Shane Warne has been found not guilty of using foul language to crowd members during last month's hot-tempered Pro40 defeat against Sussex at Hove.

Warne was alleged to have sworn at Sussex fans on August 12 but a disciplinary hearing cleared the Hampshire captain of any wrongdoing.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said: "The panel found Mr Warne not guilty. ECB will make no further comment on this matter".

Warne already has six penalty points following his reaction to being given out lbw agaist Kent at Canterbury earlier this season.

A further three before May 2009 will lead to a ban as any player who amasses nine points in a two-year period is automatically suspended.

Umpires Roy Palmer and Nigel Llong did not mention the August 12 incident in their report and Warne confirmed that he wrote a letter to the ECB denying the allegations last week.

The panel of David Gabbitass, Ricky Needham and Tim O'Gorman found Warne not guilty at Lord's, where the Hampshire captain was accmpanied by chairman Rod Bransgrove and represented by Ian Smith, a lawyer from the Professional Cricketers' Association.

Bransgrove said: "I was happy with the outcome and quite satisfied with the process but we've got questions to ask of the ECB regarding how this came to be heard in the first place".

Meanwhile, Warne may miss the start of the next county season as he is reported to have agreed to play in the Indian Premier League, which begins in April.

The IPL is India's official domestic Twenty20 Cup competition and Warne, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming are all said to have agreed a deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.