Warne is Bowled Over by Lords and, er, by Me!

Was with the suspiciously-tanned Shane Warne at Lords cricket ground yesterday shivering in the February sleet as he fronted up the introduction of the Rajasthan Royals as a global cricketing franchise. "Warney" has been the scourge of English cricket for getting on for 20 years, either verbally or, in particular, out in the middle where his leggies have often single-handedly destroyed England. He has a dodgy track record off the field, especially when it comes to text messaging, and his well-chronciled problem with his legs means that they were often unable to walk past a plate of food. Yet the man is one of the most-loved Aussies in England and seen by many - not least Royals Chairman Manoj Badale - as the best face figure to front up cricket as we enter the century's second decade. As for me? Well, I still dine out on clean bowling Warne out in the nets in Brisbane when I played with the Australian team ten years' ago. Now, although Warne was a very handy number eight test batsman, bowling him out is not quite the same as smacking the greatest ever bowler in cricketing history for six. It's like winning a point off Roger Federer at racketball or winning a crazy golf hole against Tiger Woods. Especially as he was nursing a shoulder injury at the time! But I'll take it. Straws need to be clutched!