Australian spin legend Shane Warne has put an end to speculation about
him trying to get German citizenship, saying that he would always remain an Australian.
"I am Australian, as simple as that, and I always will be. I'm not going
to be Adolf Warne or anything like that - I'll always be Shane Warne.
"This thing has got a bit out of hand. Just calm down
a little bit," said Warne after unsuccessfully leading Hampshire in the
Provident Trophy final against Durham.
Warne had earlier said that he was trying to know whether he
qualified for a German passport so that he could play for Hampshire as a non-overseas
player.
County teams currently can have two overseas players, but it will be reduced
to one from next season.
Cricketers having a European Union passport cannot be considered
as overseas players and Warne qualifies for this since his mother was born in
Germany.
The news, however, created ripples in Warne's homeland and
Australian Prime Minister John Howard went on to say: "What people
do with their citizenship in the end is their own business but, along with most
Australians, I would be amazed."
|
