Australian leg-spinner Alana King recalled a special childhood memory of meeting her idol, the late Shane Warne, and how his simple words have stayed with her throughout her cricketing journey. King, who represents Australia internationally and plays domestic cricket for Western Australia and Perth Scorchers, first met Warne when she was about 12 years old during a school or holiday coaching clinic. Surrounded by other kids, she received a piece of advice that has guided her career ever since. “I met Warnie (Shane Warne) when I was about 12 years old, along with a lot of other kids who were there for a school clinic or a school holiday clinic. All I remember — and these words still echo in my career today — is, ‘Spin the ball as hard as you can and do it with a big smile on your face,’” King said in a BBC Sport video . Though her interaction with Warne was brief, the spinner admitted she had always wished for more opportunities to work with him as her career progressed. “That’s pretty much the only advice he ever gave me. I would have loved to work with Warnie as my career progressed, but it was not to be,” she added.
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Instead, King drew inspiration from studying Warne’s style. She spent hours watching old footage and listening to his commentary. “Still, I’ve watched so many tapes and clips of him bowling, and I used to love listening to him in the commentary box,” she said. “I learned a lot just from hearing him speak. I didn’t even have to be in his presence for him to have a big influence on my career.” Warne, who passed away on March 4, 2022, is widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history, redefining leg-spin with his skill, accuracy, and tactical acumen. For King, his influence was not just in the technical aspects of bowling, but also in the joy and passion he brought to the game. His words from that clinic, urging her to spin the ball hard and smile while doing it, remain a guiding principle for her every time she takes the field, now at the age of 29.
