Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker Shane Warne was ”stiff and sore” after bowling a long stint in the second Test with a sore back but was likely to play in the third Test against the West Indies, skipper Ricky Ponting said on Monday.
Warne was in doubt to play on the eve of the Test match, but satisfied Ponting he would be able to stand up to five days of the game.
Warne was wicketless in the West Indies first innings, bowling 11 overs, but claimed 4-112 off a marathon stint of 39 overs in the second innings on Sunday.
The champion leg-spinner now has 638 wickets in 131 Tests ahead of Friday’s third Test at the Adelaide Oval.
”He got better and better as this game has gone on, he’s probably a bit stiffer this morning with the amount of bowling he did yesterday [Sunday],” Ponting said.
”I wouldn’t think that would be a problem going into Adelaide [Test], he’s got a few days for him to recover and he’ll keep getting his treatment over the next few days.
”The back injury wasn’t hindering him yesterday. I don’t think it hindered him much on day one either.
”We left the decision until the morning of the game. It wasn’t until Tuesday night that it came on and he had Wednesday off training and he wanted to work on it as much as he could up to the game.
”It wasn’t until the morning of the game that he had a run around and had a bowl that we decided he was fit enough to play.” ‒ Sapa-AFP