Warne's commentary reveals what Australia missed

Listening to Shane Warne's television commentary is a rare treat. Offering the layman an insight into a cricket genius , it backs up the widely-held belief that he's the best captain Australia never had. As he did on the pitch, in the box he operates on a completely different plane to his colleagues - holding several scenarios and field placings in his head simultaneously, playing two or three balls ahead. You can see why he's so good at poker.

As a rule, former captains make the best commentators. Looking at the current Sky team - Atherton, Hussain, Gower, Botham, Holding, Willis (with Vaughan blatantly waiting in the wings) - they've all done a good stint at the helm, but only Nasser comes close to Warne with his insights. And he was probably the best skipper of that crop. Hussain's analysis is excellent - he untangles the game, with a more forensic, mechanical approach than Warne. The Australian is a lot more fun - hyperactive and scheming, with an amazing, infectious enthusiasm. Hussain had a reputation as a humourless, authoritarian captain (which was why Vaughan made such a welcome change), and although he's mellowed you can still see it. The man's intense. For all Warne's famous indiscretions - the Sky team noticeably wince whenever he strays off cricket - knowing when to have a laugh is as important as knowing when to put the squeeze on. He can definitely do both.

Listening to Warne first-hand is also interesting in light of Ponting's much-debated captaincy. Looking on, Warne is constantly second-guessing and exposing Ricky Ponting's plodding, reactive captaincy, his irritation at his former skipper thinly veiled. They're said to have feuded over Ponting's decision-making in the past, and it must have been intensely frustrating for Warne to have had the guile but not the authority to hammer through an advantage. That's what Warne is all about - constantly scenting an opening, an advantage of any form - the spinner building pressure with dot balls, the skipper's field placing deliberately inviting a repeat of a well-executed boundary. His mind is almost telepathically attuned to weakness. Apparently Warne had a natural instinct for which players could be effectively sledged and which were impregnable. But he used it judiciously, not for it's own sake, and constantly kept his eyes on the prize. If there is such a thing as 'the spirit of cricket', I reckon that's it.

Basically, Shane Warne's highly intelligent in a very specific way, and I find that utterly fascinating. His commentary opens up areas of the game most people would never even think about. Given what his generation of Australians achieved in any case, it's probably best he never did get a run as captain.