BLOEMFONTEIN (South Africa), Feb 22: South Africa captain Shaun Pollock said on Saturday he expected Shane Warne to bounce back from his 12-month ban for drug use.

“World cricket will miss him, there’s no doubt about that,” said Pollock, after his team had crushed Bangladesh by 10 wickets in a World Cup Group ‘B’ match.

“But I’m sure, with it being only a year, that he will be back with Australia at some stage.

“He’ll be very determined to get back and end his career on a good note.”

Warne, who flew home from the World Cup without playing a match, was banned earlier on Saturday by an Australian Cricket Board anti-doping committee after testing positive for diuretics.

Pollock added he had not heard about Warne’s ban until after South Africa’s crushing victory over Bangladesh.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know,” he said. “It’s sad from his perspective to have to sit out a year of international cricket at this stage of his career. I think he is on the verge of 500 Test wickets.

“It is very unfortunate if the tablet was taken by mistake — you have to sympathise with the chap a bit.

“But I suppose rules are rules and they have to try and set a precedent for other people to follow.”—Reuters