Shane Warne claims 700th Test wicket

The Ashes 2006/2007Shane Warne added another milestone to his masterful career, becoming the first bowler to take 700 Test wickets when he removed England opener Andrew Strauss in the fourth Ashes match.

After squeezing a delivery between Strauss' bat and pad and knocking out middle stump yesterday, Warne wheeled away to his left, pointing his right index finger in the air, as a crowd estimated at around 90,000 rose to give him a standing ovation.

The 37-year-old legspinner is playing his 144th and penultimate Test, having announced before the Melbourne Cricket Ground match that reclaiming the Ashes was the best way to finish his international career.

The 700th Test wicket was his 187th against England and came 13 years after he entered cricket folklore by bowling Mike Gatting with his first ball in an Ashes Test.

Warne was quickly surrounded by his teammates and later held up the ball to acknowledge his home crowd.

Strauss was out for 50, on the second ball of Warne's fourth over, and England were 101 for four after winning the toss and deciding to bat.

It was Warne's 15th wicket of the series, including a four-wicket haul on the last morning in Adelaide that propelled Australia to an unlikely win in the second Test.

He took five wickets in the win at Perth that gave Australia an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Warne was also the first bowler to reach the 600 Test wicket barrier, achieving that in the third Ashes Test in England last year when he had then England vice-captain Marcus Trescothick caught behind at Manchester.

"Obviously nobody has done that before -- I'm proud of that achievement, it's always nice to be the first," he said at the time. "It's been an amazing ride."