Buchanan lashes out at 'stupid' Warne

John Buchanan has revealed that he had written to Shane Warne in the aftermath of his drug suspension just before the 2003 World Cup, asking him to "take responsibility and wear the consequences of his actions". Warne had been handed a one-year ban for taking a banned diuretic which he claimed had been given by his mother in "totally innocent" circumstances.

The Herald Sun reported that in his soon-to-be-released book If Better Is Possible, Buchanan had expressed disappointment over Warne's stance and wrote, "How could he be so vain, so stupid, so self-centred to forget about the team? Why did he think he was bullet-proof?

"I sent him a long email, the essence of which was that through his dismissal from the team he had been given a second chance that not all of us are fortunate enough to get. If he wanted to take it, he had the opportunity to take responsibility and wear the consequences of his actions."

Their relationship was perhaps at its frostiest after Buchanan criticised Warne's fitness levels during the 2001 tour of India. Warne, on his part, has been a vocal critic of Buchanan and has been scornful of several of his training techniques such as the pre-Ashes boot camp in 2006.

Buchanan also said that though the relationship between the two has never had "best buddy status", he had huge respect for Warne's achievements.