Warne brings up 500 in style!

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne has completed a glorious comeback to international cricket , becoming the second bowler & first Australian to reach 500 test wickets , and completing a ten wicket haul as Australia overcame Sri Lanka by 197 runs in the epic first test at Galle.

Starting the day on 496 test wickets , equal with rival spinner Muttiah Muralitharan , Warne promptly added to his tally , dismissing Marvan Atapattu , Mahela Jayawardene & Tillekeratne Dilshan in the space of 3 overs to move to 499.

The 34 year old tweaker was brought back into the attack shortly after lunch & promptly became the second bowler after West Indian seamer Courtney Walsh , to reach the 500 wicket landmark.
Having Sri Lankan captain Hashan Tillekeratne caught by debutant Andrew Symonds to pass the milestone.

Warne finished the innings with 5-43 , giving him a match haul of 10-159 , a remarkable feat considering he played his last test match against England at Adelaide in late 2002 & has played just 6 days of competitive cricket since his comeback from a 12 month drug-ban.

Warne (501) now leads Muralitharan (496) by 5 wickets in the race for Walsh’s world record haul of 519 , with both bowlers rating extremely remote chances of breaking the record during the current series.


Posted by DavidH