Australia's leg-spinning maestro Shane Warne has sent out a huge warning to England as they prepare for the Ashes series, smashing more Test records in what has become a rejuvenation of his career against Pakistan.

Pakistan were 47 runs behind Australia's first-innings score of 444 with only two of their second innings wickets remaining in the third Test. Warne has three for 56 in the innings and Glenn McGrath three for 18.

Playing in Sharjah, where the black gold of oil has created great wealth, Warne has bowled into a rich vein of his own and has smashed the Australian record for most wickets in a three-Test series.

He has taken 27 wickets so far to move past Dennis Lillee, who took 23 in the 1979/80 series against England. Warne's wickets have come at an incredible average of 12.66 runs per wicket.

Warne has given himself every chance of becoming only the second player to take 500 wickets during the Ashes series, as he has now taken 477 wickets in his 104 Tests at an average of 25.73. Only West Indian Courtney Walsh has taken more Test wickets - 519.

Warne has also moved into equal seventh place on the list of wickets taken in three-Test-match series, a position he shares with Pakistan's Waqar Younis.

Warne's best figures in any series are the 34 he took on his first tour of England in 1993.

If getting some respite from Warne is not enough, pace-man Glenn McGrath moved past the 400-mark in the same innings, only the second Australian to take that many wickets.

McGrath, in his 87th Test, has now taken 403 wickets at 21.52.

Those ahead of him are: Walsh, Warne, Kapil Dev (434), Richard Hadlee (431), Muttiah Muralitharan (430), Wasim Akram (414) and Curtly Ambrose (405).

Most wickets for Australia in a three-Test series:

Runs  Wkts Avge
342   27   12.66   SK Warne             Australia v Pakistan         2002/03    
388   23   16.86   DK Lillee            Australia v England          1979/80    
388   23   16.86   R Benaud             Australia v India            1956/57    
261   21   12.42   CTB Turner           Australia v England          1888       
438   21   20.85   GD McGrath           Australia v Sri Lanka        1995/96    
452   21   21.52   DK Lillee            Australia v India            1980/81    
540   21   25.71   DK Lillee            Australia v Pakistan         1976/77    
417   20   20.85   SK Warne             Australia v South Africa     1997/98    
442   20   22.10   SK Warne             Australia v South Africa     2001/02    
446   20   22.30   B Yardley            Australia v West Indies      1981/82    

Most wickets by all countries in three-Tests:

Runs  Wkts  Avge
 203   35   5.80   GA Lohmann           England v South Africa       1895/96
 401   33  12.15   RJ Hadlee            New Zealand v Australia      1985/86
 545   32  17.03   Harbhajan Singh      India v Australia            2000/01
 294   30   9.80   M Muralitharan       Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe         2001/02
 437   30  14.56   Abdul Qadir          Pakistan v England           1987/88
 315   29  10.86   Waqar Younis         Pakistan v New Zealand       1990/91
 342   27  12.66   Shane Warne          Australia v Pakistan         2002/03
 373   27  13.81   Waqar Younis         Pakistan v Zimbabwe          1993/94
 270   26  10.38   C Blythe             England v South Africa       1907
 401   26  15.42   WPUJC Vaas           Sri Lanka v West Indies      2001/02

© 2002 CricInfo Ltd

This report does not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Cricket Board.