2003 THIS DAY, THAT YEAR

First the bookies, then the nurses... and finally the drugs. On the very morning that Australia launched their successful defence of the World Cup, Shane Warne was flying back home in disgrace, after completing a very unsavoury hat-trick of scandals. Warne, who had made a stunningly rapid recovery from a dislocated shoulder, had tested positive for diuretics, agents that promote rapid weight loss but can also be used to disguise the use of steroids. He protested that he had taken the tablets on the advice of his mother, who wanted him to look good in front of the cameras. That excuse didn't wash with the Australian board, however, which banned him from all cricket for a year.