When legspinner Shane Warne goes into his Australian Cricket Board (ACB) hearing today over a positive drug test, he'll have the country's prime minister hoping a lengthy suspension isn't enforced.
Warne faces a possible two-year ban from the game after being charged with testing positive to the banned diuretics hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride on Jan. 22.
His case will be heard by an ACB three-person anti-doping committee this morning. Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday the rules must be upheld, but added that it would be disappointing to see him go.
His defense was that he was given a weight-loss tablet by his mother, Brigitte and was unaware it contained the banned substances.
If Warne is exonerated, he could be back in the Australian World Cup squad for its pool match against Namibia on Feb. 27.
Warne's case sparked contrasting reactions from world anti-doping chief Dick Pound and John Mendoza, head of the Australian drug testing agency.
Pound criticized the 33-year-old Warne for blaming someone else for his positive test. ``Poisoned by his mother? It is good, very good,'' Pound said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
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