ALAN MULLALLY has his feet on the bottom rung of a ladder that could lead to a place in next summer's Ashes battle.

But it could mean that Hampshire will be stripped of their front-line attack of last summer.

Mullally, who last played for England in the triangular one-day series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe during the summer, has been named in the England party for the one-day internationals against Sri Lanka - providing he can prove his full fitness following the stress rib fracture that hamstrung him at the beginning of last season.

'Spider' declared himself unavailable for the one-day series in Pakistan and the ICC Trophy in Kenya to winter in Perth and concentrate on regaining his full fitness.

Mullally has been cleared by doctors to bowl flat-out and if he passes a fitness test, will be welcomed back into the international fold.

And if Mullally impresses in the one-dayers and maintains his fitness, England's desire to include the variation of his left-arm seam in their attack could even see him given an ECB central contract for next summer.

That will come as mixed news for Hampshire, as Mullally's wages will be paid by the ECB, but it will mean that his availability for the county could be limited.

And with Shane Warne almost certain to be part of the Aussie's party and Peter Hartley retired, that could leave Hampshire shorn of the three front-line bowlers in an attack that earned the highest number of bowling bonus points in last summer's County Championship.

Meanwhile Warne is running the risk of being charged with treason by preparing what he reckons could be England's secret weapon in the Ashes war next summer - Hampshire's Giles White.

White is currently wintering with Warne in Victoria, having been invited to work on what up to now has been largely his occasional leg-spin bowling.

Warne's own bowling guru, Terry Jenner, worked with White during a visit to Hampshire last summer and Warne is convinced that White's bowling has come on a bomb - possibly even enough to break into the England team and trouble the Aussies next summer.

Warne's claim may not be that far-fetched, as Ian Salisbury failed to claim a Test wicket during the tour of Pakistan, and former hope Chris Schofield has gone backwards.

"Chalkie mucked around with a few leg-breaks and was a bit of a part-timer, but we've worked on him for next summer in England and he's starting to come on really well," said Warne.

"He could play Test cricket for England within the next couple of years - maybe even against us in the Ashes.

"We'll just keep working on him and maybe he'll come good. He could play for England as an all-rounder, maybe bat five or six and bowl."

Working with White has also helped Warne's rehab from a broken finger.

Warne, who is keen to return to Hampshire in 2002, had his first competitive bowl since breaking the finger playing for Victoria in October, when he bowled nine overs for his club side St Kilda at the weekend.

"It feels really good so that's very positive and very encouraging," said Warne.

"Coaching Chalkie in the basics is helping me re-jig all the stuff, going back to basics myself."