``You're having a nightmare, chubby,'' the Scots' supporters chanted at the 29-year-old Victorian leg-spinner. ``Save the whale!'' they sang, brandishing plastic inflatable fish. Warne, reportedly, lost his temper and made an obscene, un-whale-like gesture in response. It landed him back in the trouble, just days after receiving an official reprimand for suggesting that the equally rotund Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka's captain, was past his prime and should quit the game.

Ranatanga, like Warne, is not a disciplined weight-watcher. A few years ago his own selectors dropped him from the side, arguing he was notfit enough to play international sport. Supremely gifted, however, Ranatunga was so on re-instated. The side simply couldn't do without him, even if he took up more than his fair share of space on the team bus.

Cricketers are having to learn to deal with more and more barracking. The sport's fans, once seen as civilised tea-sippers, have learnt from their distant cousins on the football terraces. They now swill beer and pay at least half the cost of their ticket for the right to have their sometimes offensive, sometimes witty, always vocal say.

Warne and Ranatunga might learn from former England soccer star Paul Gascoigne. His ample frame led to supporters flinging hundreds of chocolate bars onto the field . Gascoigne, armed with his own robust sense of humour, picked them up and began to tuck in. When they mocked him for his paunch, he tucked the ball under his shirt and became an instant cult hero. England's Ian Austin is getting it right. He admits he likes pie and chips and a pint of beer. He sayshe's ordinary. When the inevitable refrain of ``he's fat, he's round, his backside touches the ground'' began to make itself heard among a small section of the Lord's crowd during the first game of the tournament, he puffed out his cheeks and they cheered him for it. His mis-fields became a cause for joyful celebration.

Former Australian Test batsman David Boon was another man of substantial circumference who became a popular legend in his own lunch time. He was also known as a beer drinker and was affectionately known as `keg-on-legs'. And England's Mike Gatting -- `Fat Gat' -- saw his popularity increase with his waist measurement.

A thin skin, however, can be fatal. The solidly-built, marvellously-talented Inzamam-ul Haq got it very wrong in Toronto two years ago during a one-day match against India. When a less-than-subtle fan started calling him `aloo' -- Hindi for potato -- through a loudhailer, the Pakistani player armed himself with a bat, climbed into the stand and tried to clout his aggressorbefore being hauled away.

Ever since, to his chagrin, he has become known as Mr Potato to opposing fans. Even his own captain Wasim Akram has sometimes been known to refer to him using the sobriquet.

Warne also got it wrong a few seasons ago when he stormed out of press conference to unveil a wax model in his honour. The reason? Someone had suggested the figure was a little too thin to be life-like.