On a recent episode of The Willow Talk, hosted by respected sportscaster Adam Peacock and former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin, former captain of Australia Mark Taylor recounted and shared a hilarious banter between the great Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne and the former South African all-rounder Brian McMillan. When asked about the best one-liner he had ever come across,
Mark Taylor recalled a remarkable conversation he had with McMillan, which happened in the fourth innings of the third Test match between Australia and South Africa in 1993–94.
The anxiety on the pitch was evident at that crucial juncture, when McMillan was at the crease and there were just a few wickets left to clinch a draw for Australia and the Proteas, who were chasing 321 to win the series. Despite “Big Mac”‘s inability to pick the leggie, Warne was having difficulty freeing him.
By now Mark had described how Warne had told McMillan the exact version of his upcoming speech before he gave it. Surprisingly, McMillan regularly failed to get in touch with the majority of Warne’s pitches despite this advance notice.
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Finally, after several more overs, with McMillan still holding his ground and Warne still bowling, Mark related an especially funny incident. With a rich, booming voice, McMillan advanced down the pitch in his normal burly fashion, threatening Warne with a fun but menacing menace. Alyssa Healy, a former Australian women’s cricket player, and the rest of the podcast panel laughed heartily at Warne’s apparently disturbed reaction to this surprise move.
Hello, Warnie! Every day, many people in South Africa pass away. When Australia would again tour South Africa in the upcoming weeks, “one more will not matter,” McMillan declared.
After he said that, Mark, who was fielding close by, saw that Warne was shaking noticeably in terror. Worried, he went to see how Warne was doing at his run-up, only for Warne to nervously ask if McMillan had really meant his threatening remark. Warne asked, trembling, “Do you think he means it?”
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In the end, Warne outplayed McMillan, dismissing him for only four runs off of 38 deliveries, helping the Australians to a definitive 191-run triumph.
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