Warne bids farewell to the Rose Bowl

Shane Warne, who retired from first-class cricket last week, bids farewell to Hampshire in his latest column for The Times:

After eight years, four of them as captain, I cannot just draw a line under what has been one of the happiest parts of my life. In cricket it is not only the games you play that are important, or even the victories you achieve, but the people you meet along the way. Some of my team-mates will remain friends for life.

Dimi Mascarenhas is one example. He spent a fortnight here in Melbourne recently and I am looking forward to playing alongside him again - and watching his big-hitting - when he comes over to Jaipur. I have also become close to Shaun Udal and John Crawley, guys I knew only as opponents before 2000.

Without getting a lot of silverware, we have become pretty successful on the field. I wanted to help to create a strong environment and to instil the character in the side that would give the young players the best chance of going on to play for England, and then be successful when they take that step upwards.