Hampshire captain Shane Warne has warned England - beware 'The Slider'.

Warne's Hampshire teammate John Crawley and the rest of the England squad fly out to Australia this week with the first Ashes Test scheduled for November 7 in Brisbane.

And, after taking 19 wickets at a cost of 11.16 runs each in the first two Tests against Pakistan, Hampshire's skipper is more than ready for the best that England has to offer.

Warne recorded match figures of 8-24 in Sharjah as Pakistan were twice bowled out for their lowest scores of all time (59 and 53) in temperatures that reached as high as 48 degrees.

"I could have fried an egg on my head," said Warne, after Pakistan's defeat by an innings and 198 runs in the second Test on Saturday.

Some of the damage was due to the welcome return of Warne's flipper, a weapon that is hard enough to execute at the best of times. It took Richie Benaud four years before he had the confidence to use the flipper in match conditions and it is a weapon that has been absent from Warne's repertoire since he had a second operation on his right ring finger two years ago.

The flipper was the most feared delivery in world cricket before Warne's finger trouble. Squeezed out in a finger clicking-like motion, it is often mistaken for a long hop but scuttles straight on, 30 kmh quicker than his stock leg break.

Even now, Warne is not confident enough to be able to say that the flipper is back for good.

"The finger gets in the way sometimes," he said. "I've got to get that feel back but the odd one has come out beautifully."

Since he was last with Hampshire, Warne has adapted to his disfigured digit by developing a combination of the flipper and the leg break that is different to the 'zooter', the latter being another delivery imparted with back spin.

Bowled with a leg break action, the new delivery currently wreaking havoc in the sub continent is called 'the slider'.

Unlike the flipper, it turns very slightly and is not as quick.

Warne explained: "The slider has got back spin on it but it's more the same pace as the leg break. It comes out the same as a leg spinner but it's a fraction quicker.

"I'm finally beginning to understand my bowling a lot more, how to get batsmen out rather than just bowl big, turning leg breaks."

Victoria skipper Warne, 33, attributes the best form of his career to the loss of two stone in the last six months as much as he does to the advent of the slider.

He added: "I'm more likely to drink a couple of glasses of wine or a vodka these days, it's the way sport is now. Younger blokes are coming through and they're so much more aware of fitness and recovery sessions and stretching.

"I guess in the late eighties and early nineties it was six stubbies of beer and a chat with the bloke you played against. That was the recovery.

"I've never had a problem with bowling during a match, whether I've been a stone overweight or whatever but I've found being lighter has helped my recovery the next day.

"It used to be that I couldn't get out of bed and everything hurt. Now I get out of bed, go down to the pool and I feel ready to go."

Although hugely encouraging for everyone associated with Hampshire Cricket, Warne's words are ominous indeed for England. And, with an eye already on the Ashes, Warne is hopeful that Steve and Mark Waugh will keep their places.

He added: "All of us who have played with Stephen and Mark for a while hope they do well. They've been around for a long time and have been fantastic for Australian cricket."

The third and final Test between Australia and Pakistan begins on Saturday in Sharjah.