Crane hopes to better Warne debut
England spinner Mason Crane is hoping for a change of fortune on day three of the fifth Ashes Test as he strives to avoid the misery Shane Warne endured on his debut.
There was no maiden Test wicket for Crane, the tourists' youngest specialist spinner for 90 years, at the SCG on Friday, the 20-year-old conceding 58 runs from his 17 overs.
Crane did pose a threat as Usman Khawaja (91 not out) and Steve Smith (44no) combined for an unbroken stand of 107, steering Australia to 193-2 at stumps in reply to 346, but was unable to make a breakthrough.
Warne took 1-150 on his Test bow against India and Crane is eager to make a more positive contribution on his debut than one of the greats of the game could muster.
"I'm hoping for slightly better figures [than Warne's]," Crane said.
"At the end of the day that's how it goes, he turned into a great bowler and I'm sure it was character building for him."
Great to see Mason Crane in action today!
Scorecard:
https://t.co/VoLFTuuctq pic.twitter.com/yWcUZqYZk0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 5, 2018
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Despite failing to claim a first Test scalp, Crane lapped up his first experience of bowling in a Test.
The tweaker said: "It was awesome. Naturally I was a little bit nervous, but I was also really excited. I had great fun out here and I can't wait until tomorrow.
"There were periods where we had a couple of inside edges that didn't quite get to short leg or to slip, but that happens.
"That's the game and you keep plugging away and hopefully they go my way tomorrow."