Spin legend Shane Warne said yesterday he was still a match-winner as he announced his return to cricket, confirming he would play in Australia’s new Twenty20 Big Bash League with the Melbourne Stars.
The 42-year-old had apparently ended his stellar cricket career in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May, but said recently he had never felt fitter and speculation was rife he would return to the Twenty20 format.
In confirming he had signed with the Melbourne team, the leg spinner said he still had confidence in the abilities which had made him a superstar.
Photo: AFP
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could be pulling my weight, being able to go out there and change the course of a game,” Warne told reporters. “It has got nothing to do with money. If it was something to do with money, I would be still playing in the IPL.”
Warne has not played Test cricket since helping Australia to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash over England in January 2007, but he led the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL until earlier this year.
He said part of his desire to return was that he wanted his three children to be able to see him at work and it was an “added bonus” his fiancee Liz Hurley would be there too.
“My kids, who are 14, 12 and 10, can’t really remember dad playing cricket that much,” he told a press conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). “For my kids and Elizabeth to come out and see me playing cricket here at the MCG will be pretty special.”
The flamboyant personality has also undergone a dramatic weight drop in recent months, shedding about 12kg since dating Hurley, and Warne said he was confident he could handle the workload.
“I’m in such good shape at the moment,” Warne told reporters. “I wouldn’t be going into this and playing all nine games, hopefully [including a semi-final and final], without a sense of confidence in my ability, that I can actually go out there and make a difference.”
The leg spinner said he was injury-free and he did not rule out possibly extending his contract with the Melbourne side if the 2011-2012 season goes well.
“I’m a young 42 at the moment, so I’ll see how it goes this year,” he said. “This is something fresh, this is something new and we’re all learning straight away. Let’s see how it goes this year and we’ll take it from there.”
Rated one of five cricketers of the 20th century by Wisden, Warne will play his first game in the competition against the Sydney Thunder at the MCG on Dec. 17.
Cricket Australia has said the former Test world record-holder’s participation in the domestic Twenty20 league would be a shot in the arm for the new competition, which replaces a state-based tournament.
Several overseas players have signed up with the eight franchises that will contest the league, including South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Collingwood of England and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi.
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