Richard Dawson, the former England and Yorkshire off-spinner writes exclusively in The Northen Echo.

SO Shane Warne is at it again - can anybody say they are surprised? He has put Australia in the driving seat again and proved there's life in the old dog yet.

He might be about to retire but there will be millions of Australians thinking there's plenty left in the tank. We've all heard the tributes that have been paid to him this week and he deserves every last one of them.

He is a legend. I feel privileged to have played against him and been one of his Test victims - of which there are now over 700.

When I've called time on my cricket career I will be able to say that I played against one of the best players of all time and the best leg-spinner ever.

He has been England's nemesis for the last 13 years since he burst on to the scene with that ball to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford. There will be a few England batsmen on the current tour who will have wished he'd finished long ago but he's proved his class again throughout the last five weeks.

And what a way for him to go - it's a fitting end to his Test-match career. Warnie is doing the business to the bitter end. He was keen to go out while he was on top and he has already proved he will have a big say in these final two Tests.

I had the pleasure of his company on the last Ashes tour for about 20 minutes after the Adelaide Test. He was good friends with my Yorkshire team-mate Darren Lehmann and as a 22-year-old I was in awe of him.

I played all sports when I was a kid but he was the major reason that cricket became so big for me. Watching him and Tim May bowl on the 1993 Ashes tour got me hooked on spin bowling.

His attitude to the game has always been first-class and whenever he comes on to bowl the game comes alive.

Look at the way he turned the screw in Adelaide and he's doing the same again now. Should Australia have been given the chance to bowl first? I know there was some talk about England putting them in but that is a risky strategy and could have backfired.

It is easy in hindsight to criticise when you choose to bat first and don't make many runs but I can understand why England wanted first use of the track.