15 June 2023 , 11:17
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Former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss has recalled getting brutally sledged by the late great Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne during the 2005 Ashes.
Although England memorably went on to win the series 2-1 and regain the urn, Warne was at the absolute peak of his powers on that tour as he picked up 40 wickets at an average of 19.92. He was comfortably the series' leading wicket-taker, with Andrew Flintoff behind him in a distant second place with 24 wickets.
And Strauss, like many other batters over the years, really struggled against him with no other bowler dismissing the England opener more in Tests. In fact, six of the eight times Warne got him out occurred during the 2005 Ashes.
Another player who really struggled facing Warne was South Africa's Darryl Cullinan, who he dismissed a whopping 12 times in just 29 international meetings, and Warne repeatedly referred to Strauss as 'Darryl' throughout the series as a way to get in his head. "Warnie walked past me and was like 'Hi, Darryl, how you doing, Darryl? Enjoying Ashes cricket, Darryl'," Strauss reflected.
"And then after every over [Glenn] McGrath bowled or [Jason] Gillespie he'd be like, 'You hitting it well today Darryl?'" Strauss also recalled being branded "f***ing s***" by Warne during a tense second Test at Edgbaston with Australia chasing 282 to win.
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Strauss had already been dismissed twice by Warne in the Test, with the second a delivery that has earned comparisons to Warne's iconic 'ball of the century'. As a result, he was left 'feeling three foot six' and concerned that Warne's Cullinan comparison was coming true.
"With Warnie having been all over me like a rash, I had to show that I had stomach for the fight and that I wasn't going to cower down to him," Strauss added. "And so I was looking for an opportunity just to say something back at him."
Shane Warne brutally sledged Andrew Strauss during the 2005 Ashes (AFP/Getty Images)And that opportunity arrived during Australia's second innings, when Warne came into bat at 137-7 with his side still needing an improbable 145 runs to win. "Ashley Giles is bowling. He bowled one, it went past the edge of Warnie's bat and I thought, this is my moment to say something," Strauss continued.
"So I plucked up the courage, took a deep breath and said 'Come on, Gilo, he's really struggling against you here' which, admittedly, is a very poor sledge. Sledging was not my strongest suit and Warnie just looked at me.
"These two eyes looked at me and he went 'Mate, there is only one guy struggling around here, it's you, you're f***ing s***'. Warnie had an ability to make you feel very small and I was hoping that my teammates would back me up and all lay into him.
Strauss and Warne went on to become firm friends off the field (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)"So I was like 'Come on, guys, let's get in there' and I looked round and there was [Marcus] Trescothick at slip and Geraint Jones the wicketkeeper and Ian Bell at short leg and there was a deathly silence.
"Then, to add insult to injury, Warnie looked at me again and went 'Mate, you say one more word to me and I'm going to hit the next ball for six'. So I'm thinking 'Okay, well maybe your ego is getting in the way here a bit Warnie' and I went 'Okay fine, come on Gilo he's really struggling against you here'.
"Warnie ran down the wicket, hit the ball miles over long on for six and again I'm feeling about two foot six at this point and he just looked at me and went 'are you going to say it again mate?'" Warne went on to strike an important 42, but his efforts were ultimately in vain as England won a dramatic Test by just two runs to level the series.
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