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Judging by his infamous texting history, Shane Warne is never far from his phone. But the former champion leg-spinner should not be expecting a call from national selectors, according to Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland.
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Always the showman, Warne couldn’t resist when asked about the possibility of a cricket comeback in London overnight.
“If the call comes I will consider it,” he said.
But Sutherland all but laughed off the notion of Warne dusting off the creams again for his country.
“Shane is happily retired as far as I understand,” he said in Brisbane today.
“I see him quite regularly, and I know that he has got enough on his plate without thinking about Test cricket – that’s the end of the story really.
“He has certainly given people something to write about – but he’s good at that.”
Despite his close contact with Warne, Sutherland didn’t feel the need to ask the ex-world record holder to stop fueling comeback speculation as Australian spinners struggled to step out of his shadow.
“It’s not for me to be talking to Shane in that sort of fashion,” Sutherland said.
“I think we should be focussing on the tremendous opportunity that Cameron White or Jason Krejza or Bryce McGain will have over the course of the summer.”
At 39, the veteran of 708 Test wickets would still be tempting to use for Australian captain Ricky Ponting as he weighs up his spin options – or lack thereof – in India.
After the injured McGain flew home, uncapped spinners Krejza and White face a nervous wait with only one of them expected to make their Test debut against India tomorrow in Bangalore.
Despite admitting no Australian spinner had stepped up since Warne’s retirement, Sutherland asked to keep the faith with the likes of Krejza and White.
“The only way they can gain experience and get better is performing at the top level,” he said.
“Spin bowlers in particular sometimes don’t actually get to their best until they are given the opportunity to play at the highest level.
“Shane Warne wasn’t a very successful state or club cricketer – it wasn’t until he got on to the Test stage that we saw the best of him.”
But Sutherland is the first to admit Warne was an exception.
“The last 10 or 15 years we have all been conscious of the fact that we have had one of the great bowlers of all time playing cricket for Australia,” he said.
“We all lived in hope that he would have inspired young people to come through, take up his art and be good enough to be a great Test cricketer.
“There are probably people out there that have what it takes, but we haven’t found that person yet.
“We will continue to work on the best spin bowling talent around the country to do that.
“(But) if you look at the history of the game, there haven’t been that many spin bowlers who have been great players – we have been spoiled by having Shane Warne in our midst.”
Warne may have been hard pressed to make a significant contribution to the Australians’ cause anyway.
In 14 Tests against the Indians Warne took 43 wickets at an average of 47.19, well down on his overall figures.
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