Shane Warne will work with England’s Adil Rashid during training on Friday before the third Test with Pakistan in Sharjah, following an invitation from Trevor Bayliss.
Warne, once the tormentor of England batsmen with 195 wickets in 36 Ashes Tests, is in the United Arab Emirates promoting a golf tournament but has been keen to get some net time before three exhibition matches in the United States next month.
Thursday the 46-year-old trained with Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who took eight wickets in their second Test win in Dubai to move up to second in the world Test bowling rankings. But now, at the behest of his fellow Australian Bayliss, Warne will join Rashid to similarly pass on tips about the art of leg-spin.
It is a bold move by the England coach before Sunday’s third Test. England began bringing other former leading players into the team environment at the start of the year, with Andrew Flintoff, Nasser Hussain and Sir Ian Botham among those to have addressed the team. This particular invitation is one that could not have taken place 18 months ago, however.
Warne has been a critic of the England captain, Alastair Cook, through both his commentary for Sky Sports in the UK and a newspaper column, with the issue coming to a head before the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka in 2014, when Cook said “something needs to be done” about the leg-spinner’s relentless negativity.
But following a telephone conversation that summer, instigated by Warne, the two are understood to have cleared the air and now England’s one-time nemesis will look to pass on his knowledge to Rashid and boost the Yorkshireman’s confidence before a Test England must win to draw the series.
Warne, speaking earlier in the week, compared Yasir and Rashid when speaking to the UAE newspaper the National. “They are completely different bowlers,” he said. “Yasir is a real hustle and bustle leg-spinner. To me he’s the best in international cricket at the moment and I hope Rashid will get better. He’s not as fluent as someone like Yasir but that doesn’t mean he’s not as effective. If he gets his confidence up I think he can be a real handful.”
Warne and Rashid will have common ground too, with both men having been taught by the former Australia leg-spinner Terry Jenner.
Rashid has experienced a rollercoaster start to his Test career, with five wickets in the second innings in Abu Dhabi following the worst figures, none for 163, by a debutant in the first.
In Dubai, where England lost by 178 runs, the 27-year-old took match figures of two for 191 but batted for four hours in the second innings, scoring 71 from 171 that nearly saved the Test.
