Shane Warne made his first class debut on 15 February 1991. The first post on rec.sport.cricket (that I can find, anyway) was made on 17/18 April (depending on your time zone) 1990.

The last post that I can find about Cricket opinion on this group was made on 24 February 2022 - fittingly, about the New South Wales / South Australia / Victoria (Warne's beloved state) conspiracy to deprive Queensland of its due. Warne died - we hope peacefully, and without much pain - of natural causes overnight on 4 March 2022, at the age of 52.

The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group. Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway? If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:

1. An Official Shane Warne Tribute Thread, at the time of his retirement, which I've read and reread a lot since the news: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/GKA5Z8NV0RQ/m/3i6JTc7hRgEJ

2. 'Sane Warne is 9', a classic of its genre (if not PC today): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/QQaEkp6XC84/m/dt1AItzmwyYJ

3. So many lovely match reports. Among my favourites are Sadiq Yusuf's during the 2001 Australia tour of India. Here's day one from the final Test: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/e7drYhXS9DQ/m/3ief1fMt4CMJ

4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope remains online (I was just the compiler): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSILiI2gJ

5. While there are lots of threads with great analysis of the game (search "Cricketwallah", "Holmans", "Hall", "Sundaram", "Rajan", "Darcy", "Rao" and occasionally even alvey and Dunford), the group was always at its most entertaining to me when displaying its unique flavour of cross-cultural communication, insults, and sometimes talking about Cricket. https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/8A9IyZiNqp4/m/6eV3jLVg56UJ stands out to me.. We'll all have our favourites.
Cricket today would be a very different sport without Shane Warne. Cricket on the internet today would be a very different beast - no Cricinfo or its imitators; this was the place where Rob Moody first started posting his videos, I think; the notion of text commentary of matches, now ubiquitous, through an irc channel spawned here - without rec.sport.cricket.

It's still a wonderful game, especially when Tests are played in and just after a pandemic (and nailbiting finishes mark a draw as much as a win). This newsgroup was once a wonderful place from which to write, discuss, argue, commiserate, and laugh about it. Some of us made friends, too.

In message <85aa4a59-ab81-4c46-b8e1-030a8e0fd500n@googlegroups.com>,
Gilly's Danda <finallyfinished@gmail.com> writes
<snip>
>The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until
>a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group.

I hadn't noticed that till you pointed it out, and it's both sad and
surprising. Fortunately uk.sport.cricket is still going strong (and
perhaps the equivalent Australian group is too, though I don't follow
that).

> Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway?

Me. :) But it's true that for the best part of twenty years there don't
seem to have been any new recruits.

> If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who
>love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for
>which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:
<snip>
>
>4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope
>remains online (I was just the compiler):
>https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSI
>LiI2gJ
<snip>

I still have that post saved. Thanks for compiling it. It ought to
revisit its links and reread those articles.
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

On Sunday, 20 March 2022 at 09:10:52 UTC, John Hall wrote:
> In message <85aa4a59-ab81-4c46...@googlegroups.com>,
> Gilly's Danda <finally...@gmail.com> writes
> <snip>
> >The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until
> >a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group.
> I hadn't noticed that till you pointed it out, and it's both sad and
> surprising. Fortunately uk.sport.cricket is still going strong (and
> perhaps the equivalent Australian group is too, though I don't follow
> that).
> > Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway?
> Me. :) But it's true that for the best part of twenty years there don't
> seem to have been any new recruits.
> > If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who
> >love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for
> >which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:
> <snip>
> >
> >4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope
> >remains online (I was just the compiler):
> >https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSI
> >LiI2gJ
> <snip>
>
> I still have that post saved. Thanks for compiling it. It ought to
> revisit its links and reread those articles.
> --
> John Hall
> "Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
> But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
> Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

So where's "bury me in a coffin draped in a Union Jack" Holmans these days?

Used to regularly infest (and infect) this newsgroup with his pro-England bullshit?

On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 5:16:26 AM UTC+11, Gilly's Danda wrote:
> Shane Warne made his first class debut on 15 February 1991. The first post on rec.sport.cricket (that I can find, anyway) was made on 17/18 April (depending on your time zone) 1990.
>
> The last post that I can find about Cricket opinion on this group was made on 24 February 2022 - fittingly, about the New South Wales / South Australia / Victoria (Warne's beloved state) conspiracy to deprive Queensland of its due. Warne died - we hope peacefully, and without much pain - of natural causes overnight on 4 March 2022, at the age of 52.
>
> The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group. Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway? If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:
>
> 1. An Official Shane Warne Tribute Thread, at the time of his retirement, which I've read and reread a lot since the news: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/GKA5Z8NV0RQ/m/3i6JTc7hRgEJ
>
> 2. 'Sane Warne is 9', a classic of its genre (if not PC today): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/QQaEkp6XC84/m/dt1AItzmwyYJ
>
> 3. So many lovely match reports. Among my favourites are Sadiq Yusuf's during the 2001 Australia tour of India. Here's day one from the final Test: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/e7drYhXS9DQ/m/3ief1fMt4CMJ
>
> 4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope remains online (I was just the compiler): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSILiI2gJ
>
> 5. While there are lots of threads with great analysis of the game (search "Cricketwallah", "Holmans", "Hall", "Sundaram", "Rajan", "Darcy", "Rao" and occasionally even alvey and Dunford), the group was always at its most entertaining to me when displaying its unique flavour of cross-cultural communication, insults, and sometimes talking about Cricket. https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/8A9IyZiNqp4/m/6eV3jLVg56UJ stands out to me. We'll all have our favourites.
>
> Cricket today would be a very different sport without Shane Warne. Cricket on the internet today would be a very different beast - no Cricinfo or its imitators; this was the place where Rob Moody first started posting his videos, I think; the notion of text commentary of matches, now ubiquitous, through an irc channel spawned here - without rec.sport.cricket.
>
> It's still a wonderful game, especially when Tests are played in and just after a pandemic (and nailbiting finishes mark a draw as much as a win). This newsgroup was once a wonderful place from which to write, discuss, argue, commiserate, and laugh about it. Some of us made friends, too.

Happy Days indeed, Hopper.

Who can forget VaBu (possibly still going?), AagAagAgarkar, the QCCCC, TAV, Aslam, odo's, Larry and 'Gutless Bob(TM)' and plenty more.

I'd slightly disagree with this being the last post, from what I can tell, alvey now has so many people in his killfile that he hasn't yet realised that almost nobody posts here anymore, he thinks we're all still here! It's just him & FBInCIAnNSATerrosistSlayer. So he'll be posting for some time yet.. Debatable as to whether there will be any cricket opinion therein, but posting nonetheless.

RIP Warney, you legend...

On Tuesday, 22 March 2022 at 14:54:38 UTC+8, zestyb...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 5:16:26 AM UTC+11, Gilly's Danda wrote:
> > Shane Warne made his first class debut on 15 February 1991. The first post on rec.sport.cricket (that I can find, anyway) was made on 17/18 April (depending on your time zone) 1990.
> >
> > The last post that I can find about Cricket opinion on this group was made on 24 February 2022 - fittingly, about the New South Wales / South Australia / Victoria (Warne's beloved state) conspiracy to deprive Queensland of its due. Warne died - we hope peacefully, and without much pain - of natural causes overnight on 4 March 2022, at the age of 52.
> >
> > The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group. Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway? If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:
> >
> > 1. An Official Shane Warne Tribute Thread, at the time of his retirement, which I've read and reread a lot since the news: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/GKA5Z8NV0RQ/m/3i6JTc7hRgEJ
> >
> > 2. 'Sane Warne is 9', a classic of its genre (if not PC today): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/QQaEkp6XC84/m/dt1AItzmwyYJ
> >
> > 3. So many lovely match reports. Among my favourites are Sadiq Yusuf's during the 2001 Australia tour of India. Here's day one from the final Test: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/e7drYhXS9DQ/m/3ief1fMt4CMJ
> >
> > 4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope remains online (I was just the compiler): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSILiI2gJ
> >
> > 5. While there are lots of threads with great analysis of the game (search "Cricketwallah", "Holmans", "Hall", "Sundaram", "Rajan", "Darcy", "Rao" and occasionally even alvey and Dunford), the group was always at its most entertaining to me when displaying its unique flavour of cross-cultural communication, insults, and sometimes talking about Cricket. https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/8A9IyZiNqp4/m/6eV3jLVg56UJ stands out to me. We'll all have our favourites.
> >
> > Cricket today would be a very different sport without Shane Warne. Cricket on the internet today would be a very different beast - no Cricinfo or its imitators; this was the place where Rob Moody first started posting his videos, I think; the notion of text commentary of matches, now ubiquitous, through an irc channel spawned here - without rec.sport.cricket.
> >
> > It's still a wonderful game, especially when Tests are played in and just after a pandemic (and nailbiting finishes mark a draw as much as a win). This newsgroup was once a wonderful place from which to write, discuss, argue, commiserate, and laugh about it. Some of us made friends, too.
> Happy Days indeed, Hopper.
>
> Who can forget VaBu (possibly still going?), AagAagAgarkar, the QCCCC, TAV, Aslam, odo's, Larry and 'Gutless Bob(TM)' and plenty more.
>
> I'd slightly disagree with this being the last post, from what I can tell, alvey now has so many people in his killfile that he hasn't yet realised that almost nobody posts here anymore, he thinks we're all still here! It's just him & FBInCIAnNSATerrosistSlayer. So he'll be posting for some time yet. Debatable as to whether there will be any cricket opinion therein, but posting nonetheless.
>
> RIP Warney, you legend...
Bring back the Paddy Wars.
RIP Shaaaaaaane. Truly missed.
Johnno

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:16:26 PM UTC-4, Gilly's Danda wrote:
> Shane Warne made his first class debut on 15 February 1991. The first post on rec.sport.cricket (that I can find, anyway) was made on 17/18 April (depending on your time zone) 1990.
>
> The last post that I can find about Cricket opinion on this group was made on 24 February 2022 - fittingly, about the New South Wales / South Australia / Victoria (Warne's beloved state) conspiracy to deprive Queensland of its due. Warne died - we hope peacefully, and without much pain - of natural causes overnight on 4 March 2022, at the age of 52.
>
> The fact that there's been not one post here about Warne's death until a fortnight afterwards may sound the final death knell of this group. Maybe it will revive, but who uses usenet these days anyway? If this is the last post/thread, there's a lot that those of us who love Cricket and have loved it on the internet can remember, and for which to thank this group. A few of my own memories:
>
> 1. An Official Shane Warne Tribute Thread, at the time of his retirement, which I've read and reread a lot since the news: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/GKA5Z8NV0RQ/m/3i6JTc7hRgEJ
>
> 2. 'Sane Warne is 9', a classic of its genre (if not PC today): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/QQaEkp6XC84/m/dt1AItzmwyYJ
>
> 3. So many lovely match reports. Among my favourites are Sadiq Yusuf's during the 2001 Australia tour of India. Here's day one from the final Test: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/e7drYhXS9DQ/m/3ief1fMt4CMJ
>
> 4. Not about Warne, a collection of Neville Cardus's work that I hope remains online (I was just the compiler): https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/yiAZZ39_P9o/m/BO9uSILiI2gJ
>
> 5. While there are lots of threads with great analysis of the game (search "Cricketwallah", "Holmans", "Hall", "Sundaram", "Rajan", "Darcy", "Rao" and occasionally even alvey and Dunford), the group was always at its most entertaining to me when displaying its unique flavour of cross-cultural communication, insults, and sometimes talking about Cricket. https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/8A9IyZiNqp4/m/6eV3jLVg56UJ stands out to me. We'll all have our favourites.
>
> Cricket today would be a very different sport without Shane Warne. Cricket on the internet today would be a very different beast - no Cricinfo or its imitators; this was the place where Rob Moody first started posting his videos, I think; the notion of text commentary of matches, now ubiquitous, through an irc channel spawned here - without rec.sport.cricket.
>
> It's still a wonderful game, especially when Tests are played in and just after a pandemic (and nailbiting finishes mark a draw as much as a win). This newsgroup was once a wonderful place from which to write, discuss, argue, commiserate, and laugh about it. Some of us made friends, too.

This must be Aditya Basrur. Am I correct? You forgot to mention many other posters (like me, for one) :)