Over and Out

Their approach will remain seared into the memories of every cricketer who faced them and every fan who watched. Few sporting double acts have been as devastating. The lanky pace bowler from the Outback with the peculiarly long arms and the mischievous master of spin who, with his first ball in Ashes cricket, dismissed Mike Gatting with a leg break that broke hearts. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, the Australians whose combined 1,254 Test wickets are a monument to their victims' misery, have announced their retirement from Test cricket.

The green places of England will feel empty without them. We will miss their style, while praying that the stars never again put two such talents in one Australian team at the same time.