Cricket: Don't stay just for us, Shane

Shane Warne dismisses Iain O'Brien. His tally yesterday was five for 39, including his 1000th first-class wicket. Picture / Reuters

Champion spin bowler Shane Warne is about to move to England - but not, unfortunately, until after the test series in New Zealand.

The man who thrust a spear through the heart of New Zealand's hopes on the fourth day of the opening test yesterday announced his intention to shift his family to England, where he will play the next four winters with county side Hampshire.

Warne, like Glenn McGrath in the first innings, was Australia's trump card yesterday, taking five for 39, including his 1000th first-class wicket when he bowled Hamish Marshall around his legs.

The bag extended Warne's world record mark to 573, and he was looking forward to making a similar impact in the next two tests before moving to England and preparing for the next county season with Hampshire.

"I've decided to go and live there, as well," he said last night. "I've bought a house and a car and everything over there in England.

"Basically I'll be living in England most of the time, and coming back for the summers to play for Australia. I like it over there, my family enjoy going to Spain and it's only a couple of hours on the plane, so they enjoy that side of things."

Warne, who has been in startling form since returning from a year-long drugs ban, sounded ominously confident about his upcoming bowling assignments, rating his present form as good as anything in the past.

"I think the last however-many Tests we've played since that time is as good as any stage throughout my career in that same span of time," he said. "I think I've been as successful in these 12 months as I have at any stage of my career."

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his team had revised their bowling plans for New Zealand's second innings yesterday, opting to employ a fuller length, a straighter line and for much more defensive fielding positions.

The strategy paid off for the tourists as New Zealand crashed to be all out for 131, leaving Ponting's side the relatively simple task of scoring out 132 runs in one-and-half sessions.

It was Australia's sixth consecutive test win this summer, and arrived after Ponting's plan of patience suffocated and restricted the New Zealand batsmen, leading to seven lbw dismissals being upheld against them.

"Our tactics certainly changed," said Ponting. "We decided that the ball was in New Zealand's court in terms of making the running. Our plan was to make it as difficult as possible for them to score, we weren't going to over-attack."

Meanwhile, New Zealand have made no changes to the side for Wellington, despite their eighth loss in the past 13 tests, and some serious productivity problems with the top order.

Adding to coach John Bracewell's woes is the news that the injured Jacob Oram will be sidelined for the rest of the season, and Scott Styris is almost certainly out of contention for the next two tests because of a knee injury.

1000 First-class wickets

Albert Trott 1674 (1892-1911)
Frank Tarrant 1512 (1898-1937)
Clarrie Grimmett 1424 (1911-1941)
Ted McDonald 1395 (1909-1935)
George Tribe 1378 (1945-1959)
Garth McKenzie 1219 (1959-1975)
Jack Walsh 1190 (1936-1956)
Sammy Woods 1040 (1886-1910)
George Giffen 1023 (1877-1904)
Bruce Dooland 1016 (1945-1958)
Shane Warne 1003 (1990-2005)