Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1990 Joins Australian Cricket Academy
1992 Makes Test debut for Australia against New Zealand
1998 Admits selling match information to bookie
1999 Leads Australia to World Cup victory
2003 Announces retirement from one-day cricket
In 2000 Warne was named one of Wisden’s five top
cricketers of the twentieth century. That year, he became
the highest wicket taker in Australian cricket history, surpassing
Dennis Lillee’s 355 wickets, and he went over
400 in 2001. By the end of 2002, he was closing in on
Courtney Walsh’s world record of 519 wickets in Tests.
Warne’s career was blemished by revelations about
his association with bookies. In 1994 the Pakistans allegedly
tried to bribe him to bowl badly in a crucial test.
In 1998 he and fellow Australian Mark Waugh were
fined after admitting they gave a bookkeeper in India
critical information about the weather and the pitch in
exchange for money in Sri Lanka in 1994.
Nothing to Prove
As one of the most marketable players in cricket, Warne
earned extra money with endorsement deals. During the
2000 season, he wrote an exclusive cricket column for the
Times of London. In 2001 Warne signed a promotional
contract with British Channel 5 to paint his face with that
network’s logo to promote the soap opera series Home and
Away. That same year, he signed an endorsement contract
to plug cricket boots for British sporting goods manufacturer
Mitre, ending a seven-year deal with Nike.
In December 2002, with 488 wickets recorded in his
career in Tests, Warne discloated his shoulder in a match
against England in Melbourne. A month later, he pronounced
himself ready for the 2003 World Cup. “I don’t
think I have to prove anything to anybody about what I
can do on the field on the big occasion,” Warne explained
to CricInfo News.
In January 2003, Warne announced he was retiring
from one-day cricket after the World Cup to concentrate
exclusively on Tests. With 288 wickets in one-day internationals,
he ranked six in such contests. “I love playing
cricket for Australia,” he told CricInfo News, “but the
No. 1 priority for me is to play Test cricket for as long as
I can… This could prolong my Test career by five or six
years, who knows?”
FURTHER INFORMATION
Periodicals
“Australian Stars Admit Giving Tips.” New York Times,
(December 10, 1998): D7.
Awards and Accomplishments
1994 Wisden Cricketer of the Year
1999 Man of the Match, World Cup semifinal and final
2000 One of five Wisden Cricketers of the Century
“The Belly of the Beast.” Sports Illustrated, 88 (April 6,
1998): 30.
Hall, Emma. “Shane Warne Fronts Times Push.” Campaign,
(June 16, 2000): 4.
“In Brief.” Sports Marketing, (June 2001): 2.
“No Spin Required.” Sports Marketing,(August 2001): 2.
“Warne Meets Lara.”The Economist,334 (March 4,
1995): 88.
Other
Buckle, Greg. “I am Almost Back to My Best, Warne
says.” CricInfo News.http://www.cricket.org/link_to_
database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/JAN/
127379_REUTERS_26JAN2003.html (February 2,
2003).
Hoult, Nick. “Warne Calls Time on His One-Day Life.”
CricInfo News.http://www.cricket.org/link_to_
database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/JAN/
125954_ET_23JAN2003.html (February 2, 2003).
McConnell, Lynn. “Warne Closing in on 500 … and
Beyond.” CricInfo News.http://www.cricket.org/
link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/
2002/OCT/072592_NZ_08OCT2002.htm l(February
2, 2003).
“Shane Keith Warne.” baggy green. http://www.cricket.
org/link_to_database/PLAYERS/AUS/W/WARNE_
SK_02002000/ (February 2, 2003).
Warne, Shane Keith (Victoria). thatscricket.com. http://
servlet.indiainfo.com/indiainfo/cricket.PlayerProfile?countryId=11&playld=156
(February 2, 2003).
Kurt Warner
1971-
American football player
Warner
Sketch by Michael Betzold
Kurt Warner went from $5.50-an-hour grocery clerk to
National Football League (NFL) and Super Bowl
Most Valuable Player. He has won the league MVP twice
and competed in two Super Bowls since taking over as St.
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