SHE'S NO Victoria Beckham, courting the press and lapping up the media attention.

Simone Warne, wife of Hampshire's new cricket captain, is usually content to limit her media appearances to supporting the Australian sporting hero at matches or hanging on his arm at formal functions.

But this week she has been making headlines of her own Down Under.

After the Australian press trumpeted her husband's announcement that he intended to leave Oz and move his family to live permanently in Southampton - a story first carried by this paper - Mrs Warne put her foot down.

Grabbing the headlines herself, the blonde, slim 33-year-old announced this was news to her. She and the couple's three children - Brook, 6, Jackson, 4, and Summer, 2, - would be staying put in their £800,000 luxury mansion in Melbourne, at least for the foreseeable future.

A chastened Warne was put in his place .

Being married to Australia's most high-profile sporting personality has been something of a rollercoaster ride for Simone, thanks to his antics off the field.

"She is a mother first and foremost and she doesn't seek media attention. But she is a strong lady," commented Australian journalist Ahmer Khokhar.

It was in 2003 that Simone was to face her greatest challenge. Media in Australia and around the world were agog with reports of allegations that the Australian cricket international - known as the King of Spin because of his bowling skills - had been bombarding a 45-year-old woman in South Africa with lewd text messages.

While the press speculated, Simone came out fighting.

"I stand by my man 100 per cent. I always have and will continue to," she retorted.

"Leaving him would have been the easy thing to do. We do have a family together, we do have a good relationship.

"Twelve years is a long time - three children - there's a lot at stake. It was a case of weighing up what he'd done and deciding whether it was worth throwing away what we have.

"That's what we are trying to do now, forgive and forget and move on. We are both trying and we hope it works."

The South African woman was later charged with extortion but the damage to Warne's reputation had already been done.

Simone said: "Sometimes, I'm really disappointed in him. But it's not worth getting angry over. He's made a mistake and I've got to try and get past it."

She insisted: "I saw how upset he was when he told me about it all. He was pretty much at the lowest point in his life, and I think he doesn't ever want to feel that again.

"I'd be pretty shocked if he did go down that road again. There''ll be no family and no wife at the end of it."

But it wasn't the first time Warne had been in the headlines because of alleged phone messages to a woman. And the earlier occasion had been during his first stint with Hampshire in 2000.

He had been out to a nightclub and despite his best intentions to ignore a girl who was throwing herself at him, Warne ended up leaving with her phone number.

He later rang her and details of the intimate phone calls ended up in the press.

Looking back on the episode, he said: "I telephoned Simone as soon as I saw the paper to let her know what had happened and we had a good chat when I returned.

"Needless to say she was disappointed and upset," he said.

And Simone certainly stood by her man when he found himself the subject of controversy on the field after being tested positive for a banned diuretic weight-loss drug just before the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

That led to a 12-month suspension from cricket. In his autobiography, Shane speaks of his wife as being "the biggest stabilising influence in his life."

He added: "She tends to cop my bad moods when things haven't gone well on the field.

"Simone has always been my shoulder to lean on and the children have been a great leveller to both of us," he said.

"The biggest consideration in any decision will be the wishes of my family.

"In fact, if I thought it was best for Simone and myself and the children I would walk away from the game tomorrow."

Whether Simone joins her husband while he is playing for Hampshire this summer remains to be seen.

Certainly he has already bought a home at Ocean Village from old pal Matt Le Tissier. It is a stone's throw of the pads of fellow Hampshire players Alan Mullally, Kevin Pietersonn and Simon Katich.

Neighbours say they would be delighted to welcome Simone. However, they do point out the homes are hardly as glamorous nor as family-friendly as a mansion in Melbourne.

"It'll be comfortable but nothing more," said one neighbour referring to the strict tenancy policies. "Children are basically not allowed into the garden areas - and pets are discouraged."