Dismayed Australian cricket fans have launched a campaign to bring back spin bowling master Shane Warne, four years after his retirement, after the team’s thrashing by England in the second Ashes Test.
Australia lost the second Test of the five-match Ashes series in Adelaide by an innings and 71 runs on Tuesday, prompting fears that the national team is hitting lows not seen since the 1980s.
Warne has refused to comment on a possible comeback but Brisbane cricket fan Ross Heywood has established a website devoted to raising funds to entice the 41-year-old to make himself available for the rest of the Ashes series.
“To bring back the Ashes, we need Warne,” states bringbackwarne.com which has raised over 3,000 dollars ($2,932) for its Ashes ‘Rescue Fund’ since Tuesday.
“We offer the Rescue Fund to the King of Spin, pleading with him to once again don the Baggy Green and attempt to win us back the Ashes,” it says.
“Should Warne not accept our offer, all contributions will be refunded.”
Warne, who is hosting a cricket television show during the Ashes, dodged questions on a comeback.
But, despite that, the likelihood of seeing Warne return to Test cricket seems remote given his long absence from the game.
"There has been a bit written in Australia and people have been asking me about making a comeback," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
"All I can say is that it is very flattering to hear those words."
Warne believes the home side can not afford to panic after the defeat, with speculation they could make up to four changes for the third Test in Perth next week.
Instead Warne has called for the selectors to stick with experienced players and overlook the likes of uncapped batsmen such as Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson.
"This is not the time to blood youngsters or panic," he added.
"If Australia lose this series badly then that is the time to reassess everything and say, 'Right, it is back to the drawing board'.
"Then they can give three or four youngsters a go, with four or five experienced players, and try to rectify things."
The first Ashes Test in Brisbane ended in a draw, but the team has struggled for form and has dropped to a ranking of five in the world since the retirement of Warne, paceman Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist.
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