London: Australia leg spinner Shane Warne is not set for a second spell with Hampshire, the English county's chairman Rod Bransgrove said on Tuesday.
Warne took 70 wickets during his one season with Hampshire back in 2000 and last weekend Bransgrove had talks with the 32-year-old about a possible two-year deal. Despite Warne's fondness for Hampshire and respect for club captain Robin Smith, the former England batsman, international commitments make a second spell with the southern county starting next season a pipe dream. Bransgrove said, "Shane Warne would love to come back but he is still very much part of Australia's international side and we don't want overseas players disappearing during the summer. "That situation hasn't changed at all. Even though we can have two overseas players next year we would like two overseas players for the entire summer. Shane's added three or four years on his international career so he is going to be around in the Australian side for some time to come unless he decides otherwise." Warne, the first spinner to take over 400 Test wickets, has spoken of his desire to become the first bowler of any kind to break the 600 barrier - an aspiration that Bransgrove believes rules out a return to England in the near future. He said, "Shane's talking about taking 600 wickets so I can't see him thinking about quitting international cricket at this stage of his career but I'm pretty certain he will come back to Hampshire at some point."
