Warne Wise to Rely on Jenner

The greatest spin bowler the game has seen, or perhaps is likely to see, is about to go in for his MOT. Shane Warne will be catching up with Terry Jenner, who has been his mentor ever since he first appeared on the scene, sometime over the next few weeks when he travels to Adelaide for a state game. Warne will want to see if there are any wrinkles to iron out in his action, chew the fat on a few strategies maybe, and just generally natter as one bowler to another which, in the days before isotonic drinks, ice baths and recovery periods, used to happen in the bar after a match as soon after a quick shower as possible. Out of it will come confidence, reassurance and probably a new delivery with which to taunt batsmen. It will not exist, naturally, but as long as batsmen think it does . . .

Barring plague, pestilence or an urgent need to shed a chin or two with diuretic tablets, the prospect of Warne, 685 Test wickets to his name already, roaring through the 700 barrier sometime midway through the forthcoming series is about as certain as things can get in the game of cricket. If the day at The Oval in 1964 when Fred Trueman took his 300th was cricket's equivalent of breaking the sound barrier, and considered remarkable, where does this leave Warne, longevity and the amount of cricket played notwithstanding? Warp factor nine perhaps and almost defying belief.

Intriguing though, and instructive too, that a cricketer of his ability and experience still feels the need to check that things are in order. However, the older a player gets the more he needs the occasional diagnostic. Fred Titmus once told me that he was at his technical best when in his early twenties, because everything was natural and required no thought: thereafter it became a constant struggle to maintain the standard. Warne might relate to that. But it is this, the attention to detail, the notion that no matter how long he might have been in the game and whatever the magnitude of achievements, there is always something new to learn about cricket and indeed self, that elevates him above the norm.

Warne has always been fiercely evangelical about his art, wanting to share his skill to help further the leg spinner's dynasty. One of the great romantic visions of the game has to be that of Warne and the great Pakistani wrist spinner Abdul Qadir sitting opposite one another, cross-legged on a Persian carpet, and just flicking a ball backwards and forwards between them. Always though there is the impression that, in sharing, he assimilates as well, for sometimes it is the simplest thing from the unlikeliest of sources that can make a difference. The key is having the nous to listen and recognise such snippets for what they are.

What is revealing though is that Warne chooses to go to his old friend for the check-up rather than anyone directly involved with the Australian coaching setup. That to my mind is the way it should be because what principally is involved here is trust. Warne knows that as a highly respected coach of wrist spin and a skilled former practitioner of it, Jenner knows intimately the technicalities of his game. Beyond that, though, he understands what makes Warne tick, what insecurities he might have about his game (the greatest, even Australians, will experience times of self-doubt even if they are better than most at camouflaging it), the delicate balance between discreet suggestion and imposition, and the fact that the best coaches do not tinker simply because they feel they must to justify their role. "Look all right, Terry?" the conversation might go between the two. "Coming out fine, Warney." Sometimes that's all it takes. The trick is knowing it.

A Boxing Day bargain

I went online this week to the official Australian agency that is dealing with tickets for the Ashes series to try to get some for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne for my family. Ten minutes secured me third-day admission to the family enclosure at the MCG for one adult and three children. Total cost, including a premium for sending the tickets here post haste? A$52.40 which at current rates is £21.05. With 100,000 capacity they can afford to be magnanimous, I suppose, but by any standard I consider that a bargain.