Warne has really pissed me off over the years: Gilchrist

Sydney, Oct 25 (UNI) After being hammered by media critics for questioning master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's honesty in the 'Monkeygate' controversy, former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist said he was irritated by Shane Warne's verbal abuses on-field.

In his yet-to-be-released autobiography 'True Colours', Gilchrist has revealed that Warne's calling him an ''a . . .

licker'' really hurt the former vice-captain.

However, Gilchrist claimed that bitter feelings arose during a Sheffield Shield match in the late 1990s when Warne sledged him.

The former leg-spinner, who was playing for Victoria, supported his teammate Darren Berry for Ian Healy's successor as Test wicketkeeper over Gilchrist, who was playing for Western Australia.

''Warnie and Darren Berry were absolutely giving it to me, verbally,'' Gilchrist writes in his autobiography.

''They were saying 'A . . . -licker, you've only got where you are because you're an a . . .-licker'. The nature of what they were saying was extremely hurtful.

''... considering I'd played some cricket with Warnie now for Australia, it was below the belt. At the time it almost killed me,'' he further writes in his autobiography.

Warney and Gilly, who remain one of most successful bowler-keeper partnerships in history, was never seen to be getting along with each other.

Their relationship further worsened when Warne was stripped of the vice-captaincy in 2000 and Gilchrist was given the position.

''He has really pissed me off over the years with certain acts, and I've pissed him off too.'' On a conciliatory note, Gilchrist wrote, ''But we played eight years of international cricket together . . . I think it underwrites everything else.'' ''There are a lot of things we disagree on but we're not enemies. I am always happy to see Warnie if I walk into a function, and I get the feeling he is happy to see me,'' Gilchrist adds in his autobiography.

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