LONDON: Shane Warne branded reaction to the Australian ball-tampering scandal a 鈥渢ornado of hysteria鈥� on Wednesday and said the punishments meted out to Steve Smith and David Warner do not fit the crime.
Captain Smith and vice-captain Warner have been banned from representing their country for a year over the cheating incident during the third Test in South Africa, while opening batsman Cameron Bancroft has been suspended for nine months.
鈥淲e are all so hurt and angry and maybe we weren鈥檛 so sure how to react,鈥� Warne wrote on Facebook. 鈥淲e鈥檇 just never seen it before.
鈥淏ut the jump to hysteria is something that has elevated the offense beyond what they actually did, and maybe we鈥檙e at a point where the punishment just might not fit the crime.鈥�
The former leg-spinner 鈥� second on the overall list of Test wicket-takers 鈥� said Australia鈥檚 enemies had taken the opportunity to put the boot in.
鈥淭here are those countries that don鈥檛 like Australia, don鈥檛 like individuals in the team, and there has been a build-up of hate which has exploded and created this tornado of hysteria,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淏ut what are the players guilty of? Cheating via ball-tampering and bringing the game into disrepute.
鈥淭heir opposing captain in this series, South Africa鈥檚 Faf du Plessis, has been charged with the offense twice and opening bowler Vernon Philander once.
鈥淭he list of players who have been charged with ball-tampering is long and contains some of the biggest names in the game.鈥�
Warne also questioned the idea of pre-meditated cheating.
鈥淎re there levels of ball tampering, or is it just ball tampering? Is putting a mint in your pocket so you can shine a ball on the field pre-meditated cheating, or just ball-tampering. What about putting sunscreen on the ball? You either ball tamper or you don鈥檛.鈥�
Warne said Smith, the top-ranked Test batsman in the world, was guilty of a 鈥渟evere error of judgment.鈥�
鈥淚 am still trying to wrestle with what I think the punishment should be,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have to be harsh, but if they are rubbed out for a year, the punishment does not fit the crime.鈥�