Shane Warne took 40 wickets at an average of 19.92 during the epic Ashes series in England in 2005 that revived Test cricket’s popularity, especially in England which won. The late Warne might have ended the series as the highest wicket taker and played his part in making that one of the great series of all time, but his captain Ricky Ponting recalls the turbulent times at the start of the series.
Warne’s marriage problems was the talk of the town, with tabloids splashing photos and gossip across their pages. By the time the series ended, Warne would talk about it in the Australian media. “It’s not an easy situation to be in. It’s something I haven’t experienced before in my life,” Warne said. “I tried to concentrate as hard as I could when I was at the cricket ground but away from that there were some tough times. There were nights when you would sit in your hotel room and think about all the different things.”
Ponting recalled a breakfast before the first Test of that series when he met up with Warne to discuss the issues.
“I was worried. Photos had come out in the papers about his private life and I know for a fact his marriage was pretty much over. I rang him and said, ‘I need to have breakfast with you and chat about some stuff.’ I went down and started some spiel … ‘How you going to be? Are you all right to play?’ And he cut me off and said, ‘What are you talking about? Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll sort that stuff out. When it’s time to go and play, I’ll go play.’ And he did. He took 40 wickets. He was born to be on the big stage. That summed up what he was like as a competitor,” Ponting told The Times now, 20 years later. Warne died, aged 52 in 2022.
Back then, after that series, Warne would ask for privacy. “Hopefully, you guys [reporters] will respect that and leave us alone, not following us and camping outside our house but I doubt it,” he said. “I doubt whether you guys will, so that will probably make it harder.” Warne said lurid stories about him in the British tabloids were lies, rubbish and fabrication. “I’m not going to sit and defend myself every time some silly person makes up lies and talks rubbish,” he said. “What am I supposed to do, call a press conference? You’ve got to live your life. The public are not dumb, the public understand what is absolute lies and rubbish when it happens. They know exactly what the truth is.”
