Leaner Warne ready for South Africa, says Gilchrist

Shane Warne is leaner, not necessarily meaner, but in very good shape to get to grips with South Africa at the Wanderers on Friday. That's not the view of probably the best legspinner of all time, but of Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist.

By his own standards, Warne was ineffective in the VB Series in Australia, a triangular tournament which saw the hosts shuffled out of the door as South Africa and New Zealand contested the final. It was also a series which cost Steve Waugh the one-day captaincy of Australia, but all of this, according to Gilchrist, is behind the Australians as they towards the first Test match and a return to the form that enabled them to whitewash South Africa 3-0 in the December and January Test matches.

Australia warmed up with a rain-affected draw against South Africa `A' in Potchefstroom earlier in the week. There were undoubtedly more positives for the tourists than for the home team, and one of these, said Gilchrist on Wednesday, was the form of Warne.

"The ball came out really well for Warnie," said Gilchrist. "There were a couple of loose ones early on - one was lucky enough to take a wicket. I thought the ball came out of the hand really well. He's really looking fit. He's lost a lot of weight and he's keyed up to perform well. From him it's a positive vibe and it gives everyone a little bit of a lift. Certainly, in the way he was trying to implement his plan, it was pretty impressive."

Gilchrist said that Warne had been honest enough to accept that he had a poor VB Series.

"A number of us did," he admitted. "There's no denying that and we've just got to try and forget about that now."

But Warne would still be a significant factor over the next three Test matches in South Africa.

"There's a lot of mystique around him still," said Gilchrist. "They copped him in his prime in the 93/94 series when he was just out of this world as a bowler. There aren't too many players still lingering around from that, but it passes on as folk lore down the eras about how good somebody is. He's still a world class bowler. He just seems to command their respect. Maybe that's what it is - they show him a lot of respect and he can get confident and get into a good rhythm."

Gilchrist noted that New Zealand had been more successful against Warne than South Africa throughout the summer.

"New Zealand were innovative against him, a bit more risky. Probably in comparison to the way the South Africans played him, they managed to get him away a little bit more.

"But from previous results he demands respect and he's still a good enough bowler to expose that as soon as there's a doubt there. He's still very much capable of thinking them out and producing the goods to get them out.

"He got his tail up during the summer in Australia against South Africa. Sydney was a perfect keeper's match in regards to what was on offer - Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne in a spinning wicket against a team that traditionally doesn't play legspinners well."

For all that, Gilchrist is not expecting an easy series for the Australians.

"They're a talented side as we've seen through the Australian summer. At different times one of them would do something of high quality. They know they didn't quite do it all together at the same time and that's why we were able to get the jump on them," he said.