Shane Warne has hit back at Sussex skipper Chris Adams over the "sledging" row which has come to overshadow Hampshire's draw at Hove last week.

The Australian legend was accused of trying to "humiliate" England A player Matt Prior but Warne has countered, accusing the Sussex wicketkeeper of "chesting" Simon Katich.

Hampshire have also dropped hints regarding Adams' own on-field behaviour.

Warne said: "I am sick and tired of being cast as the villain because English captains give one side of the story.

"It was a really good, hard game of cricket and I was surprised and disappointed that Adams has given a one-sided version of what happened."

The Hampshire captain added: "I wanted to try to get under Prior's skin because of the way he chested Katich on the field. I thought cricket was a non-contact sport. I was sticking up for my mate and letting Prior know what I thought about his behaviour. Adams needs to put his own house in order before he goes complaining to the newspapers."

In a statement, Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove pointed out that neither umpire had raised any objection to Warne's behaviour.

He said: "We are disappointed that a player of the stature of Chris Adams has made a number of one-sided comments to the media.

"We regard his views as somewhat hypocritical given the way that Chris himself behaved during this match and previous fixtures between Hampshire and Sussex.

"It is clear that Shane Warne's stature in the game makes him a target for incitement and we witnessed examples of this last season.

"We have made our feelings known to the ECB but as far as we are concerned the matter is closed."

Meanwhile, Hampshire's batsmen all received batting practice on the first day of the three-day match against the Cardiff UCCE at the Rose Bowl yesterday.