 |  He will be regarded as the best spin bowler, if not the greatest cricketer, to have ever played the game |
When Shane dismissed Jacques Kallis for his 300th Test wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1997, I was asked how many wickets he would finish up with at the end of his career.
At the time I said if he wanted to, he could get 600 and more.
Most people thought that was an outrageous claim, but they don't know Shane.
It all comes down to how long he wants to play the game for.
As long as he still has the desire, satisfaction and pleasure playing the game, he will collect 700 wickets.
When will that be?
Well at the current rate of roughly 15 Tests a year, with Shane averaging 4.5-5 wickets a match, he would need to play for another 18 months or so to reach that landmark.
By then he will be nearer 38 so the question is: At what age will he retire?
He has made the statement many times over that he is not the rip-it-as-hard-as-you-can 23-year-old he used to be.
He is 35 now with a catalogue of shoulder, finger and knee operations, so you know there is a lot of wear and tear.
With roughly 15 Tests a year, bowling 30 overs a match, that is an awful lot of overs to get through.
This has forced him to protect his shoulder, hence the low bowling arm that appears whenever he gets tired.
But what stands out for me is how he always comes back to the basics to rebuild his game when things are not going his way.
When I first met Shane as a 20-year-old at the Australian Cricket Academy, we worked on getting the best set of basics that would suit his bowling style through his career.
 Jenner and Warne worked together before the Lord's Test |
Before the start of the Ashes, he had developed some bad habits which he knew about, but like most people he was not sure how to go about fixing them.
That is what is great about our relationship, we can go back to the things we have worked on for the past 15 years.
People think because you have taken so many Test wickets, your confidence is booming all the time. That is not so - every spinner goes through highs and lows.
Shane has a huge heart and incredible courage that may have been underestimated by people at times.
His desire to wear the Baggy Green has always seen him through adversity.
Whether he reaches 700 wickets or not, he will be regarded as the best spin bowler, if not the greatest cricketer, to have ever played the game.
MMIX
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