Barry - Spun out: the Shane Warne story

Born and educated in England, award-winning investigative reporter and bestselling author Paul Barry studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. A journalist with the BBC for ten years, he came to Australia in 1987 to work for the ABCs Four Corners, where one of his hardest-hitting reports was on multi-millionaire Alan Bond. This led to his first bestseller, The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond .

Since then, his books have dominated the bestseller lists. His second book, The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer , was the top-selling biography of the 1990s. He followed up with Going For Broke , the story of how Alan Bond hid his fortune, and then revealed how the Packers and Murdochs lost $950m in One. Tel in Rich Kids .

Paul Barrys work as a journalist has won numerous awards, including a Walkley in 2001 for an expos on tax-dodging barristers. He is a former host of the ABCs Media Watch and Channel 7s Witness. He has also reported for Channel 9s A Current Affair and 60 Minutes, written for the Sydney Morning Herald and presented Breakfast on Radio National.

When the subject of a book asks his friends not to talk to the author it seems a bit odd to compile a list of all those who ignored his advice. Consequently, I do not intend to identify the people whose stories and guidance have made this book possible.

Suffice to say I have been assisted by a large number of cricketers past and present and by an army of team officials, sports psychologists and cricket writers who have helped me understand Test cricket in general and Shane Warne in particular. Some of those who refused to talk have also been useful in helping me appreciate the hostility that elite cricketers feel towards the media.

I am indebted to Shanes schoolmates and teachers at Mentone Grammar, who have given me such a clear picture of him as a boy, and to all his ex-team-mates down the years in Australia and England who have shared their memories and insights. I am also indebted to those who knew him at the AIS Cricket Academy and to his many friends and acquaintances in Bristol and Accrington.

It is always a risky prospect writing about a national icon, even one as controversial as Shane Warne. But it is also rewarding. To the 100-or-more people who have helped make this book happen please accept my thanks for your time, generosity and trust. I hope that the finished product lives up to your expectations and that it is much fun to read as it was to write.

Its Day One of the final Test match at Londons famous Oval cricket ground. The crowds singing Jerusalem and the Australians are already on the ropes, though barely an hour has passed. After 16 years of being whipped by the Old Enemy, the Poms are on the brink of a historic victory that would see them win back the Ashes.

But the fat boy has yet to spin.

The match is a sell-out and has been for months. There have been queues at the turnstiles since eight in the morning, and thousands of ticket holders are still lined up outside the ground. Hundreds more are watching from apartments and office blocks nearby. The balconies are crammed. Theyre perched on the rooftops. Schoolboys in uniform are crowding at a window for a view. Building workers in a tower block overlooking the pitch have downed tools and are sitting on the scaffolding. Further afield, just about everyone in England is either tuned in to the game on the radio or watching it on TV.

Back in Australia, where its half past eight in the evening, two million people are also glued to their television sets, gritting their teeth as the Ashes slip away. The Poms have won the toss on a hard, flat track thats made for batting, and their two openers, Strauss and Trescothick, are smacking the Aussie fast bowlers to all parts of the ground. The first hundred is almost in sight. No wickets have fallen. English supporters are counting their cash. The Australians, who started the match as hot favourites, have blown out to 4 to 1. In another hour the Ashes will be out of reach.

But the fat boy has yet to spin.

Shane Warne has been a marvel in this epic series and not just with his mobile phone. Even the Barmy Army has grudgingly paid him respect. Hes taken almost as many wickets as all the other Australian bowlers put together, and hes starred with the bat as well. He slogged his team within an inch of victory at Edgbaston, saved their bacon at Old Trafford and nearly stole the game at Trent Bridge. And always with a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye.

You would never guess that this is a man whose personal life has just imploded, whose wife has just left him, who has trashed a $300,000-a-year TV career, and who has been shamed and ridiculed on the front page of every newspaper in the cricketing world. He has stripped naked and begged one woman for sex, the tabloids have told us, bombarded another with text messages saying I cant wait to f*** you, and urged a third to seduce his wife into a threesome, which he said might save his marriage. We have all read that he likes spanking, and is selfish in bed and is somewhat quick on the draw.

His resilience in the face of such disgrace is a marvel. Back home in Australia, a few days earlier, far tamer revelations have driven the former New South Wales Opposition Leader John Brogden to attempt suicide. Shane, on the other hand, seems to be thriving on the attention. He is playing better then ever. Maybe he likes the limelight, whatever its source. Or maybe he just doesnt care.