England’s Ashes success scuttles Warne’s talk show

Thursday, 6 January 2011 00:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(AP) — The England cricket team has finally silenced Australian spin great Shane Warne in a way it never imagined.

The fifth and final episode of Warne’s cricket-themed variety show, Warnie, was due to air in Australia on Thursday, but the Nine Network said Wednesday the episode has been shelved. And the network blames the England team.

A Nine Network spokeswoman said the episodes of the show were timed to coincide with matches in the current Ashes series between England and Australia. The fact England had already retained the Ashes ahead of the latest test in Sydney mean “there was no need for a show on January 6,” the spokeswoman said.

Warnie has struggled to retain an audience since first airing to 854,000 viewers. By the second show, the audience had dropped below 500,000.