I can get even better, says Warne

Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne believes his best could still be to come after he captured six England wickets in the fifth and final Ashes test on Saturday to take his career tally past the 400 mark.

Warne, only the sixth bowler to take that many wickets, has been dogged with injuries in recent years and has undergone several operations including career-threatening surgery on his shoulder three years ago.

But the 31-year-old said: "I'm pretty close to my best. There are encouraging signs. I'm still spinning the ball a long way.

"I probably haven't been at my best over the last couple of years -- it's frustrating when you can't do what you did before. But hopefully the best is yet to come.

"I thought I bowled really well in patches today but I bowled some four-balls as well.

"I think I was trying to bowl those 'glory cherries' all the time."

He added: "Taking 400 wickets is something I'm pretty proud of -- it's 400 more than I thought I would get, particularly after taking one for 150 in my first test."

Former Australia wrist spinner Terry Jenner, who has coached Warne throughout his career, suggested before the tour that the leg-spinner was on the wane after his run of injuries. It was even speculated that Warne, a scourge of England batsmen in the 1993 and 1997 Ashes, could be dropped for the series.

Warne's haul at The Oval, however, gave him 26 wickets for the series to date, making him the touring side's most successful bowler.

Warne, who has acknowledged he is often used more as a back-up bowler to Australia's pacemen than as a strike bowler and who has struggled to make as much of an impact in recent years, added: "I still have a big part to play."

But Courtney Walsh's world record of 519 test wickets was not on his mind on Saturday.

"500 would be lovely but that's a long way down the track," he said.

Mail Cricket Editor