Smith, Warner bans to stand: Cricket Australia

Brisbane: Cricket Australia announced on Tuesday that the year-long bans handed out to Steve Smith and David Warner after the ball tampering fiasco in South Africa in March, will stand.

In recent days, owing in no small measure to the Australian team’s poor on-field performances, there had been a growing clamour for the bans to be reduced in length.

It would have allowed the duo as well as batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was given a nine-month ban, to return to competitive cricket earlier than stipulated.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) had made a submission in this regard, to which Cricket Australia responded in negative.

“The Cricket Australia Board has carefully considered all elements of the ACA submission and has determined that it is not appropriate to make any changes to the sanctions handed down to the three players,” interim chairman Earl Eddings said in a statement.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association had asked for a rethink on the suspension sentences of the trio following the Longstaff review, which the ACA said provided new and compelling evidence that CA – and not just the players involved – contributed to the atmosphere that prompted the events of the Cape Town Test in March.

With India set to play Australia in a long series, including four-Tests and considering the hosts recent run of losses, there were prompt calls to bring back Smith and Warner before the contests against the visitors. Smith and Warner are eight months into their one-year bans, while Bancroft will be eligible to return in December.

The trio were banned for their role in the ball tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket in March.