21st December, 2006 | Back to Shane Warne Index

 

South Australian captain Darren Lehmann has paid tribute to the retiring Shane Warne's skills and mateship but says the Redbacks have two aspiring spinners that are already vying for his Test spot.

 

Lehmann, along with former Australian players Jason Gillespie and Greg Blewett, were at Adelaide Oval to praise Warne for his career only hours after the leggie announced he'd be bowling his last ball in this summer's fifth Ashes Test.

 

Lehmann said Warne was a 'great' bowler and hoped he would remain involved in cricket after this season's Ashes campaign.

"He was so good to everyone around the side, especially the young blokes, so the simple fact of life is we are all going to miss him playing a game of cricket and miss his mateship around the game," he said.

 

The Redbacks skipper said Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey, along with other first-class spinners, should be excited about the opportunities that come from Warne's announcement.

 

"That door was closed for many years until he retired so, now he has, it is a case of all these guys performing well for the rest of the year," he said.

 

"There's not a Test match for something like 11 months so now it's a case of all of them trying to get wickets, Stuart MacGill included, to be the next one picked."

 

"It depends what they decide, on what future the selectors want to go with, whether they decide, Bailey, MacGill …Cullen, whoever it may be."

 

Fast bowler Gillespie also believes Warne's retirement could fast-track the careers of Cullen and Bailey.

 

"Absolutely, they are two young spinners that are exciting, they are bowling well and there's a door that's opening now with Shane's retirement," Gillespie said.

 

"So good luck to them and hopefully down the track there will be an opportunity for them to represent Australia, it would be nice."

Gillespie praised Warne's longevity and fitness and believes he'd rate close to Sir Donald Bradman as the world's greatest ever Test cricketer.

 

"I think he'd just about be the best player to have ever played cricket," he said.

 

"He's played near on 15-plus years and played against every opposition and won so much in the team environment that it would be a good argument to who is the best player."

 

"He'd be right up there for sure."

 

Greg Blewett got to see Warne's competitive nature and bamboozling skills closer than most.

 

The former Australia batsmen fielded at short leg during the Test veteran's prime and said he never felt in any danger.

 

"It's (short leg) quite a dangerous position and somewhere where you don't generally enjoy fielding," he said.

 

"But you always thought you were in the game when Warnie was playing or bowling."

 

"He genuinely thought he was going to take a wicket with every ball he bowled and I don't know how many bowlers around believe that … that says a lot about him."

Back to Shane Warne Index