Greatest non-Asia ODI XI of all-time

Spinners

Shane Warne

Warne was a magician who pulled the wool over the eyes of many batsmen

The art of leg-spin is a difficult one and this claim is borne out by the fact that there are far more finger spinners than leg spinners. But, Shane Warne mastered it like no other player could in the entire history of the game.

He did not merely revive the dying art but glamourised it too. He was the consummate leg spinner and had a wide repertoire. His conventional leg-breaks turned prodigiously and far more than those of any other leg spinner did, making life difficult for the batsmen. As if that is not enough, he unleashed flippers, googlies and all the other weapons that are present in a leg-spinner's arsenal.

Because of self-inflicted problems and the emergence of Brad Hogg, Warne's ODI career was curtailed by a few years. However, by then, he had already accomplished enough to be regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the format. In 194 matches, the leg-spin wizard grabbed a mind-blowing 293 wickets.

Since this is a non-Asian XI, there is no Muttiah Muralitharan for us to think of the famous 'Warne vs Murali' rivalry. Warne's closest competitor is New Zealand's Daniel Vettori but then, there is no doubt as to who the better bowler is. With Murali not in the contest, Warne wins the spinner's slot hands down.