Michael Clarke recalls Shane Warne having his way over John Buchanan in 2006 military camp

To an ardent cricket fan, John Buchanan and Shane Warne's relationship during their stint in the Australian cricket team is not a mystery. One of the greatest bowlers to ever exist, Shane Warne, had great ideological differences with John Buchanan during his playing days that he has been very vocal about. Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke recently revealed a funny incident which depicted exactly how much Shane Warne was willing to rebel against John Buchanan near the end of his career.

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Michael Clarke reveals interesting Shane Warne story, leg spinner left underwear in favour of cigarettes

John Buchanan's ways of coaching and preparing the team were highly unconventional and yet the results spoke for themselves. Before the 2006 Ashes, the Australian team went on an infamous army-style three-day camp in the wilderness. As reported by Fox Cricket, Michael Clarke appeared on Big Sports Breakfast show and recited a story about how Shane Warne was done with John Buchanan by the end of his career. Michael Clarke recounted how the Ricky Ponting-led team was only allowed to take two T-shirts, a pair of pants, a pair of joggers, a cap, three pairs of socks and three pairs of underwear for their trip to the wilderness. The free-spirited Warne, however, also wanted to take along his cigarettes as a way to rebel against the coach. Warne did command a lot of power in that Australian team, as per Clarke, who was a youngster just making his mark in international cricket back then.

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Not wanting any tantrums to be thrown by Shane Warne, John Buchanan allowed the leg-spinner to take a cigarette but for every cigarette he took, he would have to leave back one of his initial travel carries. Michael Clarke funnily recounted how Shane Warne immediately chose to let go of his three pairs of underwears and three pairs of socks so that he could carry six cigarettes. “At that stage, Warnie was so done with John Buchanan he didn’t care.”, Michael Clarke was quoted saying. The Ashes that followed were won by Australia and Shane Warne retired after the fifth Test with 708 Test scalps.

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John Buchanan came into his Australia coaching role in 1999 and stayed till 2007. His stint in the Australian team saw it become one of the best teams to have ever played the game. Under Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, the team was highly successful in Test cricket. They even won three consecutive World Cups in 1999, 2003, and 2007.

Buchanan focused more on the fitness side of the game along with the analytics that went into it. He also aimed to develop the players into better human beings. Shane Warne, on the other end, was a more free-spirited player, who did not really subscribe to Buchanan's ideas. He often got criticised by Buchanan for his fitness during his time in the team.

Off late, Warne has been involved in donating to several charities after the Australia bushfires in January 2020 devastated the country. Recently, the Shane Warne Baggy Green cap was auctioned off to provide relief for the same for more than $1 million. 

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