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SYDNEY, Wednesday (AFP) Australian leg-spin bowler Sharne Warne Wednesday announced his retirement from one-day cricket after the end of next month's World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Warne, 33, made the announcement when he arrived in Sydney with the Australian team for Thursday's first final of the tri-nations series one-day clash against England.

Warne is recovering from surgery after dislocating his right bowling shoulder last month. He said he would give up one-day cricket to further his Test career.

Warne said the shoulder injury, suffered in a one-day game December 15, proved to him how easily injury could occur and cut short his days with the Australian Test team.

Warne, to play in the World Cup one-day contest before standing down from the national side, admitted he wanted to leave the abbreviated form of the game on his own terms. "It hasn't been a decision, I suppose, that has come lightly," said Warne..

"I love playing cricket for Australia, but the Number 1 priority for me is to play Test cricket for as long as I can.

"I've been thinking about it for a while, but I didn't come to the conclusion until I was carried off on a stretcher in Melbourne.

"That sort of brought my thinking home about how hard it is on your body in one-day cricket." Warne said he had the support of one-day captain Ricky Ponting, Australia coach John Buchanan, his team-mates and the Australian Cricket Board. He has taken 288 wickets from 191 one-day internationals and was man of the match in the 1999 World Cup final won by Australia. In the Test arena, Warne has 491 wickets from 107 matches at an amazing average of 25.71.

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