Come on SHANE!!!!!!!!

Few players enjoyed a closer view of a master bowler at work than Ian Healy, Australia's first-choice wicketkeeper until 1998-99 when Adam Gilchrist burst onto the scene. In this article, originally published in January 2000, Healy outlined the qualities that set Shane Warne apart from his peers. But, even he had no idea of the heights that Warne would go on to scale.

Down I'd go into my crouch early enough to watch Warnie's visible cues, but not long enough to get leg-lock. I'd position myself outside the off stump so that the batsman couldn't obscure my view easily, and I'd go through my cues. Every ball, my mind says: Watch the ball, move, stay down. There's Warne's slow walk in, the build-up of energy through the crease, and the release. The flipper would have been detected two strides earlier, and this is not it. Legspinner coming, last seen leaving the hand, but how much will it turn? Looks like he's just rolled it out rather than ripping it, but it's heading straight for the big hole outside leg stump. Stay down and move late, I keep telling my legs. This could do anything off the pitch, and by then it will be behind the batsman. Must ignore the batsman as he will only further distract me as I strive to isolate the ball. It should slide down leg, but will it? That's the dilemma, and I must wait and watch before deciding to move low and strong. Gloves low and relaxed enough to give with the ball, and in it goes cleanly. Pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath or two and settle in for your second delivery of a captivating 30-over spell. How great it was to witness the hustling, bustling blond ball of body language, systematically glueing batsmen's feet to the crease, as they realised that what they had in mind for that innings simply wasn't going to work. Last-day survival plans became impossible, by even the world's best players, when Warnie spun his magic. On-field genius aside, he has the team's fortunes at heart, which further inspires peers of all experience levels. I was lucky enough to have the best seat in the house as the man who recently became Australia's greatest wicket-taker dismantled opposition batting line-ups and changed the face of world cricket. Shane Warne is not just Australia's most successful bowler, but the most successful spin bowler in Test history.