Cricket: Worried Fleming calls for clearer guidelines on doping

By RICHARD BOOCK in PORT ELIZABETH

Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming wants New Zealand Cricket to improve its anti-drug policy to prevent any of his team-mates suffering a similar fate to that of Shane Warne.

Warne arrived back in Australia on Wednesday night still pleading naivete over his positive test for diuretics hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride, which are prohibited because they can be used as masking agents.

If his B test proves similarly positive, the leg-spinner will apparently defend the charge by saying he thought he was taking a simple dietary pill.

He will also plead for the chance to return to the World Cup tournament.

Fleming, an unashamed admirer of the Australian cricket team and their mercurial spinner, said yesterday that he was taken aback by the news and was concerned about the possibility of something similar happening to a New Zealand player.

"I was extremely shocked and surprised at the situation and I hope, knowing Warney, that it works out all right for him."

Asked whether New Zealand's players could fall into the same trap, Fleming suggested the question was unfair because, although there was plenty of information available on the issue, it was still up to individuals to ensure they were clear.

"There's been a growing awareness over the past couple of years as to what's illegal and what's not, about what can be taken and what can't," he said.

"But it gets tricky when you're talking about out-of-competition situations.

"It's a lot different when you are out of competition and you are away from the umbrella of support staff and medical advisers, and that's where we have all got to be careful.

"I think there are areas in New Zealand's policy where we have probably got to be a bit more thorough, because there's an opportunity for players to make a mistake - whether they're needing a simple cough medicine, or an asthma inhaler."

Fleming said it was clear that there were increased risks out of competition, and wanted steps taken to ensure his players understood the pitfalls and possible complications.

For all that, the lead-up to this World Cup, the first to include random drug-testing, has featured intensive warnings regarding the doping initiative.

At the ICC Knockout tournament in Sri Lanka last October, a doctor warned players to liaise with medical staff before using any medication.

New Zealand's players, who attended the tournament in Sri Lanka, are also educated annually by New Zealand Cricket support staff on the risks regarding medication, and receive refreshers to remind them of their obligations.

Warne's positive test is the latest incident in a career full of misdemeanours, gaffes and offensive behaviour, although if the Australian Cricket Board's anti-doping committee doesn't buy his explanation, it could be his last as a national representative.

In 1995 the ACB fined Warne and team-mate Mark Waugh for accepting money from an Indian bookmaker after providing pitch and weather information during a tour of Sri Lanka in 1994.

In 2000 he was playing for English county Hampshire when a British newspaper told how Warne, a married man, left unwanted and suggestive messages on the answering Machine of a nurse he met at a Leicester nightclub.

He was stripped of the vice-captaincy as a result, then fell from grace again during Australia's tour of New Zealand in 2000, when he swore at a boy who was taking his photograph while he was smoking and was reprimanded by police.

The diuretics to which Warne tested positive, hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride, are prescribed to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, diseases of the kidneys and liver, and pre-menstrual tension.

They are apparently on the banned drugs list because they can be misused to lose weight quickly in sports which have weight categories, or to increase the rate at which urine is produced and eliminated.

Diluting urine makes it more difficult to detect the presence of prohibited performance-enhancing drugs. Under the ACB's anti-doping policy, Warne could face a three-month suspension or a two-year ban when the anti-doping panel meets next week.

* Warne's mother is considering making a public statement in an effort to clear her son. Warne said his mother gave him a diuretic tablet to help with his appearance, and this led to his positive test on January 22.

* Tonight's game: Pool B, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh. Full coverage of the World Cup is online at nzherald.co.nz/world cup

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