Warne’s belief in me gave me confidence: Guha

The Ashes roadshow rolls into Old Trafford this week and while it will stoke memories of the late Shane Warne’s ball of the century, pundit Isa Guha holds more poignant recollections of the inspirational leg-spinner.

Warne announced himself to the world with a wickedly spinning leg-break to bowl England’s Mike Gatting in Manchester during the 1993 Ashes series and never looked back, finishing with 708 Test wickets and a trophy-laden CV before he was equally mesmerising in the commentary box.

Many tales will be shared about Warne – who died in March 2022 – during the fourth Ashes Test, which begins on Wednesday, but former England bowler Guha has reflected on the role the Australian had in installing belief in herself that she belonged in a male-dominated environment.

Guha, the first woman of South Asian origin to represent England, continued to be a trailblazer after retirement by working for British television’s ITV as co-presenter of its Indian Premier League coverage in 2012 before she turned her arm to commentary with Triple M radio team in Australia in 2016.

Work with Fox, Sky Sports and BBC has followed with Guha widely viewed as a role model in the broadcasting world, but it was Warne’s backing early on that played a key role.

“Shane was big for my commentary because I didn’t believe I could commentate. I knew I could present but he was massive for me believing in myself as a commentator,” Guha said.

“I started working at Triple M, then at Sky with Shane, then Fox and the way he would ask me questions about cricket, that made a huge difference.

“Not that I wasn’t respected by other male broadcasters and I always had support from others, but for some reason when I felt I had Shane’s respect, I felt I had everyone else’s. That was massive for me.

“Shane had always felt out of reach for me. I never imagined I would even have a conversation with him because I was so blown away by that 2005 series.

“Then I got the opportunity to work with him, become his friend and he was so good to me and my husband. He was such a huge influence on my commentary and my broadcasting.”

Warne and Guha would regularly talk cricket strategy and the 38-year-old can see parallels between the Australian great and the England captain Ben Stokes.

World Cup-winner Guha added: “I loved talking cricket with Shane and he was a badger. He loved the game.

“I liked the way he used to gamble and the way he would create magic around him to take wickets.

“It was his aura, his personality and a bit like I see now with Ben in the decisions he takes on the field. Sometimes it looks like it is off the cuff, but actually there is thought behind it.”