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Warne to net record fee for county appearance

Australian leg spinner Shane Warne is reportedly poised to sign a staggering one million pound ($1.63 million) contract with an English county club.

Warne, who is being paid a speculated 40,000 pounds ($65,200) to write a coloumn in Britain's Sunday Mirror during the ongoing Ashes series, said he had always wanted to play county cricket and the time was "right to go for it'', reported the newspaper.

The leggie, one of the superstars of cricket's modern era, will delay his decision until the end of the Ashes series. However, sources indicate that the delay is merely for convenience - as far as the thing goes, his appearance on the county circuit is pretty much a given.

Austin Robertson, Warne's manager, has had preliminary talks with Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Lancashire, Yorkshire and Middlesex, who were also keen to sign Warne, have for their part begun negotiations as well.

"I've had some offers from different counties and there's a few that I'm considering,'' Warne was quoted in the report. "My decision will depend on several things - my form, my body and which county would suit me best.''

"Naturally," adds Warne, "the offer will be important too.'' The ace spinner had turned down a 250,000-pound ($407,500) offer from Northamptonshire two years ago.

"I have always wanted to play county cricket, and I think the time could be right to give it a go.''

If Warne goes ahead with the deal, he will become the highest paid cricket professional in the world. The spinner, whose contract with the Australian Cricket Board is believed to be over a Australian $ 250,000 worth (US $195,000), receives around ten times that from sponsorship and endorsement deals.

Warne, 27, has a multi-million dollar contract with Nike and also shares in the official All Star Cafe Chain, which has also been linked with Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Joe Mantana.

Warne's annual earnings last year were reported to be around Australian $ 875,000 australian dollars (US $ 682,500).

As far as his county outing goes, Warne is believed to be looking at a minimum two year contract. One county, it is reported, was even considering offering Warne the captaincy as a lure to get him to sign on.

In the past, the ACB has been unwilling to allow its contracted players to play county cricket because it may interfere with national commitments.

Warne and former Australian paceman Craig McDermott are two players who have been refused permission to play for an English county in the last three years.