Warne to set up base in England

Who knows? I might finish up my playing days down there at Hampshire Shane Warne Warne's career in pictures

Shane Warne, for so many years England's nemesis, is planning to leave Australia with his family and set up residence on the Southampton coast.

The controversial leg-spinner last week signed a four-year deal with Hampshire and is considering selling the house in Melbourne he owns with wife Simone.

"I will be living in England most of the time and coming back for the summers to play for Australia.

"I like it over there, my family enjoy going to Spain," Warne, 35, said.

"It's only a couple of hours on the plane, so they enjoy that side of things."

Warne, who has three children, is Hampshire's captain and revealed he could see out his playing days at the Rose Bowl.

"I've played there a couple of seasons and I really enjoy playing cricket for Hampshire," said Warne, who on Sunday against New Zealand took his 1,000th first-class wicket.

"I enjoy captaining the side. We had a very successful year there last year.

"Who knows? I might finish up my playing days down there at Hampshire as well.

Gatting's stumps are broken by Warne's 'ball of the century'

"It's home now for the moment and down the track it will probably be home for the family, as well. I love it over there."

The blond spinner, who will be aiming to retain the Ashes with Australia this English summer, said it made more sense to be based in the UK.

"It's a bit hard when you're playing for Australia," he said.

"If you're living in England for six months and you play all over Australia, you're hardly even in Melbourne anyway.

"I just wanted to set up a base in England where it's a lot easier and come back to Australia in the summer."

Warne, Test cricket's leading wicket-taker who shot to prominence with his 'ball of the century' to Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes, is also famed for his love of a beer and a smoke.

And he has attracted his share of off-field attention over the years.

In 2003, he was suspended for a year for a positive test to a banned diuretic.

The drug case followed other scandals, including taking money from an Indian bookmaker in 1994 for selling pitch and weather information and a phone sex scandal with an English nurse in 2000.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHANE WARNE

September 13, 1969 Born in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne.
January 1992 Test debut against India in Sydney. Takes 1-150 in India's only innings, dismissing Ravi Shastri for 206.
June 1993 Bowls Mike Gatting with his first delivery in an Ashes Test, a sharp leg-break crowned ball of the century.
November 1994 Takes 8-71, to this day his career-best figures, against England in Brisbane.
December 1994 Takes a hat-trick against England Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
December 1998 Four years after the fact, Warne is fined A$8000 for receiving $5000 from an Indian bookmaker for pitch and weather information.
February 1999 Snubbed for Test captaincy in favour of Steve Waugh.
May 1999 Photographed smoking in the Caribbean - despite taking part in a quit-smoking sponsorship.
June 1999 Takes 4-29 in classic World Cup semi-final tie against South Africa before returning 4-33 in the final win over Pakistan.
August 2000 Stripped of Aussie vice-captaincy over lewd text-messaging scandal with an English nurse.
January 2003 Announces retirement from one-day cricket before being sent home from the World Cup for taking drugs.
August 2003 Accused by South African woman, who is later found guilty of attempted extortion, of bombarding her with suggestive phone calls.
February 2004 Says tubby ex-Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga looks like he has "swallowed a sheep or something" in ongoing war of words.
March 2004 Returns from ban in triumphant form with 26 wickets in 3-0 win over Sri Lanka.
August 2004 Essex captain Ronnie Irani says "I can categorically state that Shane did not say anything inappropriate about my mother to me" after county bust-up.
October 2004 Takes 533rd Test wicket to break world record held by Muttiah Muralitharan.
March 2005 Returns 5-39 against New Zealand to take his 1,000th wicket in first-class cricket.