Melbourne Stars stand-in captain Adam Zampa has a “bit of Shane Warne” in his leadership.
So does injured Stars captain Glenn Maxwell according to coach Dave Hussey who played with the spin king in the early days of the Big Bash when it turned to Warne to give the competition the sort of star power only he could provide.
It’s why Friday’s MCG clash against the Sydney Thunder, the first BBL game in front of the Shane Warne stand since the cricket legend’s tragic passing, looms as an emotional for everyone who will put on a green shirt.
Warne played 15 games for the Stars in the first two seasons of the BBL, after coming out of retirement to help kickstart the competition as its marquee man.
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Stars players will all wear Warne’s No.23 on their playing shirts, before it’s retired for good, which Maxwell said was the ultimate tribute to the club’s inaugural captain, who brought his significant “gifts” not just to the Melbourne team, but to a fledgling competition which he made everyone take notice of.
“In the first year of the BBL we needed the king and the BBL certainly needed him as well,” Maxwell said on Thursday.
Warne’s BBL stint was littered with magic and memorable moments including the night he talked through taking the wicket of New Zealand star Brendon McCullum, which Maxwell said showed the “genius” he possessed.
“Nothing probably sort of show showcases the ability and skill and superstar power that he had like that moment,” he said.
“It just showed the genius of what he could do and to be able to take down the opposition‘s best player and talk you through it and take the fans to it, and be subject to ridicule if it doesn’t go right. as well.
“I think he had an incredible ability to bring life to any contest. And he did that in certainly different ways … and he certainly paved the way for the rest of us to, I suppose have the things that we do now.”
Hussey was a foundation Stars player with Warne and said his capacity to take the entire game on his shoulders, to carry the burden of pressure, and thrive with a smile on his face, was significant to the emergence of the competition, and deserving of a tribute match.
“It’s hard to put into words because he was the star. The whole competition needed a star and we needed a leader and he came in and was both,” Hussey said.
“What he did provide for us kids at the time is he took all the pressure of us and just told us pretty much how to play the game with no pressure on us which it’s what I’m trying to do with our boys now.
“When you play on the biggest stage in front of a big crowd at the MCG you’re trying to take all the pressure off all the players so that’s what he provided for us and it’s gonna be a nice fitting farewell just to celebrate his legacy.”
