MacGill tips Warne to play

The prospects of the world's two greatest spinners facing off in Australia's tropics remain unclear, with Shane Warne rated a 50-50 chance of being fit and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan sounding increasingly unlikely to make himself available.

Warne broke the metacarpal bone in his left hand while batting for Hampshire last Friday. But he will not require surgery and Stuart MacGill, the man most likely to replace him, has backed Warne to front up for the two-Test series beginning on July 1.

"I read on the teletext that Shane will be out for three to five weeks so I expect him to recover in time," MacGill told The Australian newspaper. "I've seen Steve Waugh play with some pretty bad injuries and Shane is just as tough."

MacGill, currently playing county cricket with Nottinghamshire, has booked a holiday in Venice around the time of the first Test and is not expecting to change his plans.

Cricket Australia's medical officer, Dr Trefor James, will monitor Warne's progress and keep the selectors posted. "In consultation with the medicos at Hampshire we will be doing everything possible to speed his recovery," James said. "But at this stage it appears as if he is a 50-50 prospect of being available."

Muralitharan, meanwhile, looks more likely by the day to make good his threat not to tour Australia. He said he was not attracted to the idea of playing in Darwin and Cairns - "they have not given important places to us" - and felt like having a rest.

"I need a break," he was quoted as saying in The Age newspaper. "I have played so much cricket and achieved what I wanted to achieve. I [may] take a break, a fresh start and play for another seven years. But I haven't decided yet."

Australia's selectors are not contemplating a possible stand-in for Warne at this stage. "Shane will be doing everything he can to get himself right and we will give him as much time to do that as possible," said Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors. "But if he isn't 100% fit then he won't be selected.

"At this stage, though, no player has been placed on standby or nominated as a possible replacement for Shane. We just want to see how the injury progresses over the next few weeks before looking at that scenario."

Both MacGill and Cameron White, the Victorian legspinner, were left out of the original 13-man squad, with the selectors anticipating fast wickets and no requirement for a second spinner.

Darren Berry, the former Victorian captain, has urged the selectors to pick White ahead of MacGill if a replacement for Warne is needed. He said the selectors were unlikely to field both Warne and MacGill in India, venue of Australia's next Test commitment, so it made sense to trial White.

"They are talking about India with the low, slow wickets, and if Warne is going to be right for that I don't think they will take Warne and MacGill," Berry told The Sunday Age . "So why don't they just throw White in there now and see what he's got?"