Melbourne: Shane Warne was on Wednesday re-appointed as cricket captain of his state Victoria, even though he might not be available to lead the team on the field.
The champion leg spin bowler is expected to be captain in name only because of his busy international playing schedule, with former captain Matthew Elliott to lead the side in his absence. Warne has made no secret of his Australian captaincy aspirations for either the One- day or Test team, but these appeared unlikely because of off-field controversies. In the last couple of years, he has toned down his off-field life and, most recently, has become much fitter in an effort to extend an outstanding career. He regains the state captaincy he lost after the 1999-2000 season, with the regime then preferring former Test fast bowler Paul Reiffel because Warne would be away with the Test and national One-day teams so often. "Certainly if his name gets thrown up as a possible Australian captain... the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has to accept the fact Victoria has put him in charge of its team as well, so there's great acceptance for him here," said new Victorian coach David Hookes on Wednesday. While Hookes said Elliott had led the side well last season, he always wanted Warne as the permanent captain. "That (Warne's availability) wasn't really a factor for us, but I can understand it was a factor probably for the public and Board to cope with that," Hookes said. "It's not an issue for me at all - I think there is an enormous benefit for Victoria to have Shane Warne as its nominated captain. Former Test batsman Hookes said Warne had trained with the state squad for a month before going away to Kenya for the International One-day series.
Tags: cricket, shane warne, captain, victoria, leg-spin bowler, matthew elliott, paul reiffel, acb, david hookes, australian cricket board.
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