Warne on top, for the right reasons

On a good day, big Test wicket hauls earn Warne a place on the back pages. On a bad day, he fills front pages, like for his yearlong suspension for doping.

Shane Warne was back on top of the cricket world on Friday, breaking the all-time record for Test wickets.

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This time he was making headlines for the right reasons.

Warne became cricket's highest wicket-taker when he dismissed Irfan Pathan for his 533rd Test scalp during the second Test match against India. Warne, 35, had Pathan caught by Matthew Hayden at first slip to move ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan's total of 532.

For better, or often worse, the blond Australian leg-spinner has been making news since he first burst onto the international cricket scene in 1992.

On a good day, big Test match wicket hauls or a new delivery that bamboozles batsmen earns him a place on newspaper back pages.

On a bad day, he dominates front pages, like when he earned a yearlong suspension for using a banned diuretic just before the last World Cup, or a telephone sex case that cost him the Australian vice-captaincy.

There was also an altercation with a child who snapped a photo of Warne smoking, and a gambling scandal that linked him with an Indian bookmaker.