Shane Warne is set for a nervous wait after the Australian Cricket Board's anti-doping committee reserved their decision until midnight tonight. The three-man panel are considering Warne's case overnight and are expected to hand down their verdict at 11am Melbourne time (midnight GMT). Warne has been charged under the prohibited method clause – using diuretics as a masking agent - which carries a two-year ban from the game.
At the ACB headquarters in Jolimont, Melbourne, seven witnesses were called to give evidence before 90 minutes of summing up. The 33-year-old tested positive for diuretics hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride on January 22, with his B sample result later also returning the same result.
However, Warne's defence so far has been that he was unaware that the medicine Moduretic - provided by his mother - contained any banned substances. Upon his return from the World Cup, the Victorian insisted he took the 'fluid tablet' for weight loss purposes in the days before announcing his retirement from one-day international cricket.
The three-man anti-doping panel will hear evidence and determine whether Warne has broken any of the ACB's regulations. If Warne is handed the maximum suspension he would be ruled out of the game until the 2005 Ashes series in England, when he will be 35.
But Warne is expected to pursue the 'exceptional circumstances' clause contained in the ACB's anti-doping policy which opens up the possibility of a reduced penalty.
Filed by Shane Murray
