Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke has revealed the hilarious story behind spin king Shane Warne being told he couldn't smoke at a team boot camp.

The team was ramping up preparation for the 2006-07 Ashes campaign on home soil and about to embark on an outback bootcamp under coach John Buchanan.

To get players focused for the brutal three-day training camp, the coach ordered players to bring only the essentials - two t-shirts, a pair of pants, a pair of joggers, a cap, three pairs of socks and three pairs of underwear.

Shane Warne (above) continued to smoke cigarettes throughout his illustrious athletic career

Warne is cricket's second-highest all time wicket-taker with 708 wickets. He is pictured above bowling in the 2007 Ashes series against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Warne, a heavy smoker during the height of his illustrious career, was told his cigarettes would not be coming with him.

But Clarke said Warne refused to leave his smokes behind knowing his place in the side was secured as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.

'We were all in a room together and they said drop down to your jocks and we'll tell you what you can take,' Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast.

'For someone like Warnie who loved a smoke, he pretty much told them he is not coming unless he can bring his smokes. It was World War five.'

Shane Warne (right) and all-rounder Shane Watson (front left) are pictured at the team's 2006 bootcamp in the Beerwah State Forest in Queensland carrying a Jerry can along a track. Coach John Buchanan ordered the Army-style training to prepare players for the upcoming Ashes campaign

Shane Warne is pictured before a Big Bash League match between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars at Marvel Stadium on January 10, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia

It was no secret that Warne disliked Buchanan and the potential fallout from the bootcamp dispute could quickly become a major problem for the team.

'The fact him and John didn't get on and Warnie didn't respect John Buchanan as a coach at all, that he thought ''I'm not getting told what to do from this dude'',' Clarke said.

'I would imagine John Buchanan would have been standing there thinking ''Oh my god, if we tell Warnie not to come this is just going to end in an absolute disaster''.

'No matter what happened Warnie was going to play that (Ashes) Test match, John Buchanan could not have dropped him and the selectors wouldn't have not picked him so he (Warne) had a lot of power at the time.'

It was no secret that Warne (left) openly disliked coach Buchanan (right) and the potential fallout from the bootcamp dispute could cause a major rift within the team

Channel 9 commentators Michael Clarke (left) and Shane Warne (right) are pictured together at the Second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 28, 2016

With the fate of Australia's Ashes campaign on the line, Warne and Buchanan eventually came to an agreement.

For every packet of cigarettes, Warne would have to leave behind one item of clothing.

'Warnie flicked his three pairs of undies, flicked his three pairs of socks and put six packs of darts in and off we went,' Clarke said.

'(On the first night) in the middle of the bush, sleeping bag only, no cover, no shelter, on the ground and it was pitch black.

'All you could see was this orange light coming out of someone's sleeping bag and it was Warnie just sucking his dart back.'

In the end, Australia ended up winning the famous series against England 5-0 with Warne bagging 23 wickets.

Warne is pictured raising his baggy green cap at the Sydney Cricket Ground after Australia wrapped up the 2006-07 Ashes series 5-0

Warne was the second-highest wicket-taker during the famous series. He can been seen above in the middle of the front row celebrating the clean sweep with the Australian team