Sydney, Feb 19: Champion leg spinner Shane Warne`s drugs case hearing will be held on Friday and if the bowler was found guilty he could face a maximum two-year-ban from international cricket. The hearing will be held at the Australian Cricket Board`s headquarters in Melbourne, the board announced today.
The 33-year-old Warne has been charged with using "prohibited method" after his sample taken on January 22 showed presence of the banned diuretics hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride. The ACB has already named a three-member panel to hear Warne`s case. The members include Queensland judge Justice Glen Williams, former test spinner and selector Peter Taylor and medical specialist Dr Susan White.
Warne returned home in disgrace from the World Cup in South Africa last week, even before Australia started their World Cup campaign, after being informed of the positive test.

Warne will possibly cite his battle with the flab for taking the pill. His defence, so far, is that he was given a weight loss tablet by his mother, Brigitte, and was unaware it contained the banned substances. The Australian Sports Drug Agency today released Warne`s `B` sample result to the ACB after the leg-spinner waived his right to challenge the validity of the testing procedure, clearing the way for a hearing date to be set.

Bureau Report