Australian Prime Minister John Howard Thursday praised Shane Warne's "massive" contribution to cricket, describing him as the greatest spinner the world had ever seen. "I thank him for the massive contribution he's made to Australian cricket," Howard told reporters following Warne's announcement that he would retire from international competition when the current Ashes series finishes. "He's the greatest slow bowler this country has had and the greatest slow bowler the world has seen and he's done amazing things for the art of leg-break bowling. He's made a huge contribution to both maintaining and further stimulating interest in cricket in this and many other countries and I wish him well and I look forward to seeing him play in the next two Tests." Asked to assess Warne's contribution to Australian cricket, Howard replied: "Massive, his record speaks for itself. He'll clearly be the first person ever to take 700 Test wickets. The greatest single thing he did was after a long period of time when fast bowlers dominated the scene was to revive the ancient art of leg-spin bowling and for those who love cricket that was an enormous contribution in itself." Howard, who describes himself as a "cricket tragic", said he hoped to watch every day of Warne's final Test, which begins in Sydney on January 2. But he refused to be drawn on speculation veteran paceman Glenn McGrath would be the next player in Australia's ageing Test team to hang up his boots. "I can't speculate about any of this," he said. "It's for the people concerned to talk about their own futures. Glenn has made a huge contribution and he's a wonderful bowler and a wonderful man."

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