Warne gives Australian team management a pep talk

Chennai, Feb 26 (IANS) Australian team management received a pep talk from spin legend Shane Warne following their eight-wicket loss to India in the first cricket Test here Tuesday.

Talking to players is not new for Warne, who had earlier issued a two-part manifesto to fix some of the the issues hampering Australian cricket.

Warne last month launched a scathing attack on Cricket Australia, calling some of its officials “muppets”, including high-performance manager Pat Howard and selection chief John Inverarity.

Tuesday, Warne was seen at the Chepauk ground here, having a lengthy chat with captain Michael Clarke, coach Mickey Arthur, fielding coach Steve Rixon and spinners Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty.

Warne, on the commentary panel for the first Test, walked on to the middle and spoke to the coaches and captain for about 20 minutes, reports Herald Sun.

Spin strategy for the next Test beginning in Hyderbad Saturday was expectedly part of the agenda with Lyon and Doherty also in attendance.

Warne later gently refused to divulge details of his meeting with players while Clarke spoke at length about bouncing back. On a lighter note, the skipper also said that the selectors might think of roping in Warne.

“Bring them to India, more spinners? We’ll bring the whole country here soon,” Clarke quipped.

Joked about Warne’s presence here: “Warnie is in town, I’ll see if he’s available.”

It did not take long for the captain to talk business again. “Look, we have 17 players already. I think we have a really talented squad. We need to make the most of the talent we have in the squad.”

“I think we have enough good players, we just need to perform as well as we can. Right now we still have spinning options with Xavier Doherty and Glenn Maxwell. We’ll assess what the pitch is like and then we will make that decision.”

Asked whether Doherty will feature in Hyderabad Test, Clarke said: “Right now I can’t answer that question. I need to see conditions in Hyderabad, wait and see what the wicket is like, and then the selectors can meet and make a call on that.”

Lyon was the lone spinner in team for the first Test.

IANS 2013-02-26 16:48:04