Warne closing in on 500 ... and beyond

Shane Warne's bowling in Colombo during Australia's 40-run victory over Pakistan has clearly presented him with the chance of relieving Courtney Walsh of his world record for wickets in Tests within the next 12 months, or possibly sooner.

Warne, 32, after his 102nd Test, has taken 461 Test wickets, at an average of 26.29.

Walsh, who played 132 Tests for the West Indies took 519 wickets at 24.44.

The most important aspect of his race for the record, with Muttiah Muralitharan, 30, his only serious rival on 430 wickets, is the news that he has recovered his flipper.

It was the ball he used to break through the Pakistan resistance when trapping Younis Khan leg before wicket for 51, and setting in train the Pakistan collapse which gave Australia victory.

While age might normally be a problem for a faster bowler, although in the case of Walsh, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee, it wasn't that much of a concern during their latter years, Warne could rightfully claim to be in the prime years of his life.

Should he maintain the fitness that has seen him pick up his sixth 10-wicket bag in Tests and his 22nd five-wicket haul, Warne could even expect to be able to possibly claim the prize during next year's series in the West Indies.

There are two more Tests against Pakistan in this series. They will be played in Sharjah where he might normally expect some assistance, especially over five days.

Then follows the Ashes series with five Tests at home and then four Tests in the West Indies.

Are 11 Tests sufficient for Warne to take 58 wickets?

Throughout his career the Victorian leggie has averaged 4.5 wickets a Test match and at that rate he could finish the 11 Tests with just on 50 wickets.

But in his last 10 Tests he has taken 54 wickets which is 5.4 a Test which would net him 59.

Should he not be able to get among the English and the West Indians, then there is the prospect of two matches to be played against Bangladesh in Darwin and Cairns in July.

By comparison, Muralitharan has reached something of a stop in his Test match play. The Sri Lankans have two Tests against South Africa next month. They then host New Zealand for three Tests in May and have two Tests in the West Indies in June/July next year.

That is likely to deny the crafty Sri Lankan the chance to put the pressure on Warne, although that statement is always presuming injury doesn't become a factor for him.

Of the other bowlers on the list of top performers, Glenn McGrath is closest to breaking through the 400 barrier.

He ended the Colombo Test with 393 wickets from his 85 Tests, Pakistan's Waqar Younis is on 357 while India's Anil Kumble goes into the series against the West Indies on 333 wickets from 73 Tests.

The next highest bowler on the list who is still playing is South Africa's Shaun Pollock on 261 and with his average on 20.72, it is the best of all the bowlers in front of him. But it will be interesting to see how his figures look at the completion of the series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. On his home soil there is every prospect of a significant drop.

Javagal Srinath has now returned to Test cricket, and he sits on 232 wickets. The next highest active players on the list are England's pair of Darren Gough (228) and Andrew Caddick (214) and after them, is Chris Cairns on 197 looking to break through in the forthcoming series against India.

Meanwhile, one interesting milestone looms in the batting stakes. Australian Test captain Steve Waugh, after 149 Tests, is 369 runs from becoming the third player, after Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, to break the 10,000 runs barrier.

Closest to him is Sachin Tendulkar on 8405 runs with an average of 57.96 which is second only to Don Bradman (99.94) and Walter Hammond (58.45) among those to have scored more than Bradman's 6996 runs.