MELBOURNE, 9 August 2003 — Shane Warne told the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to mind their own business yesterday as debate continued over the issue of allowing the Australia leg spinner to play in charity matches while serving a doping ban.
“As far as I’m concerned it’s got nothing to do with these guys,” Warne said in an interview aired on Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio.
“I’m an employee of the Australian Cricket Board and both the ACB (now called Cricket Australia) and us have come to a decision.
“I’ve abided by their rules and had an arbitration meeting and they said I can play in charity games, I can train with the team, I can do all those things.”
Warne, the second highest wicket-taker in Tests with 491 victims, was banned for 12 months after testing positive for diuretics in February. Cricket Australia (CA), the national board, had said the 33-year-old should not be allowed to play any cricket.
But last month it released a joint statement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), the players’ representative body, announcing that an independent arbitrator had cleared the way for Warne to play in charity matches.
WADA chief executive David Howman told The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday: “It is not a ban if he is training or playing. I find this ruling particularly bizarre because it is out of character with Australia’s strong anti-doping stance.”
ACA chief executive Tim May the arbitration was not simply about Warne but the wider issue of whether CA had the power under its anti-doping policy to ban a player from charity matches.
“It has been proven — it does not,” May said.
Warne’s brother and manager Jason Warne said Australia’s leading wicket-taker would not be taking part in a charity match with England club Lashings later this month.
“He won’t be over there for that (game on Aug. 18),” Jason Warne told Reuters yesterday.
“We’ve had a couple of people from different countries have rung us about Shane playing in charity games but we haven’t agreed to play in any at this stage.
“There has been a lot of stuff in the media ... It’s been a little bit disappointing, people coming out and making their comments and a lot of them ill-informed, but you just sort of go with it I guess.”
Shoaib to Return to Durham Next Month
In Karachi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is allowing fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to re-join Durham after the first two Tests against Bangladesh this month.
A board spokesman said Durham had released Akhtar for the Tests but wanted him back in the first week of September to complete his contract.
Durham’s chances of promotion from the second division would be greatly boosted by the return of Shoaib for the closing games.
Fellow paceman Mohammad Sami, who has been out with an injured ankle, is expected to be fit from the third Test onward. Sami, 22, told Reuters: “I will complete four weeks of rest this week and than start training.”
