Final Warne-ing

By Scott Heinrich

Warne will do all he can to keep the Ashes in Australia's keeping

England fans should take a long look at Shane Warne in the decisive Ashes Test at The Oval for the Australian legend will be playing his last international match in this country.

The man whose public appeal stretches from the front pages to the back will not be returning for the Ashes tour in 2009, when he will be turning 40.

"I'm up for this game. I wish it could start now," Warne says with the enthusiasm of a cricketer playing his first Test, not his 128th.

"It would be nice to go out on a high. I want to make it something special."

It is fair to say England will never see the likes of Warne again, and nor may they wish to.

In many ways the blond leg-spinner has come to be iconic of Australia's long-held domination over England, one that may be about to end.

But with Warne you don't just get the leg-breaks, as phenomenal as they are. With Warne, the package is a convoluted mix of personality, controversy, cricket and hair replacement.

I've had to face a lot of challenges in my career Shane Warne

From his maiden Ashes delivery in 1993 dubbed 'the ball of the century' to his off-field shenanigans involving female nurses and his Herculean efforts this summer, Warne has both captivated and taunted the English public with the ease of a pantomime performer.

Even his team-mates don't really understand him. They look on with bewilderment at the daily intrigues of Warne's life and call it 'Shane's World'.

He has numerous mobile phones (some of which have got him into trouble), numerous sponsors and no limit of people wanting a piece of him.

He also has a heart the size of a lion. Warne does not give up and probably does not even know the definition of shirking.

In his professional and personal lives he has shown an unnerving resolve to meet adversity head on and conquer it.

He came back from an almighty flogging at the hands of Ravi Shastri on his Test debut in 1992 to become regarded as possibly the best bowler ever, while injury setbacks, a year-long drugs ban and an eye for the ladies have hindered his career.

In this year, the "toughest" of his life following the breakdown of his marriage, Warne has pulled from the fire what he labels his best performance in a Test series.

Considering Warne has shattered the Test wicket-taking record and done almost everything there is to do in the game, that is some self-adulation.

Love him or hate him, Warne's appeal transcends sport

This series will go down as one of the very best, and it is no mistake Warne is at the centre of it all.

"I've had to face a lot of challenges in my career, some good and some bad. I haven't become an expert in most situations but I've experienced just about everything there is to experience," he says.

"For me personally, what I've had to go through off the field this year, to play the way I've played, I've been very proud."

At times in this Ashes series he has carried Australia, fronting a one-man resistance against an apparently irresistible England side.

So far he has scored 249 runs at 31.12 and taken 28 wickets at 19.67 - extraordinary figures that would make him a banker to be named Man of the Series were it not for Andrew Flintoff.

But, as ever with Warne, facts and figures do not tell the entire story.

At Edgbaston, with a 10-wicket match haul in the bag, he took Australia's ultimately doomed fourth-innings chase in hand before stepping on his stumps.

These are the sort of situations I thrive in, Shane Warne

At Old Trafford, his 90 was played as much with spirit as ability. Without it, Australia's first innings would have been in tatters. He followed it up with an equally brave knock on the final day as England were denied victory by a solitary wicket.

At Trent Bridge, he was the one who threatened to pilfer victory from England's grasp. Although coach John Buchanan denied it, Warne was so active during England's tense run-chase it seemed he was running the show, not Ricky Ponting.

Warne skippered Australia in 11 one-day matches - for 10 wins - but because of his off-field mischief will remain the best Test captain Australia never had.

He has a track record of rising to the occasion and there seems little doubt he will again turn it on at The Oval.

"These are the sort of situations I thrive in," he says with a little too much assurance for England's comfort.

"This is when the real good players stand out and I think the best players from both sides will have good games."

"In these situations champions rise to the top."

Should Australia win at The Oval and thieve a series draw from under England's nose, it is almost inevitable it will be Warne's name who England fans again find themselves cursing.