Warne warms up for comeback

Shane Warne has made his first appearance on a cricket pitch for 12 months, after hiring the Junction Oval at St Kilda - the venue of his 2nd XI comeback match next week - for a secret training session.

Warne was accompanied by friends and several members of St Kilda Cricket Club as he bowled for 45 minutes against a variety of leftand right-handed batsmen. According to those who witnessed the session, Warne had few problems finding his range, despite his lengthy lay-off. The session did not contravene the terms of his suspension because it was not classified as official team training for the St Kilda squad.

"The track was turning quite a bit, he was getting quite a bit of bounce and loop," said David Johnstone, St Kilda's chairman of selectors, who looked on in an unofficial capacity. "He seemed really happy with what was going on, and tried some normal [leg breaks], some slower and faster ones, some flippers and wrong'uns and stuff out of the front of the hand. I was standing right out there with him and he looked in good form."

"He doesn't look like he's been out for long," said one of the batsmen who faced him, the young left-hander Justin Gale. "He looks pretty fit. There's not many spinners of his class going about in Melbourne grade cricket ... and he bowled a different [type of] delivery just about every ball. Everything seemed to be coming out all right to me."

The session is unlikely to attract the controversy that surrounded Warne's last public attempt to train, when he was invited to join the Victorian squad soon after his ban was announced. On that occasion, Cricket Australia stepped in and banned Warne from participating in all forms of cricket, apart from charity and testimonial matches.

Cricket Australia have since praised the way Warne has stuck to the terms of his ban. "Shane and his manager have been meticulous in ensuring they comply," said their spokesman, Peter Young, who explained why they had stepped in over his appearance with the Victoria squad. "A player suspended under the Cricket Australia anti-doping policy can't receive any support from official cricket. Shane [couldn't] train at the MCG because members of the public can't."