Shane Warne

Personal information
Full name	Shane Keith Warne
Born	(1969-09-13) 13 September 1969 (age 42) Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia
Nickname	Warnie, King of Spin, Sheik of Tweak
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Batting style	Right-handed, Lower order
Bowling style	Right-arm leg break
Role	Leg spin bowler
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 350)	2 January 1992 v India
Last Test	2 January 2007 v England
ODI debut (cap 110)	24 March 1993 v New Zealand
Last ODI	10 January 2005 World XI v Asia XI
ODI shirt no.	23
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1990/91–2006/07	Victoria (squad no. 23)
2000–2007	Hampshire (squad no. 23)
2008–2011	Rajasthan Royals (squad no. 23)
2011/12–	Melbourne Stars (squad no. 23)
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODIs	FC	LA
Matches	145	194	301	311
Runs scored	3,154	1,018	6,919	1,879
Batting average	17.32	13.05	19.43	11.81
100s/50s	0/12	0/1	2/26	0/1
Top score	99	55	107*	55
Balls bowled	40,704	10,642	74,830	16,419
Wickets	708	293	1,319	473
Bowling average	25.41	25.73	26.11	24.61
5 wickets in innings	37	1	69	3
10 wickets in match	10	n/a	12	n/a
Best bowling	8/71	5/33	8/71	6/42
Catches/stumpings	125/–	80/–	264/–	126/–
Source: cricketarchive.com, 29 March 2008

Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969) is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game.^[1] In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet and the only one still playing at the time. He is also a cricket commentator and a professional poker player.

Warne played his first Test match in 1992, and his 708 wickets was the record for the most wickets taken by any bowler in Test cricket, until it was broken by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan on 3 December 2007. He took over 1000 international wickets (in Tests and One-Day Internationals)—he was the second bowler to reach this milestone after Muttiah Muralitharan.^[2] A useful lower-order batsman, Warne also scored over 3000 Test runs, and he holds the record for most Test runs without a century. His career was plagued by scandals off the field; these included a ban from cricket for testing positive for a prohibited substance, charges of bringing the game into disrepute by accepting money from bookmakers, and sexual indiscretions.

As well as Australia, he also played Australian domestic cricket for his home state of Victoria, and English domestic cricket for Hampshire. He was captain of Hampshire for three seasons, from 2005 to 2007.

He retired from international cricket in January 2007, at the end of Australia's 5–0 Ashes series victory over England. Three other players integral to the Australian team at the time, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn and Justin Langer, also retired from Tests at the same time which led some, including the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, to declare it the "end of an era".^[3]

Following his retirement from international cricket, Warne played a full season at Hampshire in 2007. He had been scheduled to appear in the 2008 English cricket season, but in late March 2008 he announced his retirement from playing first-class cricket in order to be able to spend more time pursuing interests outside of cricket.^[4] In March 2008, Warne signed to play in the Indian Premier League for the Jaipur team, Rajasthan Royals in the first edition of the tournament, where he played the roles of both captain and coach. He led his team to victory against the Chennai Super Kings in a cliffhanger of a final match on 1 June 2008.

Youth and early cricket career[link]

Warne's first representative honours came when in 1983/84 season he represented University of Melbourne Cricket Club in the then Victorian Cricket Association under 16 Dowling Shield competition. He bowled a mixture of leg-spin and off-spin and was also a handy lower order batsman. The following season he joined the St Kilda Cricket Club near his home town of Black Rock. He started in the lower elevens and over a number of seasons progressed to the first eleven. He was later chosen to train at the AIS Australian Cricket Academy in 1990 in Adelaide.^[5]

Warne joined English team Accrington Cricket Club in 1991. He enjoyed a good season with the ball, taking 73 wickets at 15.4 each, but scored only 330 runs at an average of 15.0. The committee at Accrington Cricket Club decided not to re-engage him for the 1992 Lancashire League season as he was seen not to be good enough.^{[citation needed]}

Warne made his first-class cricket debut on 15 February 1991, taking 0/61 and 1/41 for Victoria against Western Australia at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. He was then selected for the Australia B team which toured Zimbabwe in September 1991. His best performance was 7/52 in a four-day match. Upon returning to Australia, Warne took 3/14 and 4/42 for Australia A against India in December 1991. The incumbent spinner in the Australian Test Team, Peter Taylor, had taken only one wicket in the first two tests, so Warne was brought into the team for the Third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground a week later.

International career[link]

Early international career (1992–1993)[link]

Warne had an undistinguished Test debut when called into the Australian team in January 1992 for a Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He took 1/150 (Ravi Shastri caught by Dean Jones for 206) off 45 overs. He took 0/78 in the fourth Test in Adelaide, recording overall figures of 1/228 for the series, and was dropped for the fifth Test on the pace-friendly WACA Ground in Perth. His poor form continued in the first innings against Sri Lanka at Colombo, in which he recorded 0/107. However, a spell of 3/11 in the second innings precipitated the hosts' second innings collapse and contributed to a remarkable Australian win.

However, Warne's performances in the last two Tests in Sri Lanka were not to the satisfaction of the selectors, and he was dropped for the First Test against the West Indies in the 1992–93 Australian season. Greg Matthews played in Warne's place and despite Australia being in a strong position on the final day, was unable to dismiss the tourists on a turning surface. Warne was thus recalled for the Second Test in Melbourne, where he took 7/52 in a match-winning performance in the second innings.

Path to 300 Test wickets (1993–1999)[link]

In 1993, Warne was selected for Australia's Ashes tour of England. He was the leading wicket taker for the six-Test series, with 34.^[6] His first ball of the series was written into the history books as the "Ball of the Century", bowling the experienced English batsman Mike Gatting with a ball that turned from well outside leg stump to clip the off bail.^[7] He took 71 Test wickets in 1993, then a record for a spin bowler in a calendar year.^[8] New Zealand batsmen contributed significantly to his tally. He took 17 wickets in Australia's tour of New Zealand early in the year, tying Danny Morrison as the top wicket-taker for the series with 17. When New Zealand toured Australia for three Tests in November and December, Warne took 18 more and was named player of the series.^[9][10][11]

Warne featured in South Africa's tour of Australia in 1993–94 and Australia's return tour in March 1994. In the second Test of South Africa's tour, held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Warne took ten wickets in a Test for the first time in his career. His 7/56 in the first innings and 5/72 in the second was not enough to secure victory for Australia; Warne was part of an Australian batting collapse on the final day of the Test that handed South Africa the win.^[12]

Australia sought to retain The Ashes when England toured for a five Test series in 1994–95. Warne took a career-best 8/71 in the second innings of the first Test at The Gabba,^[13] before going on to take 27 wickets in the five-Test series.^[14] In the Second Test at Warne's home ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he took his first and only Test hat-trick, dismissing tail-enders Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm in successive balls. It was the first hat-trick by an Australian bowler in a Test against England since Hugh Trumble's at the same ground in 1904.^[15] However it was with the bat that Warne ultimately secured The Ashes for Australia. In the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he and fellow tail-ender Tim May survived the final 19 overs on the fifth day in fading light to secure a draw and a 2–0 series lead that meant Australia would retain The Ashes regardless of the result of the fourth and fifth Tests.^[16] Later in 1995, he toured the West Indies, taking 15 wickets over four Tests as Australia defeated the West Indies in a Test series for the first time in almost 20 years.^[17]

In the summer of 1995–96, Australia played home series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He took 11 wickets in the first Test against Pakistan but broke his toe in the second. Selectors included him in the squad for the third Test just days later to give him the chance to prove his fitness; he did so by taking four wickets in Pakistan's first innings and another four in their second to be named the player of the series.^[18][19]

Warne was to be a key member of Australia's squad for the 1996 World Cup, held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Australia qualified for the final, with Warne having taken 12 wickets, including a man-of-the-match 4/36 in the semi-final against the West Indies.^[20] Ahead of the final against Sri Lanka, Australian captain Mark Taylor publicly declared that Warne was not "vital" to his team, emphasising that Warne alone could not win the World Cup.^[21] Warne conceded 58 runs for no wickets in the final; Australia lost the match to first-time champions Sri Lanka.^[22]

The West Indies toured Australia for a five-Test series in the summer of 1996–97. Warne took 22 wickets in the series, and a further 11 in Australia's three-Test tour of South Africa early in 1997.^[23] In the northern summer, Warne returned to England with the Australian team to attempt to retain The Ashes. After struggling for form early in the tour, Warne took 24 wickets at an average of 24.04 as Australia won the six-Test series 3–2.^[24][25]

The following Australian summer (1997–98) saw a continued flow of wickets for Warne. He picked up 19 in New Zealand's three-Test series in Australia, before taking 20 wickets in three Tests against South Africa.^[23] In the second of those three, he took five wickets in the first innings and six in the second, while becoming the second Australian after Dennis Lillee to take 300 Test wickets.^[26][27] At the beginning of the summer, the Australian media had criticised Warne for his weight; now, The Australian wrote that he was one of Australia's three most "influential" cricketers (with Donald Bradman and Dennis Lillee).^[28] Journalist and former English cricketer Derek Pringle observed as Warne passed the 300 Test wicket mark at the age of 28: "we are in the presence of true greatness and not some pretender to the great figures in the game's history."^[29]

Later in 1998, Warne was a member of Australia's touring squad of India. Finding Indian food not to his liking, he had spaghetti and baked beans flown in from Australia. With Australia's two top pace bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie missing the tour due to injury, Warne shouldered more of the bowling burden. He took 10 wickets, but conceding 54 runs each, going for 0/147 in India's only innings of the second and series-winning Test in Calcutta. Australia lost the series, breaking a run of nine Test series victories.^[30][31]

Warne did not play international cricket again until the fifth Test of the Ashes series in Australia in January 1999, suffering a shoulder injury. He missed Australia's tour of Pakistan and the first four Ashes Tests.^[32] At the time, he was also at the centre of the John the bookmaker controversy. In early December 1998, the Australian Cricket Board revealed that three years earlier it had fined Warne and Mark Waugh for accepting money from a bookmaker for giving information about pitch and weather conditions.^[33] Warne's extended absence from the Australian team gave his understudy Stuart MacGill the opportunity to play in his place. MacGill responded by taking 15 wickets in three Tests against Pakistan—the most for any bowler in the series—and another series-high 27 wickets against England. Warne and MacGill bowled in tandem upon Warne's return to the team for the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where MacGill took 12 wickets and Warne two.^[34]

Vice-captaincy of Australia (1999–2000)[link]

The Ashes series was the last for Australian captain Mark Taylor, who retired. Steve Waugh was appointed as Taylor's replacement, while Warne was promoted to the position of vice-captain.^[35] However, he was dropped from the Test team during Australia's tour of the West Indies in early 1999. Warne took just two wickets in the first three Tests of the series, leading to calls from the Australian media for his removal from the team.^[36] He was replaced for the final Test by off-spinner Colin Miller. Miller and MacGill took eight wickets between them as Australia won the Test to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy.^[37] Warne's form recovered in the ODI series against the West Indies, and he was selected to play in the 1999 World Cup in the United Kingdom.^[38] Just before the start of the World Cup, he was given a fine and a two-match suspended ban by the International Cricket Council for telling a newspaper about Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga that: "There is plenty of animosity between Arjuna and myself. I don't like him and I'm not in a club of one".^[39]

Australia were seeking to win their first World Cup since 1987. Warne took 12 wickets in the preliminary phases of the tournament as Australia qualified for a semi-final against South Africa. While the match became notable for the dramatic fashion in which Australia won, Warne was the man of the match, dismissing four key South African batsmen: Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje and Jacques Kallis.^[40] Australia faced Pakistan in the tournament's Final. Pakistan batted first, and were all out for only 132; Warne took 4/33. Australia chased down the target comfortably to win the World Cup. Warne was the tournament's joint top wicket-taker with Geoff Allott and was named the man of the match in the Final.^[41]

After his World Cup performances, Warne was retained as Australia's vice-captain for the tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe later in 1999.^[37] The following Australian summer, he played in all Tests of the series against Pakistan and India. He reached his highest score with the bat in the first Test against Pakistan in Brisbane, with 86, before matching that score in the first Test against India in Adelaide the following month.^[42] Warne's performances in the Brisbane Test were overshadowed by the Joe the Cameraman controversy, in which a jibe about the abilities of Australian bowler Scott Muller was picked up by an on-field microphone during the match. Channel Nine cameraman subsequently confessed to making the "can't bowl, can't throw" remark that many had believed was made by Warne.^[43] Warne took 18 wickets over the six summer Tests and Australia won both series 3–0.^[23] He then took another 15 wickets in Australia's 3–0 sweep of New Zealand in March 2000.^[44] In the first Test of the series at Eden Park, he surpassed Dennis Lillee (with 355 wickets) as Australia's leading ever wicket-taker.^[45]

Warne joined English county side Hampshire in 2000 and played for them during the year's English summer. Reports emerged that during the county season he had repeatedly sent lewd SMS messages to an English nurse. In August 2000, the Australian Cricket Board removed him as Australia's vice-captain, citing his history of indiscretions off the field. The Board's decision was contrary to the wishes of the team's selectors, including captain Steve Waugh. Warne was replaced as vice-captain by Adam Gilchrist.^[46]

Wickets and injuries (2001–2003)[link]

Warne missed the entire Australian summer of 2000–01 with a finger injury, and found himself battling Stuart MacGill and an in-form Colin Miller to be selected for Australia's tour of India in early 2001.^[47] MacGill was ultimately the spinner left out. Warne took 10 wickets over the three-Test series at an average of 50.50. His Indian spin counterpart Harbhajan Singh was the man of the series with 32 wickets at an average of 17.03.^[48] Australia lost the series 2–1.^[49] In the northern summer of 2001, Warne made his third Ashes tour and took 31 wickets in the five-Test series, which Australia won 4–1.^[50] He took three five-wicket hauls in the series.^[51] In the final Test at The Oval he took 11 wickets across both innings, including the 400th wicket of his Test career (Alec Stewart). He became the sixth person and the first Australian in the history of cricket to reach the milestone.^[52]

In the 2001–02 Australian summer, Australia played home series against New Zealand and against South Africa. Warne took six wickets in three Tests against New Zealand, and in the third Test in Perth made his highest career score with the bat in international cricket. He was caught at mid-wicket off the bowling of Daniel Vettori while on 99 runs, one run short of a maiden Test century.^[53] He took 17 wickets in the three Tests against South Africa—more than any other player—including a five-wicket haul (5/113) in the first innings of the first Test.^[54][55] Warne was again the leading wicket-taker when Australia played a three-Test series in South Africa in February and March 2002, with 20 dismissals.^[56] In February 2002, Ricky Ponting replaced Steve Waugh as captain of Australia's ODI squad. The elevation of Ponting—five years younger than Warne—appeared to extinguish any prospect of Warne ever being appointed to captain Australia.^[57]

Australia played a three-Test series against Pakistan in October 2002, held in neutral Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. Warne, who had lost weight over the previous months, took 27 wickets, was named the player of the series, and was man of the match in the first Test (with 11 wickets) and the third Test (with eight wickets).^{[58][59][60][61]} He returned to Australia for the Ashes series against England, starting in November 2002. He scored a half-century (57) with the bat in the first Test, before taking 11 wickets in the first three Tests of the series. However, in an ODI in December 2002, he suffered a shoulder injury.^[62] The injury not only ruled him out of the remainder of the Ashes series, but put him in doubt for the World Cup, due to commence in February 2003.^[63]

Ban from cricket (2003)[link]

In February 2003, a day befre the start of the World Cup, Warne was sent home after a drug test during a one-day series in Australia returned a positive result for a banned diuretic.^[64] Warne claimed that he took only one of what he called a "fluid tablet" – the prescription drug Moduretic – given to him by his mother to improve his appearance.^[65] A committee established by the Australian Cricket Board found Warne guilty of breaching the Board's drug code, and imposed a one-year ban from organised cricket.^[66]

At the time, Warne took the view that the ban imposed would lengthen his Test playing career.^[67] That Warne was allowed to play in charity matches while serving his one year ban was criticised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)^[68] although WADA, in turn, was criticised by Warne for interfering in the matter.^[69]

During his suspension, Warne was hired by the Nine Network, Australia's main free-to-air cricket broadcaster, as a commentator.^[70] During the winter of 2003, he worked for the St Kilda Australian rules football club in an unpaid consultancy role, after the Australian Football League disallowed him from holding an official club position because of his drugs ban.^[71] He also received invitations to play in various celebrity "park cricket" teams, and the newly renamed Cricket Australia reversed its decision on whether Warne, as a contracted player, should be allowed to play in such matches. He also became a TV commentator for Channel 9.^[72]

Return to cricket (2004–2006)[link]

This section requires expansion with: examples and descriptions covering the period 2005–2006.

Warne returned to competitive cricket following his ban in February 2004.^[73] In March, in the first Test of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle, he became the second cricketer after Courtney Walsh to take 500 Test wickets.^[74] Warne took five wickets in each innings of the first and second Tests; a further six wickets in the third Test saw him named the player of the series.^[75] He broke the record for most career wickets in Test cricket on 15 October 2004 during the second Test of Australia's series against India at Chennai. His dismissal of Irfan Pathan, caught at slip by Matthew Hayden, saw him overtake his Sri Lankan rival, Muttiah Muralitharan, with 533 wickets. Muralitharan, who was injured at the time, had taken the record himself from Courtney Walsh five months earlier.^[76][77] Australia won the series 2–1; it was Australia's first series win in India since 1969. Warne's 14 wickets at an average of 30.07 was a marked improvement on his previous performances in India, when in six Tests he had taken 20 wickets at an average of 52 runs each.^[78][79]

On 11 August 2005 at Old Trafford, in the Third Ashes Test, he became the first bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets. In 2005, Warne also broke the record for the number of wickets in a calendar year, with 96 wickets. His ferocious competitiveness was a feature of the 2005 Ashes series, when he took 40 wickets at an average of 19.92 and scored 249 runs.

International retirement (2006–2007)[link]

Warne (right) bowling to Ian Bell at Brisbane Cricket Ground in 2006.

Warne began his 2006/07 Ashes campaign with an indifferent Test in Brisbane and a poor first innings showing in Adelaide. However, his second innings heroics, including bowling Kevin Pietersen around the legs, triggered England's fifth-day collapse and Australia's historic victory. Warne again bowled well in the second innings in the third Test, and took the final wicket of Monty Panesar as Australia regained the Ashes.

On 21 December 2006 Warne announced his retirement, which came into effect after the fifth Ashes Test match at the SCG. He became the first cricketer to reach the 700-wicket milestone in his second last Test, on Boxing Day 2006. Warne said that it was his intention to "go out on top", adding that he might have retired after the 2005 Ashes series, had Australia won. Warne achieved his 700th test wicket at 3.18 pm on 26 December 2006^[80] (AEST) by bowling English batsman Andrew Strauss out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in what was almost certainly his final appearance at the ground. This was the first occasion that a player had taken 700 career wickets. The wicket was described as a "classic Warne dismissal" to which the crowd of 89,155 gave a standing ovation.^[81]

Warne's final Test was held at the same venue has his first, 15 years earlier: the Sydney Cricket Ground. Warne ended England's first innings by trapping Monty Panesar lbw for a duck and his 1000th total international wicket. His final Test wicket was the wicket of English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, stumped by Adam Gilchrist near the end of Day 3.^[82]

In 2007, Cricket Australia and Sri Lanka Cricket decided to name the Australia- Sri Lanka Test cricket series, Warne-Muralidaran Trophy in honour of Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan^[83]

Twenty20 career (2008–present)[link]

Warne bowling at Lord's for the Rajasthan Royals in a Twenty20 match against Middlesex in 2009

After his retirement from international cricket, Warne was signed as the captain for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League 2008, fetching US$450,000 in the pre-season player auction.^[84] He led the Royals to victory in the first season of the competition.^[85] He continued as captain of the Royals for a further four seasons, the 2011 season being his last with the franchise.^[86][87]

Warne was signed as a player for the Melbourne Stars in Australia's inaugural Big Bash League in November 2011. The Stars qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament, and Warne took seven wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 6.74 runs conceded per over.^[88]

Playing style and influence[link]

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After an inauspicious start to his Test career, Warne revolutionised cricket thinking with his mastery of leg spin, which many cricket followers had come to regard as a dying art due to its immense difficulty of execution. For all his on-pitch and off-pitch controversies, Warne's place in cricketing posterity has been assured by the fact that he has overturned the domination of cricket by fast bowling that had prevailed for two decades before his debut. Despite the presence of high quality spin bowlers such as the Indian spin quartet of the 1970s or Abdul Qadir on the Test scene, Australia's fast bowlers Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson had dominated cricket in the early 1970s. Furthermore, from 1976 until the early 1990s, the West Indies had lost only one (ill-tempered and controversial) Test series with a bowling attack almost exclusively comprising fast bowlers. In the early 1990s, with the West Indies on the wane, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram of Pakistan were assuming the mantle of the world's most feared bowling combination. It was in that context that Warne's tormenting of batsmen became so significant rather than his actual statistics. His humiliation of Mike Gatting and subsequent dominance, in particular, of English and South African batsmen, provided a welcome sight for cricket watchers weary of the relentless intimidation by West Indian bowlers of the 1980s and 1990s. His treatment of South African batsman Daryl Cullinan was such that Cullinan was said to have sought the help of a therapist to overcome Warne's psychological hold.^[89]

Warne combined the ability to turn the ball prodigiously, even on unhelpful pitches, with unerring accuracy and a variation of deliveries (notable among these being the flipper) In the latter stages of his career, variation was less evident, despite regular press conferences announcing a "new" delivery for each series he participated in. Gideon Haigh, the Australian journalist, said of Warne upon his retirement: "It was said of Augustus that he found Rome brick and left it marble: the same is true of Warne and spin bowling."^[90]

Many of his most spectacular performances have occurred in Ashes series against England In particular, the famous "Gatting Ball", otherwise known as the "Ball of the Century" which spun sharply and bowled a bemused Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series. Conversely, he has struggled against India, particularly against Sachin Tendulkar: his bowling average against India is 47.18 runs per wicket, compared with his overall average of less than 26.^[92] In fairness to Warne, other foreign spinners have also struggled against India in recent years; Warne's contemporary off-spinner rival, Muttiah Muralitharan, for instance, has a much higher bowling average (39.58 as at 2009) in Tests played in India than his overall Test figures.^[93]

As well as his Test career Warne has been highly effective bowling in one-day cricket, something few other leg spin bowlers have managed. He also captained Australia on several occasions in One Day Internationals, winning ten matches and losing only one. Warne was instrumental in helping Australia win the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. His performances in the semifinal against South Africa and in the final against Pakistan helped him get Man of the Match Awards. Warne had intended to retire from ODI cricket at the end of the 2003 World Cup: as it transpired, his last game for Australia was in January 2003. However, he did appear for the ICC World XI for the Tsunami benefit match in 2005.

Warne is also noted for his exuberant (and sometimes effective) lower-order batting, once famously being dismissed for 99 with a reckless shot on what was later shown to be a no ball. In fact, of all Test cricketers Warne has scored the most Test runs without having scored a century, with two scores in the nineties being his best efforts (99 and 91). Warne is also third overall in the most international test ducks. Of players who have batted in more than 175 Test innings, his proportion of dismissals by being out bowled is the lowest, at under seven percent.^[94] In 2006 Warne and Glenn McGrath reportedly lost a bet of which bowler would be the first to get a Test century with fellow Australian bowler Jason Gillespie after Gillespie scored a record double-century as a nightwatchman against Bangladesh.

Warne has also been a successful slip fielder, and is currently seventh in the list of most catches as a fielder in test cricket.

Outside cricket[link]

Warne at a media engagement in 2011

Media[link]

On 13 July 2005, Australia's Nine Network announced it would not renew Warne's commentating contract, worth around A$300,000 annually.^[95] Warne had previously been seen as a future member of the Nine cricket commentary team, and had done commentary work during his one-year ban from cricket in 2003. He later rejoined Nine in 2008, and was signed by Sky Sports in 2009.^[96]

Warne took over from Ally McCoist as a team captain on the BBC television sports quiz A Question of Sport in September 2007.

In 2010, the Nine Network commissioned a chat show hosted by Warne, entitled Warnie. The program debuted on 24 November 2010, with Warne interviewing James Packer.^[97] Celebrities interviewed on the programme included then captain of the Australian cricket team Ricky Ponting, and the singers Chris Martin and Susan Boyle.^[98][99] The program experienced spiralling audience figures and was axed before its final scheduled episode, although the network denied that it had been cancelled due to poor ratings.^[100]

Endorsements[link]

In 2005, Shane Warne signed a lucrative multi-year sponsorship deal^[101][102] with Messages On Hold. The irony of Warne promoting On Hold phone messages after weathering the ignominy of several SMS/text messaging scandals was not lost on the spin bowler.^[103] Several media sources, and even Messages On Hold’s own promotional materials quote him as saying, “Trust me with this recommendation—I know a thing or two about spin."^[104]

Warne also does promotional work for hair-loss-recovery company Advanced Hair. This matter was investigated by the British Advertising Standards Authority in relation to an illegal celebrity endorsement of medical services.^[105] In response to the investigation Warne stated "There's only one thing that worries me, and that's hair loss."^{[citation needed]} He also does an ad with commentator Mark Sheridan, which is also pending investigation. They both wear brown in this ad as a protest to the British Advertising Standards Authority.

Warne has also endorsed the Codemaster video games Shane Warne Cricket and Shane Warne Cricket '99. Outside Australia these were known as Brian Lara Cricket and Brian Lara Cricket '99.

For the 2007/08 Australian cricket series, Warne took over as Victoria Bitter spokesperson from David Boon in the Boonanza promotion.^[106] Warne had a talking figurine as part of the promotion, which continued from the "Talking Boony" doll.^[107]

In January 2008, Warne signed a two year agreement with 888 Poker (owned by 888 Holdings PLC, a public listed company in London) to represent them at poker events around the world including the Aussie Millions, World Series of Poker and the 888 UK Poker Open.

Personal life[link]

Warne was born in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria to parents Keith and Bridgette, and grew up in Black Rock, Victoria. He went to Oakleigh South Primary School for one year. He attended Mentone Grammar School on a sporting scholarship and was the school's captain of cricket. He has three children — Brooke, Summer and Jackson — with his ex-wife Simone Callahan.

Since retirement, Warne has been doing "work for the Shane Warne Foundation... [which] assists seriously ill and underprivileged children."^[108] Since launching in 2004, the charity has distributed £400,000; Warne is organising a poker tournament and a breakfast and "by the end of our summer, we hope to have raised £1.5million."^[108]

Marital infidelities[link]

Warne's private life has been beset by scandals and subjected to scrutiny by British tabloid newspapers. He came under criticism for text messaging a woman while on tour in South Africa, accused of sending lewd and harassing messages. However, the woman who made the claims was subsequently charged with extortion in her own country.^[109]

In 2000, he was stripped of the Australian vice-captaincy after bombarding a British nurse with erotic text messages. He was also involved in an altercation with some teenage boys who took a photo of him smoking; Warne had accepted a sponsorship of a nicotine patch company in return for quitting smoking.^[110]

Further allegations of Warne having extramarital affairs broke in 2005 as Australia began its tour of England in preparation for The Ashes. On 25 June 2005, Warne and his wife Simone Callahan announced that they had decided to separate.

On 7 May 2006, the News of the World tabloid newspaper published pictures of Warne standing in his underwear with a pair of 25-year-old models, as well as explicit text messages allegedly from Warne.^[111]

On 1 April 2007, Warne and his wife were reported to be getting back together.^[112] However, in September 2007, Simone returned to Australia from England after her husband had accidentally sent a text message meant for another woman to her phone.^[113][114]

Warne's history of high-profile marital infidelities inspired Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Bloody Wilson's 2003 music video entitled "The Shane Warne Song" as well as lines in Tim Minchin's "Some People Have It Worse Than Me" and "The JLA Song".

Relationships post divorce[link]

On 12 December 2010, following press reports and footage of him and English actress Elizabeth Hurley kissing, Warne announced via his Twitter account that he and Simone had separated a couple of months ago, but only his close friends and family had been informed of this,.^{[115][116][117]} Although the relationship with Hurley at first seemed short-lived following the disclosure of Warne texting salacious messages to a married Melbourne businesswoman^[118][119] the couple created a media frenzy when Hurley later moved in to Warne's Brighton mansion for a short period.^[120] On 30 September 2011, it was reported that Hurley and Warne were engaged and she was spotted wearing a large sapphire ring,^[121] with their engagement confirmed via Twitter shortly thereafter.^[122]

Test wicket milestones[link]

Milestone	Batsman	Country	Method	Venue	Year
1 (First)	Ravi Shastri	India	Caught DM Jones	Sydney	1991/92
50	Nasser Hussain	England	Caught DC Boon	Nottingham	1993
100	Brian McMillan	South Africa	LBW	Adelaide	1993/94
150	Alec Stewart	England	Caught and Bowled	Melbourne	1994/95
200	Chaminda Vaas	Sri Lanka	Caught IA Healy	Perth	1995/96
250	Alec Stewart	England	Bowled	Manchester	1997
300	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	Bowled	Sydney	1997/98
350	Hrishikesh Kanitkar	India	LBW	Melbourne	1999/2000
400	Alec Stewart	England	Caught AC Gilchrist	The Oval	2001
450	Ashwell Prince	South Africa	Caught ME Waugh	Durban	2002
500	Hashan Tillakaratne	Sri Lanka	Caught A Symonds	Galle	2004
550	James Franklin	New Zealand	LBW	Adelaide	2004/05
600	Marcus Trescothick	England	Caught AC Gilchrist	Manchester	2005
650	Ashwell Prince	South Africa	LBW	Perth	2005/06
700	Andrew Strauss	England	Bowled	Melbourne	2006/07
708 (Last)	Andrew Flintoff	England	Stumped AC Gilchrist	Sydney	2006/07

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Warne, Shane (2006). My Illustrated Career. Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 1-84403-543-3. 
• Shane Warne's Century – My Top 100 Cricketers by Shane Warne (Mainstream Publishing, 2008) ISBN

External links[link]

• Shane's Poker Blog
• Player profile: Shane Warne from ESPNcricinfo
• Cricinfo Stats Guru: List of Test wickets for Shane Warne
• Cricket Australia media release congratulating Warne on 500th wicket
• 10 photos of milestone wickets in Warne's career
• VB Warnie – Summer of Spin
• Shane's Official Blog
• Shane Warne on Twitter

Shane Warne in the Cricket World Cup v t e Australia squad – 1996 Cricket World Cup (runners-up) 1 Taylor (c) 2 Bevan 3 Fleming 4 Healy (wk) 5 Law 6 Lee 7 McDermott 8 McGrath 9 Ponting 10 Reiffel 11 Slater 12 Warne 13 M. Waugh 14 S. Waugh v t e Australia squad – 1999 Cricket World Cup (2nd title) 1 S. Waugh (c) 2 Bevan 3 Fleming 4 Reiffel 5 Warne 6 M. Waugh 7 Lee 8 Julian 9 Moody 10 Lehmann 11 McGrath 12 Gilchrist 13 Dale 14 Ponting 15 Martyn Coach: Marsh v t e Australia squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup (3rd title) 4 Gillespie 11 McGrath 12 Bevan 14 Ponting (c) 18 Gilchrist 25 Lehmann 28 Hayden 29 Harvey 30 Martyn 31 Hogg 34 Bichel 39 Symonds 43 Hauritz 46 Maher 58 Lee 59 Bracken Coach: Buchanan Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne and Shane Watson were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament

v t e Australia squad – Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century 1 Bill Ponsford 2 Arthur Morris 3 Don Bradman (c) 4 Greg Chappell 5 Neil Harvey 6 Keith Miller (vc) 7 Ian Healy (wk) 8 Ray Lindwall 9 Shane Warne 10 Dennis Lillee 11 Bill O'Reilly 12 Allan Border (12th)

Geoffrey Boycott

Personal information
Full name	Geoffrey Boycott
Born	(1940-10-21) 21 October 1940 (age 71) Fitzwilliam, Yorkshire, England
Nickname	Boycs, Geoff, Fiery, GLY (Greatest Living Yorkshireman), Sir Geoffrey,[1] Thatch.[2]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 422)	4 June 1964 v Australia
Last Test	1 January 1982 v India
ODI debut (cap 1)	5 January 1971 v Australia
Last ODI	20 December 1981 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1962–86	Yorkshire
1971–72	Northern Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	108	36	609	313
Runs scored	8114	1082	48426	10095
Batting average	47.72	36.06	56.83	39.12
100s/50s	22/42	1/9	151/238	8/74
Top score	246*	105	261*	146
Balls bowled	944	168	3685	1975
Wickets	7	5	45	30
Bowling average	54.57	21.00	32.42	40.26
5 wickets in innings	0	0	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	–	0	–
Best bowling	3/47	2/14	4/14	3/15
Catches/stumpings	33/–	5/–	264/–	99/–
Source: CricketArchive, 7 December 2008

Geoffrey Boycott OBE (born 21 October 1940) is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen.^[3] Since retiring as a player, Boycott has found further success as a cricket commentator.

Boycott made his international debut in a 1964 Test match against Australia.^[4][5] He was noted for his ability to occupy the crease and became a key feature of England's Test batting line up for many years, although he was less successful in his limited One Day International (ODI) appearances.^[6] He accumulated large scores – he is the fourth highest accumulator of first-class centuries in history, and the first English player to average over 100 in a season (1971 and 1979) – but often encountered friction with his team mates.^[4][7][8] Journalist Ian Wooldridge commented that "Boycott, in short, walks alone",^[9] while cricket writer John Arlott wrote that Boycott had a "lonely" career.^[10] Others, however, have stated that the extent of his introverted nature has been exaggerated, and that while he was "obsessed with success" he was not a selfish player.^[11]

After 108 Test match appearances for England, Boycott ended his international career in 1982 as the leading Test run scorer with over 8,000 Test match runs,^[12] earning an OBE for services to cricket.^[4][13] He was dropped from the Yorkshire team in 1986 as the leading run scorer in first-class cricket. While still a young player, he had been named as one of five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden, the Cricket Almanack, in 1965. He was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame in 2009.^[14]

After his playing career ended, Boycott became an often outspoken and controversial cricket commentator on both radio and television. In 1998, it was alleged that Boycott assaulted his former girlfriend Margaret Moore; he was given a suspended sentence and fined. In 2002, after being diagnosed with throat cancer, he underwent successful radiation treatment, and went into remission. He revived his commentating career in 2003, and continues to attract both criticism and praise. He is currently a member of BBC Radio 4's Test Match Special commentary team.^[3][13][15]

Early life[link]

Boycott was born in the mining village of Fitzwilliam, near Wakefield and Pontefract in Yorkshire.^[16] He was the eldest of three sons of Jane (née Speight) and Thomas Wilfred Boycott, a colliery worker from Shropshire.^[3] When Boycott was eight years old, he was impaled through his chest by the handle of an mangle after falling off an iron railing near his home. Boycott nearly died, and in the efforts to save his life, his spleen was removed.^[17] In March 1950,^[18] Boycott's father had a serious accident while working as a coalminer. His spine was severely damaged after he was hit by empty coal carts;^[19] Thomas Boycott never fully recovered, and died in 1967.^[20]

Boycott attended Fitzwilliam Primary School.^[18] There he won a Len Hutton batting award for scoring 45 runs and capturing six wickets for 10 runs in a school match.^[16] At age 10, he joined Ackworth Cricket Club, demonstrating "outstanding ability."^[8] At the age of 11 he failed the examinations that would have taken him to grammar school, and instead went to the local Kinsley Secondary Modern School.^[19] A year later, however, he passed his late-entry exams, and transferred to Hemsworth Grammar School. His cricket prowess was such that he captained the school's Cricket First XI at the age of 15. During winters he attended an indoor cricket school, where he was coached by former county professional Johnny Lawrence.^[16] While studying for his O-levels he began to have difficulties reading the blackboard and was initially devastated when told he would need glasses. At first, he played poorly at school, encumbered by the fragile spectacles, before a more robust pair was fashioned for him at the behest of his uncle, similar to those glasses worn by cricketer Roy Marshall. His uncle would go on to be a strong influence on Boycott's early game.^[21] In 1958 Boycott left school with seven O-level passes and the school's Individual Cricket Cup.^[22] That summer he played for the Leeds United under-18 football team alongside Billy Bremner and attracted the attention of Leeds United scouts. During the winter he continued to play nets of uncle Lawrence.^[23]

Boycott told the BBC in 1965 that he chose to leave school at 17 because he no longer wished to be a financial strain on his parents, and because he wanted to pursue his cricketing career.^[23] He worked as a clerk in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance in Barnsley from 1958 to 1963, at the same time playing for a number of cricket clubs. Boycott captained the South Elmsall district team, and achieved a batting average of 70.^[24] He also played for the Yorkshire Federation's Under-18 team, and for Barnsley, where he was noticed by Clifford Hesketh, a member of Yorkshire's County Cricket team committee.^[24][25]

County career[link]

Boycott began playing for his home county in 1962 after topping the averages for Leeds, Yorkshire Colts and Yorkshire Second XI.^[8][26] In 414 matches for Yorkshire he scored 32,570 runs at an average of 57.85, with a highest score of 260 not out against Essex, and 103  centuries in all. He scored another 8,699 runs in List A cricket, averaging 40.08. Boycott twice averaged over 100 in an English first-class season: 100.12 in 1971, and 102.53 in 1979. He is one of only two players to have achieved this twice,^[27] Mark Ramprakash being the other. Boycott was appointed captain of Yorkshire in 1971, but was sacked in 1978 after failing to win a trophy while in charge.^[28] He was then dismissed as a player, but reinstated after a members' revolt. During his career Boycott frequently clashed with other strong personalities at the club, including Fred Trueman, Brian Close and Ray Illingworth, but remained popular with the Yorkshire crowds.^[5]

First years[link]

Trent Bridge hosted Australia in Boycott's first Test match.

Before he played in first-class cricket, Boycott played for the successful Barnsley Cricket Club, making his debut in 1959 and becoming a regular team member in 1959 alongside Dickie Bird, Bill Foord and Michael Parkinson. In one match, Boycott faced a delivery from Foord which he dispatched to the boundary for four.^[29] Foord turned to Parkinson and asked: "Christ almighty, what's this lad's name?" Bird remembered his "application, concentration and absolute belief in himself. He had one great gift, mental strength. You can have all the coaching in the world but the most important thing is to be mentally strong."^[30] Though Bird later left Boycott out of his choice XI, he would write: "of all the great players I have seen, if I had to pick a batsman to bat for my life, I would go for Geoffrey."^[31] He made his Yorkshire Second XI debut on 6 July 1959 against Cumberland at Penrith, scoring five and 15.^[32]

Boycott made his Yorkshire first team debut on 16 June 1962 against the Pakistan touring team.^[8] He opened the batting, scoring four in both innings – the first from a boundary off of his first ball in first class cricket – and taking one catch, but he did not bowl.^[33][34] He then went on to play his first County Championship match the next day, on 20 June, against Northamptonshire. Batting at number four, he scored six and 21*.^[35]

Early in his career, Boycott continued to play in his spectacles,^[36] and later switched to contact lenses. He feared his career would have ended had he not used such aids as his eyesight was poor.^[37] Boycott's initial appearances for Yorkshire failed to impress, and he was compared unfavourably to his main rival, John Hampshire. When Brian Close took over from Vic Wilson as captain of Yorkshire in 1963 he persuaded the committee to keep Boycott on, and was rewarded when, on 2 June 1963,^[38] Boycott scored 145 against Lancashire.^[39] His century was also part of a 249-run fourth wicket partnership which became a Yorkshire record.^[40] Boycott cemented his place in the Yorkshire XI in the 1963 season with successive scores of 76, 53, 49 not out and 50, and on 29 August made a century partnership in both innings of a match against Leicestershire with Ken Taylor.^[41] Boycott handed in his notice to the Ministry of Pensions that same year.^[42] After a brief loss of form he kept his place with scores of 62, 28 and 113 in the following matches.^[43] This second century again came against Lancashire, making Boycott the first Yorkshire cricketer to score his first two centuries in a Roses match, as the hotly contested Yorkshire versus Lancashire matches were termed.^[44] Boycott went on to hit his highest score thus far, 165 not out, against Leicestershire, and ended his first full season with 1,446 runs at an average of 46.64, placing him second in the 1963 national batting averages.^[45] He was awarded his county cap on 2 October.^[46] At the start of the 1964 season Boycott hit 151 against Middlesex, followed by another hundred against Lancashire in May, and then played for the MCC against the Australian touring side at Lord's, where he scored 63.^[47] On 16 May he completed a third consecutive century,^[48] and on 31 May he was called up for the First Test against Australia at Trent Bridge.^[8] By the end of the 1964 season, Boycott had topped the country's domestic averages with 59.45.^[49]

Although he later became renowned for his ability to occupy the crease for hours of defensive play, he was capable of playing attacking cricket.^[5] His highest one day score, a match-winning 146, came in the 1965 Gillette Cup final against Surrey.^[50] In his previous Gillette Cup match, the quarter-final against Somerset, Boycott took 32 overs to accumulate 23 runs.^[51] According to captain, Close, at Lord's after Yorkshire had slowly reached 22/1, he Close promoted himself to number three in the batting order so that he could urge Boycott into action. "I joined Geoffrey in the middle and said to him: "Listen, if I call, you bloody well run." Boycott later claimed this plan had been agreed on a fortnight previously, and denied such an incident ever occurring.^[36] Boycott subsequently hit 15  fours and three sixes,^[36] even though the modern-day fielding restrictions, which facilitate rapid scoring, did not exist in 1965. One shot, a lofted straight drive off England paceman Geoff Arnold was nearly caught by Boycott's team mates on the players' balcony in the pavilion. Close and Boycott added 192 runs for the second wicket, as Yorkshire posted a then record total of 317.^[36] Cricket writer John Woodcock wrote in The Times that "his magnificent innings contained every stroke in the book. "^[36] In the 1966 season Boycott scored two centuries in one match for the first time, against Nottinghamshire on 18 July.^[52] Against Leicestershire on 15 June 1968 he carried his bat through an entire Yorkshire innings of 297 all out, remaining unbeaten on 114*. It was the first time he had been unbeaten at the end of an innings. He ended the season top of the national averages for the first time.^[53] On 27 July 1970 he scored 260*, his highest first-class score in England, against Essex.^[54] At the end of the season, Close was sacked by the club committee in what Boycott called in 1987 "one of the cruellest incidents in the history of sport." Boycott, on tour in Australia, was awarded the captaincy.^[55]

Captaincy[link]

Boycott captained Yorkshire for eight seasons from 1971 to 1978, having been appointed following the sacking of Brian Close in 1970. Despite well publicised conflict between the two players, Boycott recorded in 1987 that he regretted Close's removal from the club, and wrote him a letter in admiration for his contributions to Yorkshire.^[57] To captain Yorkshire had been one of Boycott's aims since he started county cricket in 1962.^[58] Yorkshire's scorer Ted Lester commented later that Boycott "never got the support he deserved from the committee. After the captaincy was decided on a casting vote, the half that didn't want him never wanted him."^[59] Some members of the committee wanted to remove him almost immediately.^[56] He also caused strife between his fellow players, including a reciprocated dislike for Richard Hutton,^[60] with many players leaving the club citing personal differences with Boycott as the reason for their departure.^[61] After his first season as captain he spent the winter of 1971 playing in South Africa for Northern Transvaal.^[2] He played only one match, however, scoring 107 and 41.^[62]

Boycott's eight seasons of captaincy were among Yorkshire's least successful. The club failed to win any competitions and ranked low in the Championship table, in contrast to their one-time dominance of English cricket.^[59] The beginning of the end of his captaincy came after BBC Radio Leeds interviews in which two Yorkshire committee members and former players, Don Brennan and Mel Ryan, said that a change in leadership was needed.^[63] Boycott himself did not suffer a loss of form to mirror that of his county; in his first year as captain, he scored 2,503 runs at an average of 100.12, included a century in his first match as captain.^[64] His success was cited by Trueman as evidence that his selfish nature was harming Yorkshire.^[65] Boycott headed the national batting averages in 1972 with 72.35, and was second in 1973 with 63.62. In 1973, however, Yorkshire failed to win a single championship game, which Wisden called "disturbingly unsuccessful" and which led to further calls for Boycott to be stripped of the captaincy. He was also coming into increased conflict with Richard Hutton, Close, and several members of the committee and senior players.^[66][67] "Looking back," Boycott wrote in 1987 "I wish I had given up the Yorkshire captaincy at the end of that year."^[68]

In 1974 Boycott's form dipped, when he scored only 75 runs in the first innings of the season, other than a non-championship century against Cambridge University. He did, however, score 152* against Worcestershire on 15 May to complete his tour of centuries against every first-class county.^[69] Both he and Yorkshire suffered through 1975 and 1976, as did his international career, since he refused to play for England from 1974 until 1977.^[70] During the summer of 1978 Boycott broke a finger, so John Hampshire temporarily took over as captain. Boycott returned later in the season, scoring 968 runs at 50.94, but this was second to Hampshire's 1,463 at 54.18. A poll of the dressing room showed that 95% of the players wanted a permanent change in the captaincy.^[71] On 15 September 1978 Boycott's mother, to whom he was very close, died of cancer, placing further pressure on him. On 29 September, the Yorkshire club committee met with Boycott to discuss terminating his captaincy. A statement by the club outlined Yorkshire's intention to retain Boycott as a player while giving the captaincy to Hampshire.^[72] Boycott, in response, attacked the Yorkshire club and its decision in an appearance on the BBC's flagship chatshow Parkinson on 7 October, prompting both strong criticism from the club and strong public support for his own position.^[56][73]

Later years[link]

Boycott, after much thought, continued as a player at Yorkshire, scoring 1,941 runs at 61.70 in 1979, hitting six hundreds to pass Len Hutton's record of 129 first-class centuries.^[74] In 1980 he scored his ninth Roses century, equalling Herbert Sutcliffe's record.^[75] He also finished the season with an average of over 50.00 for a record eleventh consecutive year, surpassing the achievement of Jack Hobbs.^[76] He would experience growing friction with Hutton's son, Yorkshire's Richard, as well as with later Yorkshire captain John Hampshire. In the early 1980s Boycott continued his run of form, although a slow 347-ball knock of 140* incensed captain, Ray Illingworth, and created friction between Boycott and the rest of the Yorkshire Committee. In 1982 Boycott and Graham Stevenson added a record 149 runs for Yorkshire's tenth wicket against Warwickshire, Stevenson scoring 115 of these runs.^[77]

On 3 October 1983 the friction between Boycott and the committee culminated in a unanimous decision not to offer Boycott a contract for the next season. This generated much protest from Boycott supporters, who rallied, calling for his reinstatement at a meeting on 9 October in Ossett, Yorkshire. Bill Athey left the club at this time, and while Boycott in his biography maintained that he had no reason to believe that his actions had caused Athey's departure, Athey later stated to biographer Leo McKinstry that "Boycott's attitude and the atmosphere he created had everything to do with my decision to leave Yorkshire." The "Members 84 Group", consisting of strong supporters of Boycott, met regularly to clamour for the batsman's reinstatement.^[78] Their leader, Peter Briggs, stated "Geoffrey Boycott is a giant playing among pygmies."^[79]

On 21 January 1984 the Yorkshire Club committee, in the face of this rising pressure, agreed to offer Boycott a contract for 1984. Several members of the committee, including Trueman, Billy Sutcliffe and Ronnie Burnet, resigned. Of the replacement members, 17 were from the Members 84 Group, and Boycott himself was elected, leaving him with both a position on the team and on the Yorkshire Club committee.^[80] The 1984 season was, however, not the most prolific for Boycott. McKinstry records that he scored slowly in several matches: 60 in 52  overs against Somerset; 53 in 51  overs against Hampshire;^[81] 17 in 26  overs against Leicestershire; 77 in 67  overs against Sussex. This was coupled with continued friction between himself and both players and club members.^[82] In particular, Boycott's place on both the team and the committee led to feelings of distrust from both – though Boycott denies this – which led to the loss of support from long-term ally Sid Fielden.^[83]

His success on the field resumed in 1985, where he scored 1,657 runs at 75.31, second only to Viv Richards in the national averages. He also shared a record opening partnership of 351 with Martyn Moxon. In contrast to the poor relations between Boycott and the senior players, many junior members of the team remember 1985 and 1986 as pleasant times to be around Boycott, who often coached them on their technique.^[84] 1986 saw Boycott score 890 runs at 52.35, his season cut short by injuries which were becoming more frequent as he passed the age of 45.^[85] This season was the first since 1962 that he had not hit an overall total of 1,000 runs; he finished eight short in his final match, when he was run out for 61. He advised the then captain to enforce the follow-on, and did not bat again. Since 1984, support for Boycott had waned in light of his slow scoring, multiple injuries and the general atmosphere around him. Both Brian Close and Ray Illingworth increasingly advocated his removal to Yorkshire's committee, and on 23 September 1986 it was confirmed that he would not be offered a contract for the following year. A few months later, captain David Bairstow, a long term ally of Boycott whose leadership had Boycott's support, was ruled out of the running for captaincy for the following season, which was instead given to Phil Carrick, of whom Boycott disapproved. Boycott paid tribute to the Reform Group in 1987, describing them as "dedicated Yorkshire members with a heartfelt stake in their club." He suggests that Close and Illingworth feared his popularity.^[86] Boycott was offered contracts by other counties, including Derbyshire and Glamorgan, but he never took these offers up, nor played professional cricket again.^[87] At the time of his retirement he had scored more first-class runs than any other player.^[88]