Warne tears into Waugh, says he is 'most selfish cricketer I've played with'

His long-standing feud with Steve Waugh was out in the open once again when spin legend Shane Warne slammed the former Australian captain as being a ‘selfish cricketer’.

"There's a lot of reasons I don't like Steve Waugh, a lot of reasons ... because he's the most selfish cricketer I've played with, blah, blah, blah," Warne said while appearing on Channel Ten's adventure reality program ‘I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’.

Warne spoke about the fateful incident that happened 17 years ago when he was axed from the final Test against the West Indies in 1999, with Australia trailing 1-2.

"One thing that really annoyed me about him was the one Test I got dropped, in West Indies. We had to win the last Test match to win the trophy. At that stage, captain (Waugh), vice-captain (me), coach (Geoff Marsh) used to pick the team," said the 46-year-old.

"We went to selection. I hadn't bowled well, we'd lost -- Brian Lara batted unreal -- but I felt like I was being the scapegoat, because I didn't bowl well it was my fault.

"Anyway, we get to selection table and I said, 'OK, what's everyone's thoughts?'. Steve Waugh said, 'You're not playing'. I went, 'What? Hang on. What do you think the team should be? Blah blah blah', and Steve Waugh said 'No, I'm the captain of this side, I'm the captain, you're not playing'.

"I was really disappointed. After 10 years. I'd just had a shoulder op. I thought the situation where we had to win the Test match would have brought the best out of me too."

Warne then added: "I don't like Steve Waugh for a lot of other reasons."

Warne conceded that the decision was seen as 'justified' because Australia won the fourth Test by 176 runs.

Colin Miller had replaced Warne for that Test in Antigua, and Australia registered a 176-run win to draw the series 2-2 and retain the Frank-Worrell trophy.

In his book 'The Meaning Of Luck', Waugh spoke about how his decision to drop the spin legend from the Test team in the Caribbean created a rift between them that has never healed.

He said he hoped Warne would come to terms with the fact that the 'common-sense' decision was based on facts and 'gut instinct' rather than him not trusting the bowler's skill. 

Image (bottom, left): Shane Warne on the show 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here'

Photograph: Shane Warne/Twitter