Shane Warne slams punishments

Shane Warne branded reaction to the Australian ball-tampering scandal a "tornado of hysteria" on Wednesday and said the punishments meted out to Steve Smith and David Warner do not fit the crime.

"We are all so hurt and angry and maybe we weren't so sure how to react," Warne wrote on Facebook. "We'd just never seen it before.

"But the jump to hysteria is something that has elevated the offence beyond what they actually did, and maybe we're at a point where the punishment just might not fit the crime."

The former leg-spinner second on the overall list of Test wicket-takers said Australia's enemies had taken the opportunity to put the boot in.

"There are those countries that don't like Australia, don't like individuals in the team, and there has been a build-up of hate which has exploded and created this tornado of hysteria," he wrote.

Warne said Smith, the top-ranked Test batsman in the world, was guilty of a "severe error of judgement".

Source: AFP