Graham Gooch, who observed the "ball of the century" from the non-striker's end: "Gatt wouldn't have missed it if it was a pork pie."
As a long-suffering England fan back in the 90s, I shat myself for our team every time Warne game on to bowl. At the time, he was up there with his teammate McGrath, Allan Donald, Murali and Curtly Ambrose as the bowlers I'd dread us facing (although Kumble, Mushtaq Ahmed, Wasim, Waqar, Walsh, Pollock and Heath Streak weren't far behind).
But after the passage of time, I conclude that Warne was by far the most fearsome. He could bowl all day, and kept going when everyone else was beaten. People mocked his flabby body and lifestyle but this guy was a sporting warrior. You simply do not get to his level without being totally dedicated to cricket, and that's what Warne was. Pains me to say it as an England fan who always hoped Robert Croft would come good, but God bless you SK Warne, you really were the best,
So sad that I might pay tribute by drinking 12 cans of Castlemaine XXXX and watching Crocodile Dundee.
Obviously football is so huge in the UK that it's very rare that cricket players become widely known as celebrities amongst the wider public i.e. not just amongst cricket fans. Shane Warne is probably the the only player since (Lord!!) Ian Botham to attain that level of celebrity. Entirely deserved. You don't get that level of recognition from playing ability alone (otherwise Stuart McGill would be a national celebrity); you need to be a huge personality too. Only Botham and Warne really managed that.