He is recovering well from major shoulder surgery last May and said that his weekend game was the first he had played in 18 months without pain.

Warne took a wicket three balls into his return to bowling in a club match and will continue his rehabilitation with a second outing for St Kilda today.

Shaun Graf, the Victorian Cricket Association's operations manager, said: ``Everything is on target. He's feeling fine and there's no discomfort. He bowled with no pain so that's a bonus for him.''

Warne, who has taken 313 Test wickets for Australia, is hoping to have recovered sufficient form in time for the opening Ashes Test, starting in Brisbane on Nov 20.

Tony Cottey will today sign a five-year contract with Sussex after rejecting Glamorgan's offer of a new two-year deal.

Cottey, 32, has been with the Welsh county for 15 years and has scored more than 10,000 first-class runs.