Warne's flipper, slider and coach

Shane Warne gives the impression he has secured his place among the best in the world without really putting in much of an effort.

On many an occasion I had the opportunity to watch him closely in action at the nets. The feeling he generally exudes is that of a bowler who is not really serious about polishing his art.

Rarely did one see him consulting his coach for advice; on the contrary he is always seen cracking a joke or two at practice.

This peculiar trait in Warne remained a mystery till I got to ask the then captain Steve Waugh about it during a casual chat. His reply was: "Do not watch the man, watch his deliveries."

Once during a practice session Australian team coach John Buchanan pointed out to a group of journalists what makes Warne a great leg spinner.

Warne was bowling in front of us and Buchanan showed us how differently he bowled each of his deliveries.

The first ball was a flipper. Warne bowled it with the seam coming down like an inswinger. He'd disguised it well and a batsman who fails to read it right is bound to be in trouble.

"Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman who has managed to read Warne's flipper very well," revealed Buchanan. The second delivery was a googly and the third was a slider, which looked like a leg-break but fizzed through quickly.

As if letting out the secret, Buchanan remarked that the only way to read Warne was by watching his wrist. "Yet he can beat you with the amount of spin, the pace and the flight," he added.

But how did he compile such a huge variation? Did Warne learn everything on his own?

Not known to many, Warne has a coach in Terry Jenner, a former leg-break bowler who played just nine Tests for Australia. Warne makes sure that he regularly visits 60-year-old Jenner, who is the leg-spin advisor at the Cricket Academy in Adelaide.

Once, when asked whether he'd dreamt of becoming one of the greatest leg-spinners of the era, Warne said that he hadn't even thought if he would play for Australia.

"Actually I wanted to play football for Australia, but somehow landed up as a cricketer. I owe it all to Jenner."

And when reminded that Richie Benaud had predicted he would reach the 600 wicket mark, all that Warne said was: "Each time I pass a milestone, I pat my back and say 'well done.'