Shane won't give up Australian citizenship

Shane Warne will not lose his Australian citizenship in order to prolong his county career in England as a non-overseas player. It was reported Warne, whose mother was born in Europe, was considering applying for a German passport so he could help out his county Hampshire next year.

"I am Australian, as simple as that, and I always will be," Warne told reporters in England. "I'm not going to be Adolf Warne or anything like that - I'll always be Shane Warne."

James Erskine, Warne's manager, said "it's not going to happen". "Under no circumstances would Shane renounce his Australian citizenship or have another nationality in preference to being Australian," he told AAP. "He's an iconic Australian sportsman. He's very proud to be Australian.

"If it was possible for him to have a German passport, as well as an Australian passport, that would be fine. He's not necessarily said 'I'm definitely going to do it', but I'm sure he would consider it. It just depends on whether or not he wants to go on playing county cricket anyway."

Warne is contracted to Hampshire until the end of the 2008 season and counties will be allowed only one overseas player next year. It was the Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove's idea for Warne to take out German citizenship and he was said to be dismayed at how the story has escalated. The weekend report caused a stir in Australia with the prime minister John Howard saying he would be "amazed" if Warne opted to become a German citizen in order to play cricket in England.