‘Warne like a kid at school with no mates’: Lee reveals what Steve Waugh jokingly told him
Lee, who was selected in Australia’s World Cup squad as a 23-year-old, explained how Warne was extremely warm to him before Waugh, who wasn’t the captain of the side, pulled him aside and jokingly offered a suggestion.
As Shane Warne and Steve Waugh continue to trade barbs over their frosty relationship, Shane Lee has revealed how the former Australia captain joked that the ex-Australia leg-spinner was like “the kid at school with no mates” in the dressing room during the 1996 World Cup. Lee, who was selected in Australia’s World Cup squad as a 23-year-old, explained how Warne was extremely warm to him before Waugh, who wasn’t the captain of the side, pulled him aside and offered a suggestion.
“I remember the ’96 World Cup. I was selected as a 23-year-old all-rounder. And Warney was really nice and took me in. He said, ‘It’s going to be the Shane show, you and me, the Shane show’.” Lee, the older brother of Brett Lee, said on the Betoota Advocate podcast.
“Steve Waugh pulled me aside and said, ‘How you going with Warney?’ I said he’s being really nice to me and Waugh said, ‘Do you remember when you were at school and there was a kid at school that had no mates and this new kid comes to school and that kid with no mates is all over that new kid? You’re that new kid and Warney’s the kid with no mates.’”
It’s not secret that the two cricketers weren’t the best of buddies. Warne and Waugh’s strained relationship recently came to the spotlight again. Warne called Waugh “the most selfish cricketer” in a tweet before the former captain fired back a few days later, saying the former leg-spinner’s “comments are a reflection of himself”. However, irrespective of what Waugh has to say about Warne, Lee credited him for having one of the sharpest minds in cricket.
“But Warney, he was the best cricketer I ever saw and played with,” added Lee, who played 45 ODIs for Australia between 1995 and 2001. “A freak of a cricketer and a great cricket brain.”
Lee weighed in on the relation between Warne and Stuart MacGill, who was considered Australia’s second-choice spinner. MacGill would be a handy operator but seldom did Australia play both spinners together. MacGill would be included as Warne’s replacement and even though he played just 44 Tests despite his 29.02 average and 54.0 strike rate, Lee revealed the two had respect for each other.
“They were chalk and cheese. But I think there was a mutual respect between them, I think it really helped MacGill having Warney in front of him. Because people would always say to him, ‘Ah mate you could’ve been anything.’ But when MacGill was given the reigns at the end he imploded with it,” Lee said.