Spun Out: Shane Warne the Unauthorised Biography of a Cricketing Genius

by Paul Barry

Shane Warne is a cricketing genius. At first there were nerves and chubbiness. Then came vicious spitting legbreaks, followed by fame and flippers. For a long while there were women, then a bookmaker, then diet pills, then more women - and headlines, always headlines. Now he has come out the other end, his bluff and bluster and mischief and innocence somehow intact. The man who in 2000 was rated among the five greatest cricketers of the 20th century was, in 2005, bowling better than ever.When Shane Warne likened his life to a soap opera he was selling himself short. His story is part fairytale, part pantomime, part hospital drama, part adults'-only romp, part glittering awards ceremony. He has taken a Test hat-trick, won the Man-of-the-Match prize in a World Cup final and been the subject of endless press speculation. He was the first cricketer to reach 600 Test wickets. He has swatted more runs than any other Test player without making a hundred, and is probably the wiliest captain Australia never had. He has revived the art of legspin and electrified the gameFor all that, Warne's greatest feat is perhaps his latest. Returning from a one-year ban for swallowing forbidden diuretics, he swept aside 26 Sri Lankan batsmen in three Tests, and the following year scalped an astonishing 40 wickets in a thrilling Ashes series where he alone seemed to stand between England and victory.Shane Warne is the best bowler the world has ever seen. He is a sportsman with an extraordinary God-given talent, a magician who mesmerises his opponents. He is also a kid who won't grow up and a man whose personal life teeters between tragedy and farce. Spun Out is his story, guts and glory, warts and all.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ramaswamy Raman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I thought I had ordered for the autobiography but when it reached me I got to know it is a biography and that too not authorised by Shane Warne.
After reading the book I felt this would surely be better than the autobiography as Paul Barry, the author has collected facts of Shane's personal life from all newspaper and media reports, along with candid facts given by his friends.
The book covers more of his personal life interspersed with his cricket life. The genius in him as a cricketer is purely overshadowed by the immature, grown up kid attitude, lusty encounters, drugs, betting and what not. Shane as per the book and which is from the proven court cases, newspaper reports and his own verdict, appears to be a grown up man still thinking and going behind females like a teenager.
He eventually has no close friends as he is only about himself, he loves being in the limelight even by doing the wrong things.
The people in his life specially Tom Jenner really helped Shane reach to cricketing heights. No doubt after each encounter of the wrong type he has come back with excellent performance on the ground. His stats prove he is the best leg spinner in the world and surely one of the all time spinners.
Genius has its eccentricity in Shane's case it is a bit too much. Overall a decent read, surely a lesson of types to all men who are being loved for who they are and not to get carried away with success and fame. Reading this book you would realise how lucky we Indians are to have idols like Sachin, Rahul Dravid, Saurav, sehwag,virat from the cricketing world who have commanded respect admiration love from all their fans and are still grounded and looked up to as idols.

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and enjoyable with a mixture of his cricket and the scandals.It seems fair to me and captures his mercurial character and his ability.But the enigma remains.

[Christopher-James Neethling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The controversy! This guy was a cricket genius, yet a little boy in a grownup body. Very entertaining book to read.

[Jason Orthman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible insights into the scandals and personal life of Shane Warne. Wouldn’t be an easy read for Shane but shows the weaknesses of a brilliant cricketer and larger than life character.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spun Out: Shane Warne The Unauthorised Biography Of A Cricketing Genius, by Paul Barry
Rather intense, genuine attempt at looking at this charismatic personality. ***

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

my edition has a different cover.