Shane Warne's death earlier this week brought to mind his first visit to New Zealand in 1993.
I was fortunate enough to secure a one-on-one interview as the cricket writer at The Evening Post with the rising legend.
It was not long after he had spun Australia to victory over the West Indies in Melbourne, finishing with 7-52 in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test.
There was much interest in how the leg-spinning newcomer would fare in the remainder of his career because it was clear that as long as he held himself together, he had the potential to create havoc among many sides.
Here are some comments from that story:
"Warne is no leg-spinner by accident. It has always been his chosen option in the game, but it wasn't without its pain."
I started down at my local club when I was a junior, about 12 or 13. One of the blokes down there was a leg-spinner, and he showed me how to bowl.
I didn't hit the pitch for a while. It was a little frustrating when everyone else was charging in quick and letting it go. I've never bowled anything else.
But I'm glad I stuck to it now.
Bobby Simpson wasn't a bad leg spinner in his time with our 70 Test wickets, and he has helped me. Terry Jenner, Jim Higgs and Richie Benaud have all given me advice. It is then just a case of sifting through it and taking what you want.
He described the Australian Cricket Academy as invaluable for the time he spent in the nets and getting fitter. It also gave him a chance to improve his variations.
Warne said playing on his beloved home ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the Great Southern Stand will soon be a memorial to him, in that West Indies Test was a nervous moment, but not as bad as playing in Sydney a year earlier on his Test debut.
Then my hands were so sweaty I could hardly bowl.
But Ian Healy helped me in Melbourne this summer. He told me to forget about the negatives, about bowling badly and being hit.
He said to be positive and to think about doing well. I was able to come in and bowl properly. It was nice to be able to help the side win a game against the West Indies, which, in recent seasons, has been the team to beat.
There three Tests here will be pretty tough. Hopefully, I can be part of a winning series against New Zealand.
To make the Ashes tour would be fantastic. It is traditional that every Australian wants to play that, but, I also want to stay in the side as long as I can.
There's no doubting he managed to do that.
And what of that series against New Zealand? It proved a good test for him as New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe fancied himself handling the rising Australian prospect and went after him during the series.
The series was shared 1-1, New Zealand losing the first Test in Christchurch by an innings and winning the third at Eden Park by five wickets.
Crowe never fell to Warne during the series, but the rising leg-spinner prepared for the Ashes tour of England that followed with 17-256, a more than healthy average of 15.06.
At the same time, the Aussies only played him once in the five-game one-day series, one of the more thrilling between the sides that Australia won 3-2, the last game by three runs.