Warnie signs on as Big Bash drawcard
Roar Guru By John Davidson, 8 Nov 2011 John Davidson is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Big Bash League, Cricket, Melbourne Stars, Shane Warne, Twenty20
Shane Warne will return to play in Australian in the Big Bash League (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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Cricket Australia is investing a lot in its new Twenty20 Big Bash League, but it has scored a coup before a ball has even been bowled with the signing of Shane Warne for the Melbourne Stars.
An Australian great and one of the best bowlers of all time, Warnie is guaranteed to bring massive interest into the competition.
Sure, a lot of it will be celebrity and Elizabeth Hurley-related, but headlines are headlines. And Cricket Australia desperately needs some good ones of late.
Instead of Australia being sold just another cricket competition, along with the seemingly hundreds of others being played now at both home and abroad, this one now has a genuine drawcard.
Warne may be 42 but as he has shown in the Indian Premier League in recent seasons, he still possesses an amazing talent. He is looking fitter now than he has in years and it appears the competitive fires are still burning.
Cricket fans will be enticed with the chance to see an Australia legend in his final matches on home soil. Matthew Hayden is another member of Australia’s late 1990s-early 2000s team that will don the whites again, as he steps out with the Brisbane Heat.
Warne will play for the Melbourne Stars – lovely name – a side that boasts Cameron White, David Hussey, Peter Siddle, Adam Vogues and others.
Hayden will turn out for the Heat along with Ryan Harris, Nathan Haurtiz and Kiwi’s Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum.
With some pink uniforms and team names like the Adelaide Strikers (apologies Brisbane Strikers fans), the Big Bash is somewhat of an experiment for Cricket Australia.
But considering wider interest levels in cricket in Australia have dropped in recent years, along with the decline of the national team, and you sense that a lot is riding on the Big Bash.
KFC has signed up for give years as the naming rights sponsor, and in Warnie they have a bona-fide global star that means decent media coverage not just here but abroad as well.
Let’s just hope the cricket can match the hype, and Warnie still has a decent flipper and zooter in his arsenal.
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- Explore:
- Big Bash League, Cricket, Melbourne Stars, Shane Warne, Twenty20
November 8th 2011 @ 12:45pm
Ben Carter said | November 8th 2011 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
November 8th 2011 @ 1:01pm
Tom said | November 8th 2011 @ 1:01pm | Report comment
Had no interest at all in the big bash until this. Now I may read an article or two online about it however I still can’t see myself attending.
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November 8th 2011 @ 1:43pm
Brett McKay said | November 8th 2011 @ 1:43pm | Report comment
I’m going to flag this now – Warnie’s first three wicket BBL “haul” will see the resumption of calls for him to return to the Test team…
November 8th 2011 @ 1:50pm
Mark said | November 8th 2011 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
Brett, I’m already calling for it. It’s not like many are putting their hands up to replace him… not seriously. Not legitimately.
But anyway, he’s gone from that. It’ll be great to see his theatre back in Cricket.
November 8th 2011 @ 2:06pm
Ben Carter said | November 8th 2011 @ 2:06pm | Report comment
Hi Brett, Mark – something tells me this will become scarily (and ludicrously) true. Probably considered for the Twenty20 national side…then a quick two-game World Series experiment if we lose to India or Sri Lanka early on…then a Test recall for next summer? Yikes. PLEASE, NOT THAT! Like Hayden in Brizzy, this appears to be more of a recently-retired-so-still-enjoy-them as you used to see in fundraising games rather than a serious competition.
November 8th 2011 @ 3:42pm
Brendon said | November 8th 2011 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
Has Warne played in Australia since the 5th test in early Jan 2007 against England? Hes played in England in India since then.
Would be good for Warne to finish for good, barring charity/one off appearances, in Australia.
Warne would be the first admit hes not up to test standard anymore. You could see that in the past IPL season.
November 8th 2011 @ 4:01pm
Chris said | November 8th 2011 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
If Cricket Australia is trying to build any sort of credibility in the BBL, then this is precisely the sort of thing they should be avoiding. We all know why Scrawnie has said yes to the offer – money and fame.
It’s unfortunate really – Warne’s talent was never really in the shorter forms of the game – Test cricket was his ideal format.
And by the way – it’s Adam Voges, not Adam Vogues. The Roar’s lack of talent in the editing department strikes again…
November 8th 2011 @ 9:00pm
Galaxy Hop said | November 8th 2011 @ 9:00pm | Report comment
You’ve misfired a bit by saying their donning the white. The strips for the comp are far more ghastly than that.
November 8th 2011 @ 9:01pm
Galaxy Hop said | November 8th 2011 @ 9:01pm | Report comment
They’re, not their, sorry
November 8th 2011 @ 9:24pm
Mark Young said | November 8th 2011 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
This is great news for a completely rubbish competition.
How on earth we are supposed to warm to these artificial teams when we could so easily have just been watching the states run around.
Still, Warne has become a bit of a cult figure since his retirement.
How long will it be before we get the old Shane… Swearing at kids, carrying on like a pork chop on the Lords Balcony, shagging someone he shouldn’t.
November 8th 2011 @ 10:38pm
albatross said | November 8th 2011 @ 10:38pm | Report comment
>> I’m going to flag this now – Warnie’s first three wicket BBL “haul” will see the resumption of calls for him to return to the Test team…
Ahhhhhhh yes… Warney…. the Tony Lock of the 21st century
Chunder downunder