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Pakistani leg-spinner Imran Tahir enjoyed a dream Hampshire debut and then insisted: "I'm no Shane Warne."

The 29-year-old took 4 for 80 to restrict Lancashire to 261 for 5 at the end of the first day of Hampshire's latest LV County Championship match, at Old Trafford.

Tahir is Hampshire's first leg-spinner since Warne, and admitted: "To come here after Shane Warne is a great honour but no-one can replace him, I can't compare with him because he's a legend!"

Hampshire's long search for an overseas player ended when they plucked Tahir from the Waterworld North Staffs & South Cheshire League, where he has been playing for Moddershall.

Tahir signed for Hampshire for the rest of the season after impressing in a trial at the Rose Bowl earlier this month.

He hopes to be back next year, but for now is delighted to have shown what he can do, having taken only one wicket in four Championship matches for Middlesex and Yorkshire before starring yesterday.

"I've played a few games for counties before without proving myself so I'm very pleased with how I bowled and very, very hapy to have a few wickets under my belt," continued Tahir, who used a googly to see off Iain Sutcliffe before ending a memorable day by bowling Steven Croft with a flipper.

"I like to put batsmen under pressure all the time but Lancashire have some big players so I had to have a big heart and stay cool.

"All the wickets were very special to me because I've always wanted to prove myself in county cricket but I was quite excited with the flipper, it came out perfectly - and I'm saving one or two variations!"

Tahir had some idea of what to expect against Lancashire. His only previous County Championship victim happens to be a Lancashire batsman, the currently injured Mal Loye, and he took 3 for 31 against them in a C & G Trophy appearance for Staffordshire four years ago.

Since then his game has gone from strength to strength after the death of his dad inspired him to take his cricket more seriously.

But the former Pakistani A player has now abandoned his ambititon to play for Pakistan after moving to South Africa to play for the Titans as their overseas player in the Supersport Series.

He aims to qualify to play for South Africa in the next two years, through his South African wife, Sumayya Dildar.

But for now Tahir is concentrating on the here and now.

He will play his last game of the summer for Moddershall this weekend, before preparing to face a Kent side including Martin van Jaarsveld, his Titans captain, at Canterbury next week.

He added: "Moddershall have been very supportive and I'm also really grateful to Hampshire, it's a very nice set up and hopefully I can come back here."

6:19am Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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