 Warne tested positive for a banned diuretic |
Australian cricket chiefs have kept faith with disgraced spinner Shane Warne by handing him a contract for the 2003-04 season. Warne is currently serving a 12-month ban from the game for failing a drugs test ahead of the World Cup.
He has been included in an elite list of 25 Australian cricketers to receive contracts.
And he also revealed he could reverse a decision to retire from the one-day game.
 The charter for the selectors is to choose the best 25 players in the country |
Warne said: "I retired from one-day cricket to prolong my Test career.
"At this stage, it is something I am reconsidering with the enforced lay-off."
The contracts for the year start on 1 July but Warne, the second highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history, is ineligible to play again until his ban ends in February 2004.
A spokesman for the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) said Warne would not be paid while he was under suspension but would get a pro-rata for the period between February and July.
"Shane's suspension ends in February and his contract will be reactivated then," the spokesman said.
"The charter for the selectors is to choose the best 25 players in the country and the selectors obviously see Shane Warne as being a part of that beyond February."
Warne is not allowed to play any cricket but is hoping to play charity matches for Kent pub side Lashings.
The 25 contracted players will be paid a base retainer, as well as match fees, tour fees and prize money for on-field success.
Under a formula agreed with the Australian Cricketers' Association as part of the 2001-2005 Memorandum of Understanding, the minimum retainer in 2003-04 is A$125,000 (�50,000), up A$15,000 (�6,000) from last year.
More experienced and better performing players will receive more.
Full list of Australian players to receive contracts for 2003-04: Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Nathan Hauritz, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Martin Love, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Ashley Noffke, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Steve Waugh, Brad Williams.
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