Family closes ranks around tainted Warne

Shane Warne’s family closed ranks today and pleaded to be left alone as the embattled cricketer prepared to mount a defence against his...

Shane Warne’s family closed ranks today and pleaded to be left alone as the embattled cricketer prepared to mount a defence against his positive drugs test at a hearing. Warne’s brother Jason, who manages the legspinner, said no one in the family would comment further on the controversy.

Warne returned home from the World Cup late yesterday after he tested positive for a banned diuretic used to aid weight-loss after a test by the Australian Sports Drugs Agency (ADSA) before the Australian team flew to South Africa earlier this month. He faces being driven out of cricket if he cannot prove mitigating circumstances following the positive drug test.

Under the Australian Cricket Board’s (ACB’s) anti-doping policy, Warne’s actions could fall into two categories and attract two different penalties. It could either be classified as a “prohibited substance’ attracting a maximum three-month ban, or as a “prohibited method’, which draws a minimum two-year ban for the first offence.

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Warne met for several hours with lawyer Ian McCubbin at his home today and shunned all requests for interviews. Warne is awaiting the result of his B-sample urine test, which could become public tomorrow. ASDA officials say the B- sample is also likely to return positive for a banned diuretic. He will appear before an Australian Cricket Board (ACB) anti-doping committee next week.

Jason and Shane’s mother Brigitte might give evidence at the hearing, with Warne confirming that a pill provided by his mum led to the positive test result. “We understand there is a lot of public interest in this story, including Shane and our mum,” Jason said in the statement released today.

“We, Shane and I, are always very open and happy to talk to media. But at this stage, my family and I cannot make any further comment as we do not want to influence or compromise the hearing which is coming up in any way. My mum obviously cannot comment for the same reason – she is obviously upset about the whole situation and we ask you to respect her privacy at this tough time.

“There will be no further comment from anyone in the family until after the hearing. So please can you show some respect and leave us go about our day-to-day while we try to deal with the situation as best we can.”

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While Test captain Steve Waugh was among those backing Warne, Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps said he could not use his mother as an excuse.

“Shane Warne has said that he didn’t take the diuretic (as) part of his shoulder treatment so goodness knows what he was taking it for unless he had PMS (PreMenstrual Stress),” Phelps told reporters today.

ASDA said it had a hotline open for 12 hours weekdays and eight hours on weekends and public holidays so that athletes could find out any drug’s status before taking it. “You can’t use mum as an excuse because mum could call the hotline,” Phelps said.