Warne pulls pin on all one-day cricket

MELBOURNE: Shane Warne has restated his determination not to play one-day cricket again ahead of next year's World Cup by making himself unavailable for limited-overs play with his Australian state team Victoria, reports said on Friday.

The 37-year-old champion Australian leg-spinner reached a mutual decision with Cricket Victoria on Thursday, press reports said.

Warne has not played a one-day international since January 2003 against England in Melbourne, although he played for Australia in the Asian Tsunami benefit match against the Rest of the World in Melbourne in January last year.

"Shane has decided there's no way he'll play one-day cricket for Australia again, and with five of our (Victoria's) early one-day games being played when he will be involved in the Ashes, it made sense from his and our point of view," Victorian state coach Greg Shipperd told the Herald-Sun newspaper.

"When you have a player of Shane's quality available, it's not something you would normally do, but it was Shane who suggested it.

"Hopefully, it will also protect him and extend his career."

Warne is planning on playing seven or possibly eight four-day Sheffield Shield games with Victoria in the 2006-07 summer season.

Warne, who has returned from an English county stint with Hampshire, is expected to play his first Shield game of the new season against Western Australia in Perth from October 15-18.