Shane Warne completes his countdown in the Times and says that "no Australian is in the top three – but few can dispute the brilliance of my final top ten".
I place him very slightly ahead of Lara because I found him slightly tougher mentally. It is such a close call, but here is an example of what I mean: in Australia in 2003-04 he was worried about getting out cover driving so he decided to cut out the shot. I saw the wagon wheel for his next innings: he scored 248 without a single cover drive. Like Lara, he has scored runs all over the world. I have seen him run down the pitch and hit Glenn McGrath over the top for six, and I have seen him hit me for six against the spin going around the wicket.
Read what Tim Line has to say in the Age about Warne ranking Steve Waugh at No. 26.
Warne's list is significant. It will be cited through the years by historians and others who follow the game as the judgement of one of cricket's most significant figures. It will state clearly that Warne regarded a contemporary Australian great as being flawed. Alas, such skewed comparisons between Waugh and players of clearly inferior records expose the man making them as being less than completely objective."
