Warne to call England home

Shane Warne has announced he will re-locate to England this year and will spend most of his time there when not playing in Australia.

“At the moment, it’s home and down the track it will probably be home for the family as well,” Warne said. “I’ll live over there and base myself there and come back and play my stuff for Australia and head back. I’m only in Australia for a couple of months each year.”

Warne, who recently signed a 4-year deal with county side Hampshire, has bought a four-bedroom house in Ocean Village, Southampton. His current residence in Melbourne is set to be on the market in the near future.

There has been much speculation about wether or not the fact that less media attention would be focused on Warne and his private life in England than if here were based in Australia was the main reason for the move. Manager and brother, Jason Warne, conceded it was a factor, “…I’d be lying if it’s not a concern that there’s always that extra, un-warranted attention on him.”

Warne cites different factors for his decision to ship out, including his wife’s fondness of Spain, “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,” he told The Australian. “My wife would love to live in Spain tomorrow, it’s a bit hard when you’re playing for Australia.” He also said the lure of TV commentary work in England was an important factor.

After claiming his 1000th first-class wicket in taking a brilliant 5 for 39 against New Zealand in the first Test, Warne, 35, said that he has re-set his Test goals. He’s now aiming for the 700-wicket mark. The champion leg-spinner, who currently sits on 573 wickets, stated, “If I can keep playing for another couple of years it might be a chance, but it won’t be the main reason to keep going. When I stop enjoying it I’ll stop playing. When little things come along, like today when I got my 1000th first-class wicket, you give yourself a little pat on the back. It was a pretty big achievement.”