SHANE WARNE might have felt yesterday that he was being whipped with a bunch of gladioli as the damning words of Kim Hughes whispered through the Melbourne suburbs. However, while the former Australia captain suggested that Warne would be “an embarrassment” as leader, the great leg spinner kept any retaliatory thoughts he may have to himself.

The vitriol of Hughes came less than a week after Greg Ritchie, another name synonymous with Australia’s lowest ebb in the 1980s, attacked John Buchanan and Ricky Ponting, the coach and captain respectively, suggesting that the side would be better served with Warne at the helm.

To English ears this is all very funny, but modern greats such as Warne and Ponting may wonder who their critics are to cast such aspersions. It is a bit like an unsuccessful captain such as Chris Cowdrey criticising Stephen Harmison, or Bill Athey railing at Duncan Fletcher and Michael Vaughan’s partnership.

Hughes was a decent, sometimes elegant batsman, but he is best remembered as the leader who lost the 1981 Ashes series and marked his removal from office three years later by breaking down in tears at a press conference.

What has irked Hughes is Warne’s lack of relish for the boot camp in the Queensland outback. “His attitude was very poor for a senior player,” Hughes said. “He’d be living in a fool’s world if he thought he should ever be captain of Australia.

“He has given [England] a real kick for the Ashes series. If Australia lose the first Test there will be questions about whether Buchanan has the full support of the team. I think the senior players need to sit him down and say ‘Warney, we’re a team here; keep your thoughts to yourself ’.”

Warne may feel that Hughes should heed his own advice. If the matter of the boot camp has not quite died down — nor will it until Stuart MacGill recovers from the knee injury sustained on manoeuvres — then at least Warne had moved on.

For his part, Ritchie said that what Buchanan knows about coaching “you could write on the back of a dinner plate”. Next instalment? Tim Zoehrer questioning Adam Gilchrist’s position as wicketkeeper, perhaps?