At the most famous cricket ground in the world, inside the sport\u2019s most revered pavilion, there is a lifesize painting of a man who terrorised English cricket for 15 years. Across the manicured green turf at Lord\u2019s, inside cricket\u2019s most iconic media centre, the main commentary box is named after this generational tormentor. About 84 miles away, at the Rose Bowl near Southampton, an entire stand bears his name.<\/p>\n
English cricket has every reason to hate Shane Warne. In 36 Ashes Tests he bagged 195 wickets at an average of 23.25. From his opening ball of the century<\/a> at Old Trafford in 1993 to his final bow in Sydney in 2007, he seemed to operate on a different plane. This peroxided devil ruined summers and deepened cold, bitter winters, yet he became an English national treasure, the perfect reminder that cricket, above all else, is something that should be enjoyed.<\/p>\n Warne was everything that the English stereotype wasn\u2019t: a technicoloured rogue in a land of beige, a beer-chugging, chain-smoking larrikin plucked straight out of central casting. As Nietzsche once wrote: \u201cTo love is to be in a state of perpetual want.\u201d Perhaps that\u2019s the secret to England\u2019s endearment, the joy of yearning for what could never be theirs.<\/p>\n In other cases affection comes from recognition, when a rival seems to share a nation\u2019s sporting DNA. Nowhere is that clearer than with Virat Kohli in Australia. Few visiting players have been booed so loudly, or applauded so enthusiastically. At first his snarls and send-offs grated, as if he was trying to cosplay as something that he wasn\u2019t, as if he had forgotten that Test captains should stick to the archetypes they\u2019ve been assigned.<\/p>\n By the end Australians realised they were looking at something uncomfortably familiar. He became, in their eyes, the worthy antagonist. \u201cKohli redefined expectations, challenged conventions, and symbolised the self-assured, unapologetic India of the 21st century,\u201d the former Australia captain Greg Chappell wrote last year. He wasn\u2019t copying the Australians; he was mirroring them, feeding their energy back at them with the volume turned up. They came to admire him not because he tried to be different, but because he played as they believed cricket should be played.<\/p>\n Kohli\u2019s numbers in Australia speak for themselves. Against the Aussies in one-day internationals he has piled up 2,451 runs in 51 matches at an average north of 53. In Tests he\u2019s tallied 2,232 runs at 43.76 in 30 outings. His nine hundreds are the most he registered against any opposition and his twin-ton display in Adelaide in 2014 stands as one of the greatest individual performances in the country. Like a true blue Aussie he leaned into the fight and gave as good as he got. Now, having bowed out of Tests and Twenty20 internationals, his curtain call in the ongoing ODI series has carried a sombre tone. His duck in the first of three matches<\/a> drew muted celebrations, the Perth crowd knowing that this would be the last time they\u2019d see him in the flesh.<\/p>\n Virat Kohli at Perth last weekend: out for a duck but acclaimed by the Australian crowd. Photograph: Saeed Khan\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n And then there are players who are loved simply for their style and grace, the ones who melt borders altogether. AB de Villiers never played for India, but you wouldn\u2019t know it. In Bengaluru, where he spent a decade with the Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League, crowds treated him less as an overseas professional than as a favourite son. The South African stroke-maker, nicknamed \u201cMr 360\u201d for the way he reimagined the geometry of batting, became a symbol of how invention and humility can coexist.<\/p>\n Where Warne thrilled with his unconquerable wizardry, and Kohli compelled respect through combat, De Villiers connected through joy. \u201cIndia is my second home, I\u2019m half-Indian now and proud of that,\u201d he has said. \u201cI sort of fell in love with the culture, the country, the people, and their absolute love for cricket. I\u2019ll always be grateful for all the love this beautiful country so unconditionally gives me.\u201d<\/p>\n All of this still feels rare in cricket. Even amid the rise of franchise leagues and the blurring of borders, the game remains stubbornly tribal. International cricket endures as the sport\u2019s pinnacle while carrying echoes of a previous age when distinctions between \u201cus\u201d and \u201cthem\u201d were more stark. Despite cricket\u2019s devotion to an idealised code of conduct its rivalries seem to be built from harder, more ancient stones. However, they are prone to leaks.<\/p>\n This is part of cricket\u2019s charm. The long hours, the undulations across a day\u2019s play, the tours that stretch into months; perhaps this is what allows villains to turn into folkloric figures with Shakespearean arcs. The longer you let the narrative breathe the harder it is to hold on to hate for some players who, whether we like it or not, have earned our respect. In the end, all the noise settles into admiration for their skill and their spirit, for the audacity to play this strange, beautiful game in a way no one else quite can.<\/p>\n It\u2019s why De Villiers has a home away from home. It\u2019s why fans in Sydney will rise to their feet when Kohli leaves the scene one last time at the SCG on Saturday. It\u2019s why Warne\u2019s portrait now hangs at Lord\u2019s and why the pain he inflicted on English cricket is celebrated in both hemispheres. That\u2019s the paradox at the heart of cricket. You spend a lifetime picking sides only to realise it\u2019s the game itself you ever loved.<\/p>\n Smith races to get Konstas Ashes-ready<\/p>\n Steve Smith\u2019s mentorship helped turn Marnus Labuschagne into one of the world\u2019s top run-getters between 2019 and 2021. Now, Australia\u2019s leading batter is hoping he can help steady the top order again, this time by offering a guiding hand to young Sam Konstas.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s batting stocks aren\u2019t exactly brimming, and the national selectors are running out of names to scribble at the top of the Test list. Konstas, 21, is the latest great hope. Tall, fluent but prone to moments of madness. His domestic form, all erratic flashes and early dismissals, has done little to calm nerves before the Ashes begins in Perth on 21 November.<\/p>\n On Monday, he was bowled for 20 trying to ramp Victoria\u2019s Cameron McClure \u2013 the sort of shot that makes coaches reach for herbal tea. Smith, ever the statesman, has stepped in with the offer of a phone line and an open door. \u201cWhenever he wants to chat batting, I love talking batting,\u201d Smith said this week. \u201cI\u2019m happy to help wherever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s classic Smith: part Zen master, part cricket tragic. He remembers his own early struggles, and knows every Test opener has to find their rhythm the hard way. Still, his faith in Konstas remains: \u201cHe\u2019s got so much time against pace. That\u2019s something you can\u2019t teach.\u201d<\/p>\n Time, though, is exactly what Australia don\u2019t have. The Ashes clock is ticking, and an unsettled top order could yet undo a side otherwise built for dominance. If Smith can\u2019t fix the problem with quiet chats and throw-downs, Australia may soon discover that even the best mentor can\u2019t patch over an empty scorecard.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Quote of the week<\/p>\n I\u2019m a bit of a sicko. I love sitting down and watching Test matches, so I\u2019m going to be in Australia later this year and the Ashes is going to be on\u201d \u2013 Rory McIlroy perfectly sums up the ridiculousness of watching an away Ashes series in the early hours.<\/p>\n Memory laneThe late Phillip Hughes of New South Wales celebrates victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the Champions League Twenty20 final in 2009. Photograph: Getty Images Australia<\/p>\n Under warm Hyderabad lights in October 2009, New South Wales sealed the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 title and with it a tidy US $2.5m cheque, thanks to Brett Lee\u2019s 48 with the bat and two new-ball wickets as the Australians beat Trinidad and Tobago by 41 runs. The Champions League folded quietly in 2014, a victim of scheduling chaos and IPL fatigue.<\/p>\n Still want more?<\/p>\n Simon Burnton on Adil Rashid\u2019s undimmed passion, at 38, for playing for England<\/a>.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Scott Boland on trying to shut out the noise<\/a> as the Ashes hype mounts.<\/p>\n England\u2019s women have made it to the World Cup semi-finals, putting some wobbly performances behind them in beating India in a thriller<\/a>, reports Raf Nicholson.<\/p>\n In?<\/p>\n