Be patient, says Benaud, the next Warne is on his way

RICHIE BENAUD says Australian cricket fans hanging out for the next Shane Warne need to keep the faith with the band of young, emerging leg-spinners.

As debate continues over whether selectors should persevere with Cameron White as a spinning option during the four-Test series in India, Benaud insists it is vital for slow bowlers to be given sufficient time in the middle to master their craft.

While Benaud does not necessarily believe all-rounder White is the long-term answer to Australia's post-Warne spinning blues, he rates the 25-year-old Victorian highly and thinks he will only develop further if afforded more Test match experience.

Not a big turner of the ball, a nervous White took 1-88 from 31 overs in his Test debut in the drawn series-opener in Bangalore.

"I think Cameron White's a good cricketer. I'm very keen on him doing well, and people expect young cricketers suddenly to be stars overnight," Benaud said. "It's important to persevere with all young players. It's no good putting them in for a match or two.

"Now, Cameron only came in because of injuries but he's a good cricketer. He's captained Victoria for a few years down there, and he's got lots of experience. He's a good batsman, a brilliant fielder and I'm hoping his bowling will continue to improve and improve."

Boasting 248 Test wickets at an average of 27.03, former skipper and leggie Benaud is considered one of Australia's great spinners, but even he admits he was not in Warne's league and needed years to mature as a world-class performer.

"When I started bowling, I took advice from Bill O'Reilly in 1953 in Scarborough at the end of the tour [of England] because I was disappointed in my own bowling," the former Test captain said.

"And Bill O'Reilly gave me advice and told me what to do and, as I was going out of the room, he said, 'Oh, and one other thing, it's going to take you four years to do it.' And it did take me four years to do it. It wasn't until South Africa in 1957 that I started to bowl properly. So don't expect young bowlers to become stars overnight.

"The only one who's ever been able to do that is Shane Warne, and I said the same thing to him that Bill O'Reilly told me - that it would take four years, but Warne was so good, he did it in two."

Benaud is as eager as anyone for Australia to unearth the next Warne - who took 708 Test scalps - but accepts the search could be a long one.

"Warne's been the best leg spinner that I've ever seen," the veteran commentator said.

"There's not an obsession there [to find the next Warne], but everyone would like someone to come up, as Warne did, virtually from nowhere."

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has admitted to concerns about player workload after a postponed tournament in Pakistan was crammed into a packed international schedule for next year.

The Champions Trophy tournament was to be staged last month, but was put off because of fears over player safety held by several competing nations, including Australia.

The International Cricket Council has announced it will now be played from September 25 to October 10 next year, in a yet to be determined Pakistani city. The opening day is just five days after Australia play the last one-day international of a long Ashes tour, which includes five Tests and eight one-day internationals, as well as numerous tour games.

The new dates for the Champions Trophy, which has been shortened by five days, also overlaps the planned Twenty20 Champions League in India and comes only a few days before the start date of a planned Australian one-day tour of India.

CA spokesman Peter Young said it would have been better if the tournament was kept in the original timeslot, but moved to a different venue, but Australia had to accept the ICC's decision.

AAP