The spin quartet

For 15 minutes, a quartet of the game's most treasured commodities paraded their off-field repertoires in a discussion devoted to spin. Shane Warne currently leads the friendly jostle with Muttiah Muralitharan for the most Test wickets, and he assumed the role as unofficial master of ceremonies as the pair joined Daniel Vettori and Stuart MacGill for a pre-Super Test meeting.

Never has a group of slow bowlers with so many Test wickets - 1553 in total, with MacGill the junior on 160 and Warne the senior on 623 - been together like this and, after next week, the chances of a reunion are as likely as both sides naming five-man pace-attacks on a pitch expected to turn. Watching the spinners' banter was fascinating as they played their roles by displaying subtle psychological digs, wise-cracking and genuine love of their craft.

In a press conference, Warne can show similar characteristics to an over of his bowling - brave, offended, attacking, mock-surprised, in control and, most of all, appealing. Vettori was steady, penetrative with a well-placed one-liner and aware of his place in the pecking order, while Muralitharan was quieter and focused, masking the damage of his potent wrist.

A spot for the Test was what MacGill craved, and he grabbed some of the attention with self-deprecating and clever, up-front humour. The selectors, who oversaw his Test-free tour of England, will probably take notice when he turns up at "my house" on Friday.

"I guess that means I'm fresh and that you can't blame me for what happened [in the Ashes]," he said. "Now we're back at my house I think the story will be very, very different. The SCG has always been very good to us."

To MacGill's right, Warne predicted Muralitharan would reach 1000 Test wickets and the compliment was reversed. "He's young, he's fresh and will be around forever," Warne said. "I don't think there's any rivalry there [for the record], I'm just happy to hang on to it and I have a little lead."

As Muralitharan tipped Warne to play for another "five or six years", Warne interrupted with "I'll be 42 then" and MacGill shouted "no" across the table. "Let me clear that up for you, no!" MacGill repeated to a laughing audience. If MacGill, 34, had been born in another country, he might have already retired with 300 Test wickets. Instead, he challenged Vettori to a competition to see who could be first to reach the half-way mark of the other two's tallies.

Vettori settled for being pleased that he was on the verge of a Test in Sydney, something neither he nor Muralitharan have done. "It's pretty exciting, it's been a long time since New Zealand have played a Test here. Usually, New Zealand get a couple of Tests in Hobart and one in Perth," he said dryly. "So, it needs a marquee event to bowl with Murali and to have the two guys on the opposition is exciting."

The Test will be only Muralitharan's third in Australia and his first for ten years. "It's a big challenge for me as I've got three wickets here for 300 runs," he said. "That's 100 runs per wicket so hopefully my performance will be better than that." Warne said Australia would happily give Muralitharan 3 for 200.

As the showmanship neared its end, the predictable yet virtually unanswerable question of who was the best went to Vettori. "The guys to the left [Warne] and right [Muralitharan] of me have obviously proved themselves," he said, as MacGill cheerfully chirped in with "I'm to the left of you".

"Both have done it all over the world," Vettori continued. "I'd hate to put anything between them. We've got a spectacle here and we get to appreciate the two greatest spinners in the game, and myself and Stuart as well." The quarter of an hour was over, but there will be six days - although Warne doubts the match will last that long - for more absorbing byplay.