Shane Warne, recently voted one of the five greatest cricketers of all time, said he was excited about his latest challenge, a stint in the English County Championship with Hampshire.
Many overseas stars have lamented the quality of the domestic game in England - former Australia wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh once memorably described English county players as 'pie-chuckers' - but Warne remained upbeat about his new task.
'Playing county cricket is a challenge and I'm certainly looking forward to it,' said the Australian spinner after arriving in England.
'My aim is to enjoy it, have a good time, make a few friends and hope along the way we might win something.
'I'm sure the standard in the County Championship is very high. There are some quality players here and I'm looking forward to experiencing it first hand.' Warne's skipper at Hampshire is former England batsman Robin Smith, who came off second best in Test clashes between the two.
'Lots of my high points have been in England and against England and the 1993 Ashes series win was special,' he said.
