It seemed as if Inzamam batted with toothpick: Warne

Melbourne:

Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne has drawn interesting profiles of the world's leading international cricketers in his just released book.

Sample this: "Inzamam was a huge great bear of a man who looked as though he was batting with a toothpick. The stumps always seemed very small when he was at the crease - that's if you could see any of them behind his frame." Warne's imagination, however, was followed by a lot of praise for the former Pakistani captain whom he perceived as a genial personality.

"Anybody underestimating him at first sight soon realised that his appearance was really deceptive. He was one of the most identifiable batsmen in the world, but he was comfortable in his big-boned frame.

"He was really a good slip fielder, probably he didn't fancy patrolling the covers for too long. But when he did, he had a rocket arm.

"Away from the game, he comes across as being very relaxed and just as easy-going. He even speaks slowly, but he is good fun to be around and is the sort of guy who can make you laugh," Warnie wrote in 'Shane Warne's Century'.

With his funny bone active, Warne did not even spare his former captains Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh and was brutally honest in penning his views on them.

"There was nothing fancy about Mark Taylor. He had wonderful leadership skills and excellent communication, but his main weakness was his terrible dress sense - the shirts he used to wear were horrendous, although Steve Waugh's were worse."