18 years on, how well has Australia replaced Shane Warne?

After legendary leg-spin bowler Shane Warne played his final game for Australia in early-2007, cricket fans around the globe curiously pondered one question more than any other – how will the Australian cricket team ever replace such an iconic, charismatic, controversial, yet truly brilliant cricketer?

Warne, an (almost) automatic selection for his entire international career, was feared. His larger-than-life personality and feisty competitive spirit matched his ability, which frequently bamboozled batsmen. In some instances it even ruined careers, none more so than South African Daryll Cullinan whose mental strength crumbled at the mere thought of facing him.

Of course, superstars like Warne cannot ever truly be replaced. It’s quite possible no current or any future leg-spinner will ever surpass Warne’s 708 wickets in Test matches, and his brilliance over a 15-year career will be etched into the minds of multiple generations of cricket lovers for the rest of their lives. His 1001 wickets in international cricket are also unrivalled for a leg-spinner, and second among all bowlers in history to just Sri Lankan off-spinner Muthiah Muralidaran (1347 wickets). Of the other spinners on this impressive list, Indian duo of Anil Kumble (956) and Ravichandran Ashwin (764) are next in line, with Ashwin still going strong at 38-years-old.

On-field, Warne’s career was full of cinematic moments, and his loveable, larrikin-like personality, good looks and cheeky grin further ensured photos of him were constantly splashed all over the back pages of newspapers. Off-field, his often scandalous personal life, filled with sex, smokes and rock n’ roll, ensured he was just as often featured on the front pages. With Warne, his attraction to fans went far beyond just cricket. People could relate to the boy from Ferntree Gully and kids dared to dream to replicate his achievements.

Almost 18 years have now passed since Warne’s retirement from Test cricket, and after some stumbling around between 2007-2011, it’s fair to say the filling of Warne’s enormous shoes in the longer format has been far better than many ever expected it would be. That challenging 4-year period saw no less than nine different spinners tried in the Australian Test team, including Stuart MacGill, Brad Hogg, Nathan Hauritz, Beau Casson, Cameron White, Jason Krejza, Bryce McGain, Xavier Doherty and Michael Beer.

However, then Nathan Lyon came along…

Since making his Test match debut against Sri Lanka in September 2011, Lyon has been the first-choice spinner ever since, capturing 530 wickets over the last 13 years and still taking scalps at 37-years-old. His incredible rise from a young Adelaide Oval groundsman to arguably the most consistent spin bowler in the world this past decade has been a whirlwind, and he now sits third on the list of most Test wickets by an Australian bowler, and eighth of any bowler in history.

On the white ball front (ODI and Twenty20), 10 spinners were tried between Warne’s ODI retirement in 2005 and Adam Zampa’s ODI and Twenty20 debuts in 2016. Initially, the trio of Hogg (163 wickets), Hauritz (65) and Doherty (65), had some short-term success, while others, including Lyon (30), Ashton Agar (30), White (13), Cameron Boyce (8), James Muirhead (6), Steve O’Keefe (6) and Fawad Ahmed (6) also contributed at times. However it has been Zampa who has really established himself as the best Australian white ball spinner in the post-Warne era.

Zampa has excelled in recent years and is currently ranked the ninth best bowler in ODI cricket globally, and eighth best in Twenty20. Over these almost nine years, he has taken 297 wickets in One-Day/Twenty20 matches, recently surpassing Warne’s 293 wickets in white ball internationals – an impressive, yet widely underreported milestone.

Between Lyon and Zampa combined, they’ve now captured 857 wickets across all formats and are each among the best spinners in their respective formats globally. While the shoes of Shane Warne could never truly be filled, the duo have come much closer than many fans ever could have expected, and that in itself shows just how great they’ve been.

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