Cricket: Warne and wife separate

Shane Warne

MANCHESTER, England - Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting was saddened to hear that Shane Warne and his wife Simone had announced their separation tonight but he hoped it wouldn't be a distraction during the coming Test series with England.

The legspinner's brother and manager Jason Warne has confirmed Test cricket's leading wicket-taker, 35, and his wife of over nine years had separated.

The couple vowed to remain friends in the interests of their three children Jackson, Brooke and Summer.

In a joint statement, Shane and Simone Warne said: "It is with great regret that we inform you that we have decided to separate.

"We remain best of friends and we will continue to be there for our three beautiful children.

"Please respect our privacy at this difficult and tough time."

The news of the Warnes' break-up comes just a week after an English student claimed he begged her for sex after a recent night out in London, which was the latest sex scandal to have plagued the star bowler over the years.

Warne was stripped of the Australian vice-captaincy in 2000 for sending a series of lewd text messages to an English nurse.

He has also been the subject of several explosive claims from women over the years.

Ponting said he would try to make contact with his legspinner before the Test series, which starts in July.

"For sure, that's awful news for anybody to be separated from your wife," Ponting said after his side's 10-wicket win over Bangladesh at Old Trafford.

"There's no doubt that everyone in our squad will be in touch with Shane at some stage.

"As far as it being a distraction when the Tests come around, hopefully it's not.

"It's obviously going to be a tough thing for Shane to deal with and cope with, but hopefully he can do that as well as he can leading into the Test matches and hopefully it is something that doesn't hang around that long."

Warne proposed to Simone during the 1993 Ashes tour and the couple was married in September 1995.

- AAP