Warne's worries continue and other news (16 April 1998)

16 April 1998

Warne's worries continue

By Richard Bright

SHANE Warne, the Australian leg-spinner, has decided to bowl on for another two weeks even though he needs surgery on a shoulder injury.

Warne could have returned home after Australia's tour of India but has declared himself fit enough for the one-day series against India and New Zealand, starting in Sharjah later this week.

Warne, who has had a sore shoulder for 18 months and suffered ligament damage at the weekend, will have exploratory surgery when he returns to Melbourne and is concerned that the results could mean him missing Australia's tour to Pakistan in October and November.

Paul Strang, Nottinghamshire's new overseas player, has hit out at claims that he was sent home from Zimbabwe's tour of Sri Lanka in disgrace by insisting it was a case of mistaken identity.

Strang was astonished at reports that he had suffered a broken jaw in a nightclub brawl during the troubled trip to Sri Lanka. The leg-spinner said: "It was my brother who was involved in the incident."

Strang confirmed his recent absence from the Zimbabwe side was due to a broken finger sustained in the one-off Test against Pakistan but is hoping to be fully fit soon.

Yesterday's rain meant no play was possible at Fenner's, where Cambridge University are hosting Northamptonshire, and The Parks, where Oxford are playing Sussex.

Sri Lanka's 115-run win over Pakistan in Benoni yesterday played them back into contention for a place in the final of the triangular limited-overs series that also features hosts South Africa.

The Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralidharan took a career-best five for 23 as Pakistan fell for 173 in reply to Sri Lanka's 288.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)