Warne takes 700th victim to establish club with one member

Myles Hodgson
Wednesday 27 December 2006 01:00 GMT
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Shane Warne teased the crowd before delivering both his 700th victim and another stunning display to underline his contribution to Australia's world dominance over the last decade.

Nearly all the crowd arrived expecting the 37-year-old leg-spinner to become the first cricketer in history to claim 700 Test victims. Warne took only 20 deliveries before bowling Andrew Strauss through the gate and went on to claim five for 39 as England collapsed to 159 all out after winning the toss and deciding to bat.

Australia's openers replied aggressively and, by close of a rain-hit opening day, they had reached 48 for two to trail by 111 runs and established their dominant position. But even with only two matches left of his Test career, Warne entranced England's batsmen on a wicket which should have suited the seamers.

Warne was kept out of the attack until the 42nd over - although he had teased the crowd by taking off his sun hat earlier before passing the ball onto all-rounder Andrew Symonds - with England having progressed to 82 for 2.

By the time he had finished with his unbroken 17.2-over spell, the tourists had collapsed to yet another under-par total after losing their last eight wickets for only 58 runs.

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