20th
December, 2006 | Back
to Shane Warne Index
SHANE WARNE,
the most prolific wicket-taker in the history of Test
cricket, will announce his retirement from international
cricket today, effective after the Sydney Test. Alex
Brown SMH
And his long-time fast-bowling
partner, Glenn McGrath, will follow suit, marking the
end of one of the most successful eras of Australian
cricket.
Warne, 37, will call a
press conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground at
midday today, where he will close the book on one of
cricket's most decorated and controversial careers.
The Herald understands
that Warne will accept a lucrative position with Channel
Nine's commentary team. It is unclear whether recent
reports of a reconciliation with former wife, Simone
Callahan, with whom he has three children, had any bearing
on his decision.
As of yesterday, Warne
had not informed the majority of his teammates of his
impending retirement, but is understood to have discussed
the matter with senior team officials.
Warne has taken a world-record
699 Test wickets, and will almost certainly break the
700 barrier during the Boxing Day Test at his home venue,
the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"Melbourne is going
to be huge," Warne said after Australia's Ashes
triumph in Perth. "The script is fantastic."
Assuming that he plays
the remaining two Tests of this Ashes series, Warne
will retire with 145 Tests and 194 one-day internationals
to his name.
In that time, the Victorian
leg spinner has weathered numerous controversies, including
sex scandals, bookmaking dramas and a positive drugs
test, which resulted in a 12-month ban.
Warne is expected to be
joined by McGrath, the most prolific fast bowler in
the history of the game, with 555 Test wickets, in announcing
his retirement from Test cricket after the Sydney Test.
McGrath, though, will almost
certainly continue his one-day international career
through to the end of the World Cup, to be played in
the West Indies in April.
Warne and McGrath have
taken a combined 1254 Test wickets and are considered
irreplaceable.
Their impending retirement
announcements follow that of Australia's middle-order
batsman Damien Martyn, who unexpectedly quit the game
before the series-clinching Test in Perth. Back
to Shane Warne Index
