The Ashes: 'i Felt Pretty Proud But It Was a Shame I Couldn't Get 603'

Shane Warne picked up his 600th Test wicket yesterday. Taken in isolation, it is a sparkling statistic. Placed in context, it loses a little of its lustre.

By becoming the first player to reach the milestone, Warne reminded everyone of his all-time greatness - as if that were a matter for negotiation.

But by doing so as England notched up 341 for five he proved that even the greatest numbers need a little help from their friends. Yesterday Warne's record cut a lonely figure.

"I felt pretty proud," he said. "But it was a shame I couldn't get 603 or 604 too. England played extremely well." Warne arrived in Manchester poised tantalisingly on 599 following his 10-wicket haul at Edgbaston, so the record was always going to be a matter of when, not if. Yet it is no less remarkable for that.

Back in January 1998 he bowled Jacques Kallis at Sydney to move to 300, which prompted an immediate prediction from his coach Terry Jenner that he would one day double his tally. Warne wondered aloud whether Jenner had been enjoying a beer or three; he should have known better.

After all, Jenner had come through a spell in prison for gambling-related fraud to help turn his protege into the most mesmerising bowler in the history of the game. And he was at it again before the start of this series, rectifying some technical hitches in time for the first Test at Lord's.

TJ Over The Top was a reasonable name for Jenner's autobiography, but From Embezzlement To Bamboozlement might have worked too. Number 600 was not so much a bamboozle as a strangle, but after 599 you deserve the occasional break.

Marcus Trescothick aimed a sweep at the fifth delivery of Warne's fifth over, the 42nd of the day, but the ball ballooned first off his pad, then off the back of his bat, and finally off Adam Gilchrist's right thigh before nestling in the wicketkeeper's glove. Warne joked that after the career he has had he hardly expected it to be a "regulation wicket". Jenner described it as a bit of an "anticlimax".

No matter: the crowd rose generously and Warne basked and doffed his sunhat; another standing ovation in a career full of them. Almost immediately, Old Trafford's big screen replayed the ball that catapulted him to prominence 12 years ago, with Mike Gatting looking as stunned as ever. For a moment Warne seemed as integral to this venue as the trams behind the old Warwick Road End and the Pit of Hate.

It might just be the most generous reception he has received outside Australia. "I think I've got a pretty special relationship with the Old Trafford crowd," he said.

Warne's reaction was to kiss a white band on his right wrist - a present from his eldest daughter Brooke inscribed with the word "strength". It is something Australia might need a lot more of in the next few days.

His nearest rival Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 549 wickets, was one of the first to congratulate Warne on his achievement, but immediately threw down the gauntlet by saying that he wants to play for another three or four years.

Warne has repeatedly stressed that his longevity depends on his enjoyment, but if he hangs around until the next Ashes series in 2006-07 - as Jenner believes he will - he could be well on his way to 700.

"It's been an amazing ride," said Warne. And despite Michael Vaughan's tongue-in-cheek suggestion that "he can stop there", it is not over yet.

Top 10 wicket takers

600 Shane Warne Tests 125

549 Muttiah Muralitharan 93

519 Courtney Walsh 132

508 Glenn McGrath 110

461 Anil Kumble 95

434 Kapil Dev 131

431 Sir Richard Hadlee 86

414 Wasim Akram 104

405 Curtly Ambrose 98

383 Ian Botham 102