Warne gears up for another round of verbal battle with Hussain

He succeeded only in being stumped by Adam Gilchrist for 58 at a time when eight more overs of ones and twos would have given England a 1-0 lead heading to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Hussain’s dismissal triggered a collapse of 6-5 in 22 balls and Warne admitted the verbal joust had helped turn the tide Australia’s way.

“He hit me for four, slog swept, and I said well, you’re allowed to get one out of 20′ and the next minute he just kept going,” Warne said.

“I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening… He was pretty fired up and he’s allowed to be. I was just trying to getup his nose a bit, at that stage we had to do something and I thought maybe there was a rash shot coming.”

“Sometimes you do anything to get a wicket and that might have been something that changed the game a little bit. As it turned out, he played an ordinary shot and maybe that was from creating pressure.”

There can be no doubt Warne will test Hussain with similar tactics in Melbourne, his home town.

The Australians, without Michael Bevan (dislocated finger), flew out of Sydney today to welcome Queensland all-rounder Stuart Law into the squad.

Warne said he regarded England as a major contender for the World Cup in May, regardless of the outcome in Friday’s second final. An England win would force a third and deciding match on Sunday, also at Melbourne.

“I think ourselves, South Africa and India are probably the three leading sides and I think Sri Lanka, if they can have Aravinda de Silva fit and find another bowler, will be a big chance to retain it,” Warne said.

Warne will hand theOne-day reins back to Steve Waugh for seven one-dayers against the West Indies in April, then the World Cup.

WAUGH FOR CAPTAIN: Steve Waugh, the quiet but hard man of Australian cricket, is expected to be named his country’s new captain here tomorrow.

Even his rival Shane Warne is betting on him.

“I just expect Steve to be captain basically, like everybody else does,” Warne said when he arrived with the One-day team here today.

The 33-year-old Waugh is favourite before the 29-year-old leg-spinner to replace Mark Taylor, who retired from international cricket last week.

Waugh, who took over as One-day captain from Taylor, is favoured to win the job after 13 years of Test cricket, although injury worries recently have given Warne a chance.

Waugh has been sidelined for nearly all of the tri-nations series against England and Sri Lanka. In his absence, Warne has done a sterling job, leading the side to six straight wins and to within one victory of lifting the trophy.

His attacking fieldsand extrovert style of leadership have been a revelation but Waugh has long been touted as Taylor’s successor.

“I’d Like to think I’ve a chance. I think I’ve grabbed my opportunity in the One-dayers and done a pretty good job,” Warne said.

But Waugh led Australia to tri-series success in Australia last year as well as series wins in India and Pakistan.

Warne dismissed any suggestion of tension between the pair as they both chase the most prized job in Australian sport. “A lot of people ask me if Steve and I are not talking and that sort of stuff,” he said.

“Well, we’ve known each other for 10 years and are very good friends and I will have no problem playing under Steve and I don’t think he would have any problems playing under me if I was to get it.”

The two are contrasting personalities — Waugh the introvert batsman who likes to lead by example and Warne, the extrovert leg-spinner not frightened to take a gamble.

Warne is considered a longer term proposition than Waugh, whose injuryproblems remain a concern.

But Warne is still tainted by his involvement with an illegal Indian bookmaker and his lack of experience as skipper in the first-class arena is also likely to count against him.

However, he appears to have fully recovered from his shoulder problems and is back to his best at a time when Waugh is spending more time having treatment than on the field.

But after 108 Tests in more than 13 years, Waugh deserves his chance and has done nothing wrong, either as Taylor’s deputy in the Test arena or in charge of the One-day side before his injuries this season.

Warne admitted he had as good as conceded the captaincy to Waugh.

“I think I should be a chance and it’s nice to be spoken of as a potential captain but I think deep down, Steve will be the next captain of Australia,” he said.