Australia Test captain Steve Waugh said he is shocked by Shane Warne's one-year suspension on Saturday for using a banned drug but hoped the leg spinner would make a comeback next year.
Warne, one of Wisden's five cricketers of the century, was suspended from cricket for 12 months by an Australian Cricket Board anti-doping committee after testing positive for a banned diuretic.
"I'm a little bit surprised and, in some ways, shocked," Waugh told reporters in Perth on Saturday.
"But it is hard for anyone else outside the three-person panel because they have all the information available, and you have to trust their judgement was right.
"But I feel sorry for Shane. It is a long time out of sport, particularly for a guy who loves playing at the top level. Having 12 months without cricket is going to be very difficult for him."
Waugh added that Warne, who was Australia's man of the match at the semi-final and final of the 1999 World Cup, would find it tough to stay motivated.
"To train for 12 months without playing, that has to be very difficult," he said.
"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.
"When you have an injury, you have a reason why you are not playing but, this time, it is enforced for other reasons. It is going to be difficult for him to keep his motivation up.
"But he loves playing cricket, that is what he is best at, and I hope he comes back," added the 37-year-old Waugh.
Australia chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns told Australian Associated Press: "Twelve months -- that's the decision and everyone has to get on with it."
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates told Sky News Television: "This is a stark reminder to everyone that you have to know what's inside your body and you're responsible for what you take."
The 33-year-old Warne called himself a victim of "anti-doping hysteria" immediately after hearing of his suspension. He said he planned to appeal.
© 2024 Rediff.com -