Shane Warne is arguably the greatest spinner ever to have graced the game but his misdemeanours off the field have often taken precedence over his actions on it – at least since his retirement from the game. From being banned for consumption of a banned substance to smoking while on a prohibiting contract to taking digs at former teammates of high stature to numerous sexual affairs, Shane Warne has made an image for himself as controversy’s favourite kid.
And now, his tendency to being controversies favourite child has come to the fore once again on Sunday when he was accused of assaulting a woman at a nightclub in London. Warne, the man prolific with his wickets, was equally frequent in making headlines for controversies of various nature. A selective look at those controversies that speckled the career of the spin maestro.
Also Read: Shane Warne cleared of adult movie star’s assault allegations
Dealings with a bookie
Warne was not the only man to be caught up in this. In 1994, during the tour of Sri Lanka, he along with teammate Mark Waugh was accused of making arrangements with an Indian bookie and revealing details of the pitch details and weather conditions. The duo accepted hefty sums of money for letting out these details.
Banned substance controversy
Australia received a last-minute shock just prior to ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa when Shane Warne was disqualified from participation, owing to consumption of a banned substance. He then himself admitted to have taken a ‘fluid’ tablet to get into shape. The ban extended to a year in which time he took up commentary positions. He took up commentary positions in the interim.
Checkered relationship with Steve Waugh
Warne has had a checkered relationship with his former captain ever since Steve Waugh dropped him in the third Test of the 1999 tour of West Indies. Most recently, in 2016, Warne had said that Waugh is the “most selfish cricketer” he has played with. “There’s a lot of reasons I don’t like Steve Waugh, a lot of reasons because he is the most selfish cricketer I’ve played with,” he said.
Caught smoking while on restrictive contract
In 2007 Warne was in a lucrative contract with Nicorette to stay away from smoking for a defined period. However, he could not contain his urge despite the nicotine patches. News broke across cricket fraternity when two young boys photographed Warne smoking in New Zealand, during a series there. Warne got into an altercation with the boys and demanded the picture off them. As per some accounts, Warne even swore at the teenagers and on their refusal to hand over the picture, the controversial cricketer snatched it from them.
Ricky Ponting ‘jealous’
Ricky Ponting had been critical of Michael Clarke in his autobiography and Warne did not approve of it. He made the inexplicable claim that Ponting’s assertions stemmed out of jealousy. Ponting was a significantly more prolific scorer than Clarke and has one of the better averages in the history of Test cricket. He also pointed out to the three Ashes defeats that Ponting led them to to show that he wasn’t a great captain for Australia.
‘Dirty Talk’ with Donna Wright, a British nurse
In 2000, Warne was sacked as Australian Test vice-captain after reports surfaced of him nagging a Donna Wright, a British nurse, to have physical relations with him. Warne admitted to having ‘dirty talk’ with the nurse, but said she initiated the conversations. He was them married with two children. Meanwhile, the entire episode cost him the Australian vice-captaincy.
Other sex controversies
Along with his hallmark as a clever leg-spinner, Warne made an equally strong, albeit less desirable, impression of himself as a sexually hyperactive person. Even while he was married and had kids, he pursued other women. In 2005, he was involved in such an act with British woman Laura Sayers and allegedly asked her to join him in a foursome, involving then England batsman Kevin Pietersen and his date. A similar controversy with stripper Angela Gallagher led to his separation with Simone Warne.
Multiple affairs and separations
Warne’s wife’s patience ran out in 2007 when it was reported that the couple had separated. But they got back together until Warne allegedly sent a flirtatious text message that he intended for another woman to his wife itself. This was the last straw for Simone, who decided to leave Warne for good. He then got into a relationship with British actress Liz Hurley. The two were engaged but Hurley called off the engagement due to his affair with a porn star.
Rubbishing evolution theory
On the show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Warne rubbished the evolution theory and instead suggested humans had originated from aliens. Warne offered clichéd, ill-researched justification for his claim, asking if humans did evolve from monkeys, why did all monkeys not evolve?
Assaulting Valerie Fox
In September, 2017, Shane Warne was accused of assaulting porn star Valerie Fox at a nightclub in Mayfair, London.
