Shane Warne advises CA to pull promising spinners out of T20 tourneys

Sydney: Former Australian Test great Shane Warne has said that selectors should pull out the best young spinners out of Twenty20 games and make them play first-class cricket until they are ready to face the Test arena, in part four of his manifesto on Australian cricket on his website.

Warne said that Cricket Australia (CA) should identify the top four spinners in the country and give them decent contracts to restrict them from playing Twenty20 cricket as they hinder the development of a young spinner. Although Warne stated that it must be the player`s responsibility to opt against playing in the shorter formats of the game and instead concentrate on a Test career, he wrote that it is not an easy decision for a player to opt out of T20 games as they are financially very lucrative. However, Warne further wrote that if the young spinner wanted to play Test cricket for Australia, then he should learn how to bowl before playing any international shorter forms of the game. Warne further said that CA should choose fast bowlers that can swing or make the ball move, adding that if a player bowls straight then he will struggle in the role. Warne also suggested state captains give spinners more of a bowl in Shield cricket, no matter the conditions, and said the expectation that they take wickets while also being economical was not realistic. ANI