Warne told a Sydney newspaper, in an interview, that the thought of retirement first came to him while he was recuperating from surgery to repair ligament damage on the ring finger - his principal spinning finger - of his right hand, and that he still needs daily treatment on the injury.

The ace leg spinner says he kept thinking about the possibility of what would happen if the finger didn't heal. ''I didn't want to retire at this stage. I've got a few things I want to do first, team-wise and personally,'' the leg spinner, rated one of the best attacking bowlers in the world, said.

Warne, who will be part of the Australian team taking on the West Indies in the first Test of a five-Test series beginning Friday November 22, said that his finger needs to be iced and massaged every day, and placed in a brace at night. Besides which, he also requires daily treatment to the forearm and shoulder of his right arm.

Warne, after surgery, has only played two first-class matches as preparation for the Tests, but feels he is close to being at his best. Against New South Wales on Monday, Warne, the captain of Victoria, made several deliveries spin and jump in trademark style.

''I thought, 'I'm back. This is it. This is what I want','' Warne said. ''They started really coming out well. I thought, 'I'm really looking forward to this first test'.''

Warne has taken 207 wickets in 44 tests at an average of 23.53 in his career thus far, and is seen as capable of overtaking India's Kapil Dev as the highest wicket taker in Test history.