Australian spin king Shane Warne claimed he was a victim of "anti-doping hysteria" yesterday after being banned from cricket for 12 months for taking a prohibited diuretic drug.
Warne said he would appeal the ban, which fell far short of the possible two-year suspension he could have faced under the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) anti-doping policy.
Australian Test captain Steve Waugh raised doubts the spinner would ever return to international cricket while Warne himself was clearly shaken and described the penalty as very harsh.
"I am absolutely devastated and very upset at this decision to suspend me for 12 months and will appeal," Warne said.
"I feel I am a victim of the anti-doping hysteria. I want to repeat I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs and never will," he said, reading from a prepared statement and refusing to take questions.
The punishment bars Warne from all levels of cricket, ending his role in the current World Cup in southern Africa and upcoming series against the West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
It is also likely to end Warne's quest to overtake West Indian Courtney Walsh as the most prolific wicket taker in Test history.
Warne's legal team is believed to have argued his the case fell under an "exceptional circumstance" clause in the ACB's anti-doping policy, although the ACB said it found no circumstances that warranted dropping the charges.
The 33-year-old leg spinner made a shock exit from the World Cup earlier this month after being told he had tested positive for drugs ahead of a match in Sydney last month.
He admitted taking a diuretic pill, which media reports said was given to him by his mother, who wanted her son to look good at a news conference prior to the team's departure for the World Cup last month.
Seven witnesses appeared at an eight-hour hearing Friday, four for the prosecution and three for the defense, including Warne's mother Brigitte.
Australian Olympic Committee chairman John Coates, a strong anti-drugs campaigner, expressed surprise that the ACB had reduced the penalty from two years to 12 months.
"Certainly under the Australian Olympic Committee anti-doping policy it would not be," he told Sky News.
Australian Test captain Steve Waugh said it would be difficult for Warne to return to Test cricket after such a long absence.
"I am sure that Shane will initially say to himself `I want to get back in there and back on the field,' but as time goes by his mind will be in different places," Waugh said.
Hohns said he hoped Warne would return to international cricket but the final decision was in the spinner's hands.
World Anti-Doping Agency board member David Howman said Warne must have been aware the pill he took contravened the rules.
"I would be absolutely astonished if any sportsman playing at an elite level does not know the doping rules, particularly Australians who have been told the rules individually and been very vocal on the issue," he said.
ABC radio commentator Tim Lane said Australian cricket would have been subject to international derision had Warne escaped punishment.
"The whole Australian cricket community would have been wounded," he said.
Warne has spared no expense fighting the charges that he is a drug cheat, hiring a top public relations firm and a legal team reportedly costing A$25,000 dollars (US$14,750) a day to present his case.
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