The Blonde Champion

Yes, you are looking at the right words, I did mean to say "Blonde Champion". As Shane Warne bids farewell to cricket, I would like to pay tribute to one of the finest cricketers ever to have played the game. Warne was truly a genius and much of it was in the mind. He revived the art of leg-spin bowling and I still remember the effect of it in late 90's when in India we had a lot of kids ambling a few steps over and trying to roll the arm the way the master did. Very few bowlers have the ability to consistently outthink the batsmen and he demonstrated that over and over again. That quality was the most potent weapon he had left in his repetiore after all the injuries to fingers and shoulder he sustained over the years. Although he was not as successful against the Indians but it was more to do the way they played him as he still bowled well.
Warne (alongwith Wasim and Sachin) will always remain one of my favorite cricketers. The sheer pleasure of watching him bowl those mesmerising spells where you never knew what to expect cannot be matched. Known as "hollywood" in his younger the days (more due to his off field histronics), Shane Warne was truly an entertainer. You got to know the difficulty of the art to admire the control he displayed. By opting to quit when still at the top of his game, he's made the tough but the right choice. He will not only be missed in the Australian dressing room but also by his millions of fans all over the world.