Warne has his eyes on Indian batsmen -- and 400 Test wickets
Shane Warne, back to his best after two months on the sidelines, has set himself two targets -- a bagful of wickets during the India tour starting next month and an aggregate of 400 Test victims by the start of next Australian summer.
Recovered from a finger injury, the greatest leg-spinner of all times revealed Monday he aimed to snap up 34 wickets during the three Tests against India and five in England later in the year to add to the 366 (average 25.97) which makes him Australia's biggest wicket-taker.
"My bowling is back to its best," Warne, 31, declared, reflecting on his weekend destruction of the strong Western Australian batting side in a crucial Sheffield Shield match at the usually spinner-hostile WACA Ground.
In a headline-making return to first-class ranks he captured 9-102, kicking Victoria home to an outright win by 77 runs.
"Before I got injured I thought I was bowling as well as I had for a long time," he said.
"In the three one-day matches against South Africa in Melbourne in August, I bowled as well as I have done for a long, long time. That's why I was so disappointed to get the finger injury.
"My comeback game has been encouraging, and I think the future is going to hold some good stuff.
"I could say I was very, very happy. I was very encouraged by the way the ball came out, especially in Perth on a pretty grassy, flat wicket which did not offer too much turn. I ended up getting a few to whizz through, which was good.
"I would like to think I'll get better and better the more games I have.
"I'm on the verge of maybe getting some of the golden years back because I've been working on the basics.
"I felt that by going back to the basics and bowling the way I was, I was getting my drift, turn and bounce."
Warne is yet to be named in the Australian side for India, but this appears no more than a formality.
He can make certain of leaving Australia February 13 with Steve Waugh's all-conquering side by performing well in a triangular one-day series with the West Indies and Zimbabwe starting Thursday.
Only five bowlers have topped 400 Test wickets in the 124 years since Tests began.
West Indies fast-medium veteran Courtney Walsh heads the honor board, with 494 after the just-completed five-match series in Australia.
The 38-year-old is followed by India's Kapil Dev (434), New Zealander Richard Hadlee (431), Pakistan's Wasim Akram (409) and West Indian Curtly Ambrose (405).
Mail Cricket Editor
