NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Warne is Australia's highest wicket-taker in Tests

Shane Warne leapfrogged Dennis Lillee as Australia's greatest Test wicket-taker in the first Test victory over New Zealand in Auckland on Wednesday with more cricket glories beckoning.

The 30-year-old leg spinning maestro broke Lillee's 16-year record of 355 wickets when he dismissed Kiwi tailender Paul Wiseman to seal a 62-run victory and extend Australia's winning sequence to eight Tests.

For much of this extraordinary Test at Eden Park, Warne had to play second fiddle to Kiwi left-armer Daniel Vettori, who was man-of-the-match with 12 wickets, and to his Aussie spinning colleague Colin Miller.

Miller claimed Test best bowling figures of 5-55 and appeared as though Warne would have to wait until the second Test in Wellington before relieving himself of the crushing national expectation of eclipsing Lillee's record.

But he was thrown the ball by skipper Steve Waugh with victory a formality and with his third delivery of his 21st over he dismissed Wiseman, who went to sweep only to top edge a floating catch to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.

"As soon as I saw him sweep, and it hit somewhere and went up, I was appealing," said Warne.

The Australians had two reasons to celebrate as they rushed to smother the ebullient Warne. Australia had won their eighth consecutive Test equalling the Australian record of Warwick Armstrong's 1920 team and Warne had supplanted the legendary Lillee as Australian cricket's foremost wicket-taker.

"It was really a great Test match to be part of but I probably tried too hard to get the record as much as I said 'just relax, bowl the way you have been bowling'," Warne said.

"It's a relief now that it's out of the way but it's a very proud moment. It was a fitting way to finish a Test match.

"There has been so many highlights and this Test match rates pretty highly, breaking the great man's record, and hopefully I'll share a beer with him soon.

"Someone will break my record down the track and I'll hopefully share a beer with them and watch it."

The world cricket's greatest spinner returned the indistinguished figures of 2-80 in New Zealand's second innings coupled with his 3-68 in the first innings.

Warne is now the ninth all-time highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, 78 wickets behind India's Kapil Dev and likely to overtake Pakistan's Imran Khan (362) and possibly West Indian Curtly Ambrose (369) in the two remaining Tests of this series.

Warne, arguably the greatest spinner ever in Test cricket, now has taken 356 wickets in 82 Tests at an average of 25.95 since his humbling debut when he went for 1-150 against India in the third Sydney Test of the 1991-92 series.

The nearest contemporary spinner closest to Warne in Test cricket is India's Anil Kumble, who has 276 wickets at 28.01 in 61 Tests.

Warne passed West Indian spinning great Lance Gibbs (309) some time ago.

Lillee was delighted that Warne had finally overtaken him as Australia's greatest wicket-taker. He released a statement through the West Australian Cricket Association in Perth which read: "I'm very honoured to have achieved the record in my time, but I'm just as pleased that a bowler and a bloke as great as Shane Warne has overtaken my record.

"It makes me smile that I took it from one of the greatest legspinners, Richie Benaud, and now possibly the greatest legspinner of them all has repeated the dose on me.

"Congratulations, Warney. Well done, keep it going, and I look forward to buying you a congratulatory ale soon."

Warne has fought back from career-threatening major shoulder surgery to continue his onslaught on the cricket record books and as the current vice-captain is next in line to take over from Steve Waugh when he steps down as Australian captain.

Warne is due to arrive in England next month to play a season in county cricket with Hampshire for a fee believed to be 165,000 pounds.