Warne Watch: No respect for the comeback kid (15 November 1998)

15 November 1998

Warne Watch: No respect for the comeback kid

By Ihithisham Kamardeen

IF Trevor Hohns, the Australian chairman of selectors, has his way, England will not get a glimpse of the new Shane Warne until after Christmas.

Hohns hinted he is not keen on Warne leading Victoria in their first-class match against the tourists on Dec 5 before the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

Warne, on the comeback trail after shoulder surgery, bowled 10 overs against Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match in Perth yesterday. But Hohns, in Perth for a final look at medium paceman Damien Fleming and Paul Reiffel before picking the Australian squad for the first Test, feels the leg-spinner needs to rebuild his confidence before being considered for a recall.

"If he is bowling well at that stage I don't want him to bowl against the Poms," Hohns said. "But it is up to the player and the Victorian selectors."

Warne, who underwent a shoulder reconstruction in May, bowled for the second time in eight days for Victoria. Australia's second greatest wicket-taker, with 313 victims in 67 Test matches, is hopeful of an early return in the five-Test series with England, starting in Brisbane on Friday. Seen as a key man in Australia's Ashes campaign, he conceded 19 runs in four overs before lunch and later bowled the last over before tea and then another five before deciding to take the second new ball.

He was treated with scant respect by the Western Australian middle-order, which took 46 runs off him, including four boundaries and a six. He bowled mainly leg spin, except for the odd wrong 'un. The flipper, his main wicket-taking ball was missing. Since taking a wicket with his third ball for his district club, St Kilda, in his first competitive appearance, Warne has also bowled eight overs against New South Wales in a one-day game, grabbing one for 23 off eight overs.

"We are prepared to give him as much time if he wants to get to full fitness," Hohns said. "He's on a well monitored comeback programme and he is coming along nicely. Certainly, we are not going to rush him.

"He is landing them (deliveries) nicely. To me, he needs a bit of work to recapture confidence. But he's looking very promising and there's nothing medically wrong with him. He can bowl as many overs as he likes. What he does need is the confidence to return to the bowler he was before."

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