Warne to return on Tuesday

Shane Warne returns after a drugs ban on Tuesday hoping to play his way back into international cricket.

The disgraced Australian leg spinner, who has served a 12-month suspension, will make his first appearance in the modest surrounds of Melbourne's Junction Oval where he will play for the Victorian state's second XI against the Queensland Academy of Sport.

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Local newspapers have been counting down the days to his comeback and an army of reporters and photographers will descend on the suburban park to watch him roll his arm over.

Despite the drug scandal, Warne is being welcomed back to the fold with open arms.

The match actually began on Monday but such is the collective support for Warne in Australian cricket circles, the teams bent the rules to let him join the game on the second day when his ban officially ends.

He was left out of the Australian one-day squad announced on Monday to tour Sri Lanka later this month but is almost certain to be included in the Test squad when it is announced on February 20.

Australia's greatest wicket-taker in Tests and with 491 scalps, second only on the all-time list to West Indian Courtney Walsh, Warne has little to prove beyond his fitness and said he was not feeling any pressure to perform straight away.

"I'm just taking it easy, relaxing and having a good time," Warne told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

"I feel really good, fit and relaxed and I'm just looking forward to playing again. I'm placing no expectations on myself whatsoever."

Warne, who has had shoulder, wrist and finger surgery over the years, has even said his suspension could prove a blessing in disguise by prolonging his international career.

One of Wisden's five cricketers of the 20th Century, Warne was banned last year after testing positive for a diuretic, which can be used to mask other drugs.

He had made a rapid recovery from a serious shoulder injury to make Australia's World Cup squad when news of the positive test became public days before the tournament began in South Africa.

Warne said he had taken a fluid-reducing tablet to improve his appearance without knowing it contained an illegal drug.