Bitter pill a choker for Warne

Shane Warne was on the button in one respect yesterday as he declared his intention to appeal against a one-year ban for doping offences.

The substances involved in Warne's case are called hydrochlorothiazide and amil-oride. But as he digested the consequences of his pill-popping he also contritely pointed out that he was the victim of a perfectly legal drug named hysteria. As soon as the results of his random test were announced 10 days ago, the media reflected the public mood by overdosing on the stuff.

Initial sympathy for the great leg-spinner was in short supply because of the number of warnings and advice all professional sportsmen are regularly offered. By now, they ought to know that anything with a more complex biological make-up than a lettuce is likely to get them into trouble with the scientists.

Warne, therefore, had to go. A year away from the sport he so patently loves, with the likely upshot that he will be deprived of breaking records that would probably have stood for generations, would seem to be an appropriate penalty. It will be tough for him to return at anywhere near optimum revs, but equally it would be foolish to bet against it. Warne has changed his regime in the past year, so keen was he to extend his career.

Steve Waugh, Australia's Test captain, said: "It is the unknown question. 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.

"But it is really his decision and he has got to have the motivation to continue. To train for 12 months without playing, that has to be very difficult."

It would be inhuman not to demonstrate compassion for the man. Despite the headlines and the airtime, nobody seriously believes that Warne ingested drugs to enhance his performance. He constantly and strenuously denies it.

The problem for Warne and any appeal is that athletes now operate in a culture where they are guilty until proven innocent. Scientists do not take into account human frailty. As David Howman, the World Anti-Doping Agency chief operating officer, implied they had heard it all before.

"What we understand was that Warne was putting up a defence of inadvertent use, if you like, by taking something that was given to him by his mother and so on. This did not go down well as far as excuses are concerned because we have had so many of them over the years, from spiked toothpaste to sitting on needles and so on."

The diuretics that Warne took could have been used to mask other drugs taken to rush his recovery from a shoulder injury he sustained in a one-day match against England in December. If that is the case – and we may never know – then it was misguided, but not truly in the realms of cheating.

Warne's explanation is that he took the fluid tablet, given him by his mother, as a weight-reducing aid. Thus, he was guilty of vanity. This is indeed ironic for a genius who gave hope to tubby men everywhere that they too could tread the fields of gold.

The bowler was clearly hurting so much that his statement yesterday was almost curt. "I feel that I am the victim of anti-doping hysteria," he said. "I also want to repeat: I have never taken any performance-enhancing drugs and I never will. My shoulder comeback was exactly as my surgeon and physio pred-icted." Warne said he had never blamed his mum but he wanted to clarify the position. His mum, Brigitte, gave evidence for him at the hearing.

On each occasion there is a high-profile case such as this, the vexed issue of how to patrol drugs in sport is given another airing. There were the usual mealy-mouthed calls yesterday for there to be a divide between performance- enhancing drugs and other drugs. Perhaps that would work, but the simple answer for all well-rewarded, well-advised sportsmen is: don't. And we know that precedent shows that they won't – until the next time. The only good thing to emerge from this would be for it to be an eternal lesson to all sportsmen.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of the Australian Cricket Board, said: "We hope that the extraordinary publicity about this unfortunate incident at least helps to rein-force to all cricketers that doping practices are unacceptable and that athletes should always check before taking any medication."

Although, technically, Warne's ban only covers matches under the auspices of the ACB, there is no question of his fulfilling his contract with Hampshire next summer.

He will be missed, no doubt. Warne changed the shape of world cricket. The pity is that in seeking to change the shape of himself he might have ended one of the greatest of all careers.