MacGill aims for three more years

Stuart MacGill guessed he would retire before Shane Warne, but now his long-term rival plans to leave the Test scene he is confident of being an international performer for another three years. MacGill, who might have played 100 Tests if he wasn't an understudy for the past decade, said Warne's decision had not changed his outlook.

"I'm going to be playing every game with the intention of preparing myself so if the opportunity arises to play for Australia, I'm the guy," he said in The Australian. In the Sydney Morning Herald MacGill said initially he did not believe the news about Warne departing at the SCG.

"I was always under the impression that I would be out before Shane," MacGill told the paper. "He's still very able to compete at whatever level he chooses, but professional sport is about achieving goals and setting goals. I guess the first thing I thought this morning when I woke up was that how lucky I am that I still think that I've got things I want to do.

"It would be a real shame to have heard the news and then think: 'I've had enough too.' I still really think I've got some significant contributions to make to Australian cricket and if I play well for NSW and continue to prepare well, then I will be in good shape if Australia needs me."

MacGill, who has appeared only for New South Wales this season and retired from the one-day game, said there was "definitely" a role for him at state and international level for the next two to three years. "It's really important to have experienced bowlers to form part of your attack because we've encountered difficult situations before and had to deal with them," he said in The Australian.

In 40 Tests MacGill has 198 wickets at 27.20 and he wants to finish when the "time's appropriate". "That's definitely not now," he said. "Shane retiring hasn't changed my outlook at all."

However, MacGill was not sure whether he would get a chance to partner Warne for the final time in the SCG Test. "I'm not really sure if I will play in Sydney, to be honest," he said in the Herald. "It's not supposed to be easy to play Test cricket, and in a really kind of strange way, I'm kind of happy ... I'm comfortable with the way things are going and know that I still have things that I want to get done in a blue cap and that might lead to a little more."