Shane

Some wonderful articles on Warne around.

They are an odd yet understandable mixture of condemnation and sympathy, admiration and disappointment- much like his life graph has been. As has been the demanding and confusing task of being a Shane Warne fan. One cannot (I, for one) help but admire his greatness when he has a cricket ball in his hand. Off the field, he demands to be cherished, but insists on doing everything he can to make it tough as hell to unequivocally admire him. A fan must, with every statement on his love for the cricketer, add the caveat that his non cricketing deeds are overwhelmed by his bowling achievements. The rare fan might admit to being further attracted by his rogueish deeds, but I suspect a lot of us- given a favourable disposition towards the man courtesy his talent- are entertained by the crazy lifestyle he leads. The power of his cricketing deeds is such that it is easy to find people who are so mesmerized by his genius that they can ignore his ‘social’ transgressions- in fact, be further enchanted by them.

At the most basic level, however, there will always remain the admiration. At this point, it is hard to be unsympathetic. This is a man who has captivated us all many a time-if not all the time- and to have him go through an obviously distressing time in his life cannot be anything but…well, distressing. What will be interesting is how he handles it all. From his track record, you can almost surely expect a fightback (in the larger sense of his life, translating onto the cricket field), though I suppose one must not underestimate the wrench that marriage breaking up can be.

Some excerpts:

from Peter Roebuck's lovely piece

Genius allows a man to inhabit a fanciful world of permanent adolescence. On the field the genius can write his own script. Off it, the magic is lost.

Malcom Conn, with a few anecdotes, on Warne's failings.

Cricket's most successful bowler believes he is constantly attacked by dark forces summoned to persecute him. For Warne lives in a simple world of simple pleasures. There is light and dark, good and evil, black and white.

Trevor Marshallsea on the man who looks for love-too much, and in the wrong places.

What the separation will achieve - apart from peace and quiet for his wife - will be to reinforce the disappointment for so many Australian cricket fans who would so dearly like to love him. The irony is that Warne, insecure despite his achievements, dearly wants to be loved. Sometimes a little too much, as the scandal sheets reveal.