Nielsen refuses to cool Warne talk
Australia coach Tim Nielsen has refused to dismiss the prospect of Shane Warne making a shock return to Test cricket.
Spin legend Warne is the subject of a campaign to return to international cricket and rescue his country from a potentially dreadful Ashes campaign which they trail 1-0 against England.
Spinners Steve Smith and Michael Beer have been called up for the third Test by Australia but Nielsen, like Warne, has refused to pour cold water on the rumours of a potential return at some point in the series, and said: "He only has three weeks. I don't know where he is at with it or if he has talked about it."
He added before the announcement of the squad for the Perth Test: "I haven't spoken to the selectors, they are meeting (on Friday) and will have a pretty clear idea of where they are going then.
"Warnie hasn't got a lot of time. He has been working hard in the commentary box so it might be a bit hard for him to jump out to the middle. If we had to bowl for 150 overs he might feel the heat a bit."
Any comeback from Warne would give Cricket Australia a huge financial boost with crowds and television ratings sure to rise.
The leg-spinner is looking as fit as ever and could potentially make the most of what appeared to be a psychological advantage over the English batsmen during his Test career.
While Warne's last Test match was almost four years ago, against England in January 2007 at Sydney, he has kept playing cricket with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
The calls for the 41-year-old leg-spinner to return have been constant in recent weeks but the distinctly average performance from slow left-arm orthodox bowler Xavier Doherty - who took one for 158 in Adelaide - has seen the pleas grow louder.
A Bring Back Warne website has been created which is taking donations from the public to present to Warne in order to entice him to return, while reports on Friday suggest a group of Queensland businessmen are set to tempt Warne with a $1million Australian dollars carrot.
