Hyderabad: He would stand still at his run-up, stare at the batsman, trudge while taking cautious steps, gather pace with his arms waving on either side and with a slow hop unleash a fearsome set of skills possessed by none in the cricketing world.
Bowling Shane! The buoyed wicket-keeper from behind the stumps would applaud witnessing the sharp turn the strip offered.
That was Shane Warne for you, not only inspiring a whole generation of cricketers but adding a cool quotient that derided spinners often with a messy, spiky hairdo, and sometimes getting caught drinking beer during a cricket match.
Warne passed away on Friday in Thailand of a suspected heart attack, aged 52. Next followed the tributes on social media. "Shocked, stunned and miserable," said India great Sachin Tendulkar while Brian Lara went "speechless".
From failing drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa after which he was sent back to Australia to dismissing a record 708 batters in 145 Test matches, second only to Muttiah Muralitharan, the cricket mastero has a list of unending achievements.
Making his debut against India in 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, it wasn't an ideal start for the legendary spinner as he was dropped from the next game after registering ordinary match figures of 1 for 150.
He rose to fame in the Manchester Ashes Test in 1993 where he would deliver what would be called the ball of the century to Mike Gatting. A delivery that would be remembered by generations.
The next year his career would register an upward graph. Warne would go on to dismiss eight English batsmen, conceding only 71 runs in an innings apart from bagging most wickets in Ashes than any other cricketer in the history of the game.
The leg spinner was rewarded for his accomplishments in a career spanning close to 15 years from 1992 until 2007. He was elected as Wisden's Five Five Cricketers of the Century.
With his career peaking, Warne would help his team win the 1999 World Cup against Pakistan where he was adjudged player of the match after he returned with figures of 4 for 33.
Apart from winning the first Indian Premier League Trophy for Rajasthan Royals, the magician's swung his wand against England where he returned with 40 wickets and was awarded Player of the Series in 2005.
However, Warne's career would also witness major upheaval in between, marred by controversies. He was fined by Cricket Australia for accepting money along with his teammate Mark Waugh in 1994 when Australia was touring Sri Lanka.
In 2000, Warne was removed as Australia's vice-captain after his controversial text messages to a British woman. He was married at that time with two children. Warne later admitted to having been involved in a "dirty chat" with the woman.
Warne and his wife Simone Callahan had three children between them before they got divorced in 2005. Reports surfaced in 2007 of Callahan patching up with Warnie but the spinner mistakenly sent a text message meant for someone else resulting in Callahan returning to England.
With all his faults, Warne had the innate ability to reinvigorate the cricket field like no other. And the cricketing fraternity would never be the same without Warnie, a charmer who everyone loved. Like Tendulkar in his tweet said: there was never a dull moment with Warne.
