Good news for Warne

Shane Warne's hopes of hauling in Muttiah Muralitharan's world record of Test wickets have been boosted by the latest positive reports on his broken hand.

Warne is now considered a big chance of playing in at least the second match of Australia's two-Test home series against Sri Lanka next month after it was originally feared he would be out for five weeks. He will fly to Australia from England on Friday for x-rays on the broken metacarpal bone of his left hand with the Australian team doctor Trefor James.

Warne broke the bone while batting for English county side Hampshire last week and was initially ruled out of the series, with the first Test starting on July 1 in Darwin and the second in Cairns on July 9.

"At the moment it's too early to say but he's 50-50 for the first Test," said the Hampshire director Tim Tremlett. "Obviously he's very keen to play, having missed so much cricket. But he's a real chance for the second Test match.

"There was no evidence of gross deformity, it's not a major break, so it's just a question of it being immobilised with strapping. And it's on his left hand, so it's not his bowling hand."

The positive news for Warne comes a day after Muralitharan announced he would boycott the series because of the way he is treated in Australia over his controversial bowling action.

Warne currently has 517 Test wickets, two behind the retired West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh's old record and 10 behind Muralitharan. Muralitharan passed Warne and then took the record from Walsh during Sri Lanka's recent series clean sweep against Zimbabwe.

Warne suffered the injury when he was hit on the hand by the former England Test paceman Darren Gough while batting for Hampshire in their 114-run win over Essex last Friday. Warne went on to bowl four overs before the pain forced him out of the attack.