From the archive: the Guardian’s report on Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’

Shane Warne celebrates taking Mike Gatting’s wicket with his first ball of the innings. Graham Gooch, pictured, was the batsman at the other end. Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

Mike Selvey, the Guardian’s cricket correspondent, was there to witness Shane Warne’s stunning entry into Test cricket in England on 4 June 1993. The “ball of the century” tag came later, but Selvey was in no doubt of its impact. This report appeared in the next day’s Guardian with the headline “England Warne down and put in a spin”.

The radical idea that rather than introduce four-day county cricket to bring it closer to international matches it would be easier instead to bring in three-day Tests was never meant to be taken seriously.