England turn to Shane Warne in bid to beat Pakistan

England’s Ashes nemesis Shane Warne will cross over into enemy territory tomorrow when he helps Alastair Cook’s side prepare for the Third Test against Pakistan here in Sharjah.

The Australia leg-spin legend, who took 195 wickets in 36 Ashes matches, has been invited to England’s first practice session ahead of Sunday’s final Test by coach Trevor Bayliss.

Bayliss, the Australian who took on the England job in late June and won the Ashes in his first series in charge, has taken advantage of Warne’s presence in the United Arab Emirates to promote a golf tournament.

Warne, too, is keen to get involved as he prepares to take part in three ‘Icons of Cricket’ Twenty20 matches alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan in the United States next month.

England are keen for Warne to join them in Sharjah, where he is expected to bowl in the nets and also offer some advice to leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

Speaking on Tuesday, Warne spoke of his desire to help Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who took eight wickets in his country’s Second Test win in Dubai earlier this week.

He even admitted he might not be welcome in England’s net session, saying: “I am trying to get as much practice in as I can. I might not be that welcome down in the England camp, so I might have to try the Pakistan camp to have a bowl.

“I might get a bit competitive in the England nets, I might try to knock a few of them over.”

That, though, is what is likely to happen, with Bayliss keenly aware Warne’s presence might be more of a publicity stunt for his compatriot but also knowing his presence will offer an extra competitive edge to the session and allow Rashid to pick the brains of the greatest leg-spinner of all time.

Warne has been a strong critic of Cook’s captaincy for years, lambasting his on-field leadership right up until last summer’s surprise Ashes success.

In the summer of 2014, Cook even called for “something to be done” about Warne’s constant heckles from the commentary box.

Now, though, he will be helping his England team prepare for a match they must win to take a share of the three-Test series against Pakistan. England lost the Second Test by 178 runs despite a strong rearguard led by Rashid.