Warne: 'I might have to jump on this opportunity'

Shane Warne is raring to go, even if not 100% fit, spurred on by a belief that time is running out and that every chance to play has to be seized.

Speaking at a press conference in Melbourne to confirm that he is fit to face Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Test series, Warne admitted that the clock was ticking, and that he had to take advantage of the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan. Warne, currently on 517 wickets, needs just 11 more to break Murali's world record.

Warne said that he was disappointed by Muralitharan's decision to stay away, but admitted that it handed him an opportunity. "Murali's only 32, so he's probably going to play for another five or six years and if he keeps taking 70, 80 wickets a year he's going to be pretty close to 1000 when he retires. I don't think I'll get anywhere near 1000, so I might have to jump on this opportunity in the next couple of Test matches and get some wickets.

"I might get on the phone to Punter [Ricky Ponting] and make sure he bowls me at Nos. 9, 10 and 11 or something like that."

And Warne admitted that the prospect of breaking a world record was a tremendous incentive. "It's not every day that you get the opportunity to do that," he smiled. "To get the most wickets ever in the history of the game, it's a carrot that's dangling for two Test matches, and that's pretty exciting."

Although his left hand, which he broke while batting for Hampshire, remains bandaged, Warne is confident that he will not be restricted by it come the first Test at Darwin on July 1. "It will be a little bit like if you get punched in the leg and you're a bit bruised, it doesn't stop anything you actually do, but there's still a little bit of discomfort," he said. "So as far as I'm concerned, it's all good news."