Ever since the retirement of Shane Warne, Australia has longed for another great leg spinner.
After a remarkable Ashes series, Alana King looks to be the answer.
The 29-year-old was awarded player of the series in the Women’s Ashes, taking 23 wickets in the seven-game multi-format series, capped off by match figures of 9/98 in the standalone day-night Test match.
In a series where King provided many highlights, it was the dismissal of Sophia Dunkley in the second innings of the Test that has drawn comparisons to Warne.
King’s delivery pitched outside leg stump at a good length before sharply turning, beating the outside edge of Dunkley’s bat before hitting the top of off-stump.
To compare any delivery to Warnie’s ‘ball of the century’ to Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes seems frivolous, but the similarity of King’s ball to Dunkley is hard to deny.
Fittingly, the delivery came from the Shane Warne Stand end at the MCG.
While the series is certainly the highlight of King’s career to date, it builds upon the successful three years she has had since debuting for Australia. King attributed her momentous series to years of hard work and dedication.
“It’s the work that’s gone in, not just in this series, but in the years before that, to get to this level”, King said in the post-Test press conference.
Since debuting for both Victoria and the Melbourne Stars in the 2015-16 summer, King continued to go from strength to strength.
However, Australia’s abundance of prolific spinning allrounders, and the emergence of fellow leg spinner Georgie Wareham, delayed King’s inevitable debut for Australia.
When finally given the chance in the 2022 Ashes series, King took the opportunity, cementing herself as Australia’s frontline spinner in the ODI and Test sides.
King’s impressive 2024-25 Women’s Big Bash tournament, where she was the competition’s equal leading wicket-taker playing for the Perth Scorchers, was a foregoing sign of the Ashes series she would have.
And while her dominance is demonstrated in her wicket-taking, it is King’s ability to build pressure and keep batters guessing that contributes to her success.
The English batters never got comfortable when King was in the attack, often forcing mistakes that led to their downfalls.
On top of her ability with the ball, King plays with a charismatic spirit like Warne did himself.
“I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can, and I try to do it with a big smile on my face,” King said.
Alana King is a must-watch cricket whenever the Australian women’s side plays and has the attributes to be one of our greatest spin bowlers.
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