket and the decision was made. Shane was good and made it to a cricket academy for new talent - got int trouble and was sent home on a long bus ride where he thought about what he wanted to be in life. The disappointment of not being good enough for the AFL which was his dream, made him more determined.
So he sought out TJ (Jenner) and tough coach and mentor who taught him a bad of tricks and Shane found his calling. he put his heart and soul, prepared and made his debut soon for Australia against India. The TJ coaching worked and he bowled well against Sri Lanka. He then found another great mentor Bob Simpson who taught them a tough work ethic. There is much talk about the Gatting ball, the ball of the century they say, which catapulted him to stardom. There is a bit about Salim Malik offering him money to throw a match, a good sum, but Shane refuses and still loses a game they should have won. There's the IPL, his new sponsorship deals, county cricket in England, drinking women, marriage.
There is a section about the art of leg-spin where he talks about the craft in some detail but without pictures, it made no sense, especially the technical parts. I did like the part where he spoke of the number of balls he would ball in practice with a purpose, land the ball on a handkerchief from one angle, then another, then another, until he perfected it. So he became an expert by deliberate practice is what is clear. Then the part where he describes how the revolutions on the ball is the key - "energy on the ball is a combination of everything working together through the combination of shoulder, arm, wrist and fingers and how quickly my body works into sync to drive the ball forward and especially my hips. It's not a fast arm ball, call it a snap like release.' Spinning the ball is number one he says, followed by patience, accuracy, perseverance and guts. He acknowledges how TJ never tried to change his action. The concept of 'Think High' where TJ got Shane to get his bowling arm up near the ear and 'Spin Up' to put revs on the ball.
Shane went through surgeries on his shoulder, made money, was part of World Cup winning teams, enjoyed captaincy at Hampshire. He feels they could have had a different result if Steve Waugh had not gone for a follow on at Kolkata which he felt he did because he was caught up with the 16 wins in a row business. He is thrilled at being named by Wisden among the five cricketers of the century - Don Bradman, Jack Hobbs, Viv Richards, Gary Sobers and Warne. the drug charges before the World Cup in South Africa and the suspension, Ashes, his relationship with Elizabeth Hurley, the photograph with two women in a London flat in their undies (to his credit Warne says upfront that he likes sex). As for the IPL I liked his story about Kaif who walks in and keeps repeating 'I'm Kaif' meaning that he should be allotted a single, bigger room because he was senior. I also liked the story about him and Venkatapathi Raju my childhood buddy, and how they got him a bit drunk on some beer and how he smoked on the sly from Azhar.
Therapy, money, poker championships, end of marriage, commentating, celebrity friends (Chris Martin, Russel Crowe, Elton John), reality show 'I'm a Celebrity', a musical called Shane Warne the Musical, a Foundation which did some good work and then shut.
It's a bit long and for someone as interesting as Warne (or so I thought) this book didn't do justice. It seemed to have been hurriedly put together, a section devoted to parents, brother, etc like little paras and not like a story. In fact the last bit where his children Brooke, Jackson and Summer speak about him is just their quotes, one after another and one feels that the author was in a hurry to wind up. I didn't find any quote by his wife Simone nor of Elizabeth nor of any of his mates or TJ which would have added some dimensions. This is the fourth Aussie bio I am reading - Steve Waugh, Chappelli, Brett Lee and Warne. I sense a desperation to win, to defend themselves, to let themselves off lightly when they mess up and be hard on others and say it was a lark in all the books (save Chappelli). Overall I think I am done with Aussie cricketers and their bios for the moment. It's almost like they did it for the money than to tell a story. Not interesting enough in the end. Or as much as I thought it would be.
The book covers a bit of his parents' and grandparents' history which was interesting because one gets a sense of the hard life, the character of his lineage. Then his growing up years in Melbourne with his brother Jason (for some reason the entire family - father. mother, and the two sons called each other Harry, which was interesting). The kids loved sports, played Australian League Football which was what interested Shane, more than cricket until he got a scholarship to an elite school to play cricket and the decision was made. Shane was good and made it to a cricket academy for new talent - got int trouble and was sent home on a long bus ride where he thought about what he wanted to be in life. The disappointment of not being good enough for the AFL which was his dream, made him more determined.
So he sought out TJ (Jenner) and tough coach and mentor who taught him a bad of tricks and Shane found his calling. he put his heart and soul, prepared and made his debut soon for Australia against India. The TJ coaching worked and he bowled well against Sri Lanka. He then found another great mentor Bob Simpson who taught them a tough work ethic. There is much talk about the Gatting ball, the ball of the century they say, which catapulted him to stardom. There is a bit about Salim Malik offering him money to throw a match, a good sum, but Shane refuses and still loses a game they should have won. There's the IPL, his new sponsorship deals, county cricket in England, drinking women, marriage.
There is a section about the art of leg-spin where he talks about the craft in some detail but without pictures, it made no sense, especially the technical parts. I did like the part where he spoke of the number of balls he would ball in practice with a purpose, land the ball on a handkerchief from one angle, then another, then another, until he perfected it. So he became an expert by deliberate practice is what is clear. Then the part where he describes how the revolutions on the ball is the key - "energy on the ball is a combination of everything working together through the combination of shoulder, arm, wrist and fingers and how quickly my body works into sync to drive the ball forward and especially my hips. It's not a fast arm ball, call it a snap like release.' Spinning the ball is number one he says, followed by patience, accuracy, perseverance and guts. He acknowledges how TJ never tried to change his action. The concept of 'Think High' where TJ got Shane to get his bowling arm up near the ear and 'Spin Up' to put revs on the ball.
Shane went through surgeries on his shoulder, made money, was part of World Cup winning teams, enjoyed captaincy at Hampshire. He feels they could have had a different result if Steve Waugh had not gone for a follow on at Kolkata which he felt he did because he was caught up with the 16 wins in a row business. He is thrilled at being named by Wisden among the five cricketers of the century - Don Bradman, Jack Hobbs, Viv Richards, Gary Sobers and Warne. the drug charges before the World Cup in South Africa and the suspension, Ashes, his relationship with Elizabeth Hurley, the photograph with two women in a London flat in their undies (to his credit Warne says upfront that he likes sex). As for the IPL I liked his story about Kaif who walks in and keeps repeating 'I'm Kaif' meaning that he should be allotted a single, bigger room because he was senior. I also liked the story about him and Venkatapathi Raju my childhood buddy, and how they got him a bit drunk on some beer and how he smoked on the sly from Azhar.
Therapy, money, poker championships, end of marriage, commentating, celebrity friends (Chris Martin, Russel Crowe, Elton John), reality show 'I'm a Celebrity', a musical called Shane Warne the Musical, a Foundation which did some good work and then shut.
It's a bit long and for someone as interesting as Warne (or so I thought) this book didn't do justice. It seemed to have been hurriedly put together, a section devoted to parents, brother, etc like little paras and not like a story. In fact the last bit where his children Brooke, Jackson and Summer speak about him is just their quotes, one after another and one feels that the author was in a hurry to wind up. I didn't find any quote by his wife Simone nor of Elizabeth nor of any of his mates or TJ which would have added some dimensions. This is the fourth Aussie bio I am reading - Steve Waugh, Chappelli, Brett Lee and Warne. I sense a desperation to win, to defend themselves, to let themselves off lightly when they mess up and be hard on others and say it was a lark in all the books (save Chappelli). Overall I think I am done with Aussie cricketers and their bios for the moment. It's almost like they did it for the money than to tell a story. Not interesting enough in the end. Or as much as I thought it would be.
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