Time Ripe For Vics To Capitalise On Warne's Experience
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 30, 2005
The Bushrangers should take advantage of Shane Warne's impressive cricket brain - even to reinstating him as captain
IT WAS a rare appearance Shane Warne made for Victoria yesterday and given his retirement from the Australian one-day team, it is something the Victorians can now get used to on a regular basis.What a bonus to have the greatest leg spinner to play the game at your disposal for more than half the games this season. The Victorians must use this to their advantage and squeeze every ounce from Warne while they have this luxury.Perhaps it is even time to reconsider his role within the team and reinstate him as captain.Cameron White, who led the Bushrangers to victory in the Pura Cup game last week in Perth, would be the main beneficiary. His time to lead will come again. His focus at this point of his career should be to establish his own game without the burden of leadership.White's promotion was a bold initiative by David Hookes out of left field in the hope of pushing the young man forward, perhaps a little before his time. White has strong opinions on the game and a sound knowledge of its workings, but does he really need to be captain right now?Damien Martyn faced a similar dilemma when the captaincy was thrust on him early in his career. It moved him backwards as he battled with the difficulties of constructing his own game while trying to lead a group of players with much more experience.White has done a good job and will benefit from the experience he has had in the past two seasons; it will be something he can draw upon later in his career when leadership and timing is a better match.It will take an equally bold move to reinstate Warne to the leadership role. The decision-makers need to recognise that circumstances have now changed and having Warne lead the side when available would give the team a boost.The leadership snub a few years ago from his own state cut him deeply. I feel, although he may never admit it, the biggest disappointment of his highly successful career will be that he never had an opportunity to lead his country.Cricket Victoria can now play its trump card and allow Warne to finish his career, however long that may be, as captain of his state.Brad Hodge should remain as his deputy and if for some reason both are absent, then White may step forward to do the job.It is almost farcical that Warne played yesterday and waited for White to pull the strings. One man has 16 years' experience, 129 Test matches and 194 one-day internationals to call on; the other is in the embryonic stages of what should be a long and successful career. The roles should be reversed and the mentoring of master and apprentice should begin. Warne is a leader with a few warts, but one who knows the game inside out. He is a natural leader of men, who recently turned the Hampshire team in English county cricket from a disjointed bunch into a free spirited, aggressive outfit that came within a whisker of winning the title this winter. He will head there again next season and the season after that because they love him, warts and all, at Hampshire.It is unlikely the Victorian hierarchy will do an about-face now, considering it is already two years down the track with White at the helm. However, circumstances have changed and if the Victorians want to maximise the use and experience of Warne, they should make the switch without hesitation.Regardless of their decision, Warne needs to take White under his wing, nurture his talent and teach him the complex art of leg spin. They are quite different bowlers of the same craft. One twists side spinners like a roulette wheel, while the other rushes them through like an express train - somewhere in the middle would be a nice place for White to arrive.It's not just White who requires Warne to invest some of his valuable time. Rookie contracted player Josh Mangan, a promising young leggie from Melbourne, took his first five-wicket haul last weekend in Premier Cricket and will benefit greatly from Warne's wisdom. There are others, Jack McNamara (Camberwell Magpies) and Jon Holland (Carlton), two talented young left-arm finger spinners who will make an impression in the coming years with the guidance the spin king can offer.Off spinners Carl Sandri (Essendon) and Shane Jones (Footscray Edgewater) need his tutelage to develop their difficult craft. His impact with these young men is the most important thing he can offer right now, with or without the title of captain next to his name.We all know what a champion Warne is; it is now time for him to help create and develop the next in line for both Victoria and, ultimately, Australia.
© 2005 The Sunday Age