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| Sunday, 21 March 2004 |
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Warne eyes Walsh's world record at SSC SA'ADI THAWFEEQ, reporting from Kandy KANDY, March 20 - Champion leg-spinner Shane Warne said that his weeks and months of hard work on his fitness while serving a 12-month drug ban was now serving him well. Warne took a match bag of ten wickets for the second consecutive time in the on-going Test series to pick up the man-of-the-match award and move nearer to West Indian Courtney Walsh's world record of 519 Test wickets. Warne finished with five for 90 for match figures of 10 for 155, which took his career tally in 109 Tests to 511 wickets. He is now in line to go past Walsh's record in the third and final Test at the SSC beginning on Wednesday. "I couldn't have asked for it to go any better but I suppose it is credit for me for working as hard as I have over the last six weeks, both on fitness and on my bowling, batting and catching," said Warne. "Personally, if I had written the script before that I was selected to come to take 20 wickets and two ten-fors and win the series two-zip, I think someone would have tapped me on the shoulder and said I was dreaming," he said. "I don't think I could have bowled much better than I have in the last couple of Test matches." The 34-year-old spinner said that Walsh's record was never in his mind during the Galle Test, but being nine wickets away was something that he had to definitely think of. "I suppose now that I have 511 with nine to get. If I bowl as well as I bowled in this one and it is a turning wicket (at the SSC), then I suppose there is a chance of breaking the record," said Warne. "But if it doesn't happen I will still be happy if we win and I take a few wickets along the way." Warne said that for Australia to be bowled out for 120 and to come back and win was a 'great result'. "I thought they (Sri Lankans) showed a lot of courage to come out and play the way they did. They have always been good players of spin. You bowl anything loose and it is going to be four or six because they go after you. They are similar to the Indian and Pakistani players. "But you have to stay patient and calm and if you bowl enough balls in the right areas you are hopefully going to get wickets. It is always nice when the captain throws you the ball in those tough periods. When it really counts I like to have the ball in my hands," said Warne. "I had a plan this morning and I had a good chat with Ricky Ponting. He asked me what end I wanted and we discussed fields. To the left-hander I was going to bowl fast leg breaks around the wicket and for the right-hander I was going to try to get him lbw or caught at slip so I did not need a bat-pad. The plan worked I suppose," he said. Regarding the small incident he had with Nuwan Zoysa, Warne said: "Obviously he was sent out there to put me off and he was putting his bat where I was putting my foot. But Steve Bucknor had it under control and it just fired me up more than anything." |
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