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 To retire or not Warne takes time over decision
Posted: Monday September 06, 1999 02:44 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN/SI) -- Shane Warne, the Man of the Match in the semifinal against South Africa and in the World Cup final against Pakistan said Wednesday he was unsure about his playing future. "I will take the next few weeks to decide which way I will go and have a good think about everything and enjoy winning the World Cup," The Australian spin star said. It was after Warne saw his newborn son, Jackson, for the first time Wednesday that he hinted his family may take priority over cricket when he decides his playing future in the next few weeks. "To be home last night and see him makes you realize that there are important things in life and where your priorities lie and my priorities lie with my family," Warne told a media conference. "Some things affect your family and when they start to affect your family then that is when you have to assess what you are doing." Warne said he had been thinking about his playing future a lot over the past couple of weeks. "I went out there in the last few games and said 'Who knows what the future holds, this could be it.' I basically made up my mind 10 days ago and until the last week it was probably 50-50." Australian captain Steve Waugh said he and other members of the team would not try to influence Warne's decision "Of course you want a player like that to keep going," Waugh said. "It's got to come from Shane. It's not my decision. It's not anyone else's." The future of the 29-year-old spinner has been the subject of much speculation since he was dropped from the test team in the West Indies in March and criticized early in the World Cup for his form. He said today that the criticism did get to him. "Recently whenever I have had a bad game, it's that I can't play anymore and I should be dropped," Warne said. However Warne said he was still considering playing county cricket in England, something he had been unable to do in the past due to injuries and other commitments. And if he decided to stay on, Warne said he would tour Sri Lanka with the Australian team. "I would really like to experience county cricket but I don't think the timing has been right on previous occasions what with shoulder operations and how much cricket we've had on in the past," Warne said. "A lot of the guys have played county cricket and have come back and said they have really enjoyed themselves and said it was really good cricket." He said several clubs were interested in him. "One of the counties is a fair way down the track [in negotiations] and the decision will probably be made in the next month or two," he said. Australian pace spearhead Glenn McGrath also said he would think about playing for an English county team. "I've spoken to a few clubs over there but I've been focussed on the World Cup so I haven't given it much thought," he said. "But now I've got a few things to think about over the next few months whether I feel I can handle it, and if I do want to go over there."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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