John Buchanan

Melbourne: Unveiling his sour relationship with Shane Warne, former Australia coach John Buchanan revealed he had urged the spin wizard to own up after his drug suspension in 2003.

Warne was banned for a year for taking prohibited substance diuretic and claimed that the fluid tablet had been given to him by his mother Brigitte under “totally innocent” circumstances.

Expressing surprise over Warne’s claims of innocence, Buchanan alleged that the leg-spinner was self-centred and forgot the team interest, according to a report published in a local daily.

“How could he be so vain, so stupid, so self-centred to forget about the team?” Buchanan wrote in his soon-to-be-released book, If Better Is Possible.

“Why did he think he would be bullet proof?

“It took me a while to work through my thoughts and emotions and then to look at what the incident meant to Warney. 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 bear the consequences of his action.”

Buchanan — who guided Australia to two World Cup wins — did not share a great relationship with Warne and it became worse during Australia’s 2001 tour of India when Buchanan spoke about Warne’s lack of fitness after the visitors lost the second Test in Calcutta.

Buchanan, in his book, admits that his relationship with Warne was never “best buddy status” but insists that he has a lot of respect for Warne’s achievements.