Warne signs one-season contract with Melbourne Stars

Warne, 42, retired from competitive cricket after this year's Indian Premier League, but will now make a comeback at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where he took his 700th Test wicket during the Boxing Day Test in 2006.

"I'm really excited about playing competitively again and delighted to be joining the Melbourne Stars," he told at a press conference at the MCG.

"I'm back in training next week turning my arm over."
Warne, however, has not played top-flight international cricket for Australia since helping his country to a clean sweep of the Ashes in January 2007.

Even though he had signed a contract for the 2011-2012 season only, Warne did not rule out the possibility of extending his association with the Melbourne side.

"I'm a young 42 at the moment, so I'll see how it goes this year," he said.
"This is something fresh, this is something new and we're all learning straight away. Let's see how it goes this year and we'll take it from there," he added.

Warne's first match for the Melbourne Stars in the new competition will be against the Sydney Thunder at the MCG on December 17.

Apart from Australian domestic players, several overseas cricketers, including South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Collingwood of England, and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, have signed up for the eight-team franchise-based tournament.