Cricket: Warne's warning

AS England toiled in the Perth sunshine, two of their likely tormentors were warming up ominously well.

The most significant action came across the country in Melbourne, where Shane Warne needed just three balls back in action for his club side St Kilda to claim his first wicket since his shoulder operation six months ago. The leg spinner sent down six overs, took 1 for 13, and now hopes to play for his state side Victoria in a limited overs match against New South Wales at the weekend.

"It's the first time he's bowled without having pain for 18 months or two years," Shaun Graf, his club team-mate and also the manager of the Victorian state side, said. "He wasn't exactly trying to go through his action, but certainly put a fair bit on the ball and they were certainly spinning a good yard. He bowled about three or four balls during that six-over spell where he really gave it a shoulder rotation and there was no discomfort at all."

In Adelaide, another Australian bowler returning from injury, the paceman Jason Gillespie, looked back to something like his best when he took 4 for 89 for South Australia against Tasmania.