THE smiling face, with the hat on, has been something England cricket fans have had to endure all too often over the past month.

Australian Shane Warne destroyed England in the Ashes with the first 5-0 whitewash since 1920-21, the 36-year-old reached the record of 700 Test wickets in the process and had the crowd in tears and cheers as he bowed out of the international scene last week.

And there were a few disappointed faces around Accrington Cricket Club as the man they saw as a "overweight but likeable" 21-year-old in 1991 when he came to Hyndburn, said good-bye to his Test career in style.

Andy Barker, now at Enfield, was Warne's captain when he came to the Lancashire League 16 years ago and he has a lot of special memories of "Warney", who he keeps in touch with.

"I remember he was a last minute replacement for Shaun Young who was injured," said 42-year-old Barker (centre, next to Warne). "It was only around three weeks before the season started and our now President Peter Barratt did a fantastic job of bringing him in at such short notice.

"I remember this overweight kid turned up who was said to be a leg spinner but had come highly-recommended from legendary spinner Terry Jenner who told us that Shane was going to break records.

"When he came to Accrington he was quite shy - not the extrovert you see nowadays! - and he was not confident at all.

"But he was really likeable and I remember we had a "Meet the Pro" night and Shane was buying everyone drinks and thought he had made some really good friends.

"Mind you, I think he spent his salary behind the bar during the season!

"But then the next day he was playing his first game at Ramsbottom and I was out.

"I remember walking back to pavilion chastising myself and then heard a roar behind me.

"I thought Shane must have hit a four or something but then I looked back and saw the middle stump uprooted and he was walking back and some of the spectators, who he had been buying drinks for the night before, were shouting "Send him back, he is rubbish".

"He came into the dressing room and couldn't believe that his own supporters had turned on him. I just looked at him and said "Welcome to the Lancashire League" - it was a very rude awakening!"

But while it was a hard start for the legendary leg-spinner he finished the season with 73 wickets, averaging 15.4.

"He did take three or four games to settle," continued Barker. "The climate didn't help as it was a wet summer and it was difficult to spin.

"And our wicketkeepers never knew which way the ball was going to turn.

"We went through three wicketkeepers that season and I remember one, who was one of the top three wicketkeepers in the league, just throwing his gloves down after an over.

"We had tried in practice to do these signals so the wicketkeeper knew what was happening and it didn't make any difference and I think he gave it all up. We had to get another wicketkeeper - and then another - with Paul Barratt finally sticking with what was a difficult job but he did well!"

Barker said there was a turning point for Warne in his early excursion into the Lancashire League.

"We were playing against Ramsbottom in a rain-affected Worsley Cup game and we had all been feeling the pressure so we had been out for a blow out the night before," said the ex-Thorneyholme Road skipper. "We were a team used to being at the top of the league and were in transition and had a number of injuries so we were trying to ease the pressure.

"The next day, things just clicked for Shane and he never looked back.

"He went on to take four, five or six wickets every game and ended the season with 73 wickets. He could have gone on to get 100 if he had stayed until the end but he went home before the season finished."

While the wickets fell - don't mention the batting! Warne finished with just 330 runs, averaging 15 and Accrington finished second from bottom.

"He nearly made me take up smoking," laughed Barker. "He used to persuade me he could and should bat higher than No 5. He used to talk me into it so I would let him and then I would be a nervous wreck throughout the game.

"I used to look at the smokers and think "I need one" even though I didn't smoke!

"People doubted him but we would tell anyone who listened that this kid would play for Australia - and within 18 months he had.

"I always consider myself fortunate that at Accrington we got a glimpse of what was to come - an all-time great."

Warne didn't quite terrorise all the Lancashire League batting line-ups as Church captain Phil Sykes recalls.

"I remember we played them in pre-season and we got quite a lot of runs. Then we played them early in the season and I don't think he got a wicket in his first five games. Obviously we didn't see the best of him because of the conditions - he had probably never experienced conditions like wet, windy days in England in April!

"I remember he was carrying a bit of excess weight and I didn't see anything in him to say he was going to be so special but it is harsh to judge him in that situation. But then he became acclimatised and started taking more wickets although I must admit I was shocked when, soon after, he got in the Australian Test side. But he never looked back."

And his former captain Barker is pleased to know the man who has helped to change the face of cricket - even though Accrington decided not to bring him back the following year as they wanted a more "experienced professional."

"You talk about sports personalities who change sport and he did," said Barker.

"At the time everyone wanted to emulate fast bowlers and then he suddenly landed on the scene for Australia and brought spin."

And Barker admitted he was slightly amused when Warne bowled what was deemed the unofficial "Ball of the Century" when he saw off the ex-England captain Mike Gatting in the first Ashes Test in 1993.

"We had a little chuckle as we had seen it week in and week out two years before against lesser batsmen so we knew all about the one that got Mike Gatting out."

Warne, who is a colourful character off and on the pitch, still meets up with his old Accrington CC team-mates but it is hard now he is a superstar.

"We do meet up every now and then and he did come to Accrington a few years ago but it is really hard as wherever he goes there is media attention surrounding him and we have to meet in secret," added Barker.

"During the Ashes series in England in 2005, Australia had security guards and you just couldn't get near the team.

"You obviously hear all the stories of his alleged off-the-pitch activities but what goes unmentioned a lot of the time is the work he does for charity. He is a genuinely nice person.

"I still get that feeling of elation when I watch him play to know I have played alongside him. There were a lot of highs and lows then but we got the chance to see first hand a genius in the making and no one can take that away.

"And it was great to say "I told you so" to all those people who didn't believe it when we told them we had signed a star of the future all those years ago!"

And what a star he turned out to be - much to England's dismay.