On this day: Shane Warne becomes the first to take 600 Test wickets

Courtney Walsh of West Indies became the first bowler to claim 500 wickets in Test cricket in March 2001. Walsh claimed a total of 519 wickets in the longer format and was well ahead of the next best at the time of his retirement. However, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan kept climbing up the charts and were set to go past Walsh comfortably. The only question was who will do it first!

In March 2004, Sri Lanka hosted Australia for a 3-match Test series where both Warne and Murali got past 500 wickets in a space of one match. Muralitharan was the first to go past Walsh’s tally but the off-spinner was away from the longer format for nearly one year. This let Warne dominate Test cricket by becoming the leading wicket-taker.

Ahead of the 2005 Ashes series in England, Warne stood a chance of becoming the first player to reach 600 Test wickets having picked up 583 scalps. Australia entered the 3rd Test in Manchester which was scheduled to start on August 11th with Warne on 599 Test wickets. The leg-spinner picked up six wickets in the first Test at the Lord’s and as many as ten wickets during the 2-run defeat in Birmingham.

The milestone wicket!

England lost the wicket of Andrew Strauss early on after electing to bat first. However, the other opener Marcus Trescothick scored a fifty along with skipper Michael Vaughan who was at his attacking best. The duo stitched on a 137-run partnership in only 22.3 overs. Warne was brought into the attack after the lunch break where he conceded 18 runs including two fours in his first four overs.

#Onthisday 11-08-2005
Another memorable milestone, as Shane Warne became 1st bowler to take 600 Test wickets
the victim was Marcus Trescothick
Aiming to sweep, scuffed the ball with the back of bat & @gilly381 completed a juggling catch @ShaneWarne @Athersmike @Trescricket pic.twitter.com/t8TELckyFG

— Zohaib (Cricket King) (@Zohaib1981) August 11, 2020

In his 5th over, Trescothick tried to sweep a delivery that was pitched well outside off stump. The ball, instead, hit his gloves and deviated off his pads on to the back of the bat and ended up in the hands of wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. With this wicket, Warne became the first-ever bowler to reach 600 Test wickets. He picked up three more wickets in the first innings but England finished on 444 thanks to a 215-ball 160 from the home team skipper.

Warne rescued the Aussies with the bat scoring 90 off 122 deliveries which helped the visitors to avoid the follow-on. No batsman other than the spinner got 35 in Australia’s first innings of 302. England declared their innings at 280/6 to set a target of 423 to the visitors. Ricky Ponting scored 156 in the 4th innings but the game ended in a draw with England falling one wicket short of a victory.