Steve Smith, David Warner to serve out bans in full

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Steve Smith, David Warner to serve out bans in full
Steve Smith (left), David Warner (centre) and Cameron Bancroft were handed bans over ball-tampering issue in March. (AFP)

Sydney - The players' union contested that the bans were unduly harsh, and had pushed for the players to be able to resume cricket immediately.

By Reuters

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Published: Wed 21 Nov 2018, 1:59 PM

Last updated: Thu 22 Nov 2018, 10:09 AM

Steve Smith and David Warner will serve out their one-year bans in full after a review of the punishments by the board of Cricket Australia (CA), the governing body said on Tuesday.

Former Test captain Smith and his vice-captain Warner were handed the bans from international and state cricket after the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian Cricket in March this year.

Batsman Cameron Bancroft was also banned for nine months for his role in trying to alter the condition of the ball during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. He will be able to return to representative cricket at the end of December.

The players' union, the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA), have always contested the bans were unduly harsh and had pushed for all three to be able to resume first class cricket immediately.

"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," CA's chairman Earl Eddings said in a statement.

Calls for the bans to be looked at again intensified after an independent review into CA last month said the governing body had contributed to the ball-tampering scandal by fostering a "win without counting the costs" culture.

That review led to the resignation of CA chairman David Peever, who had forcefully maintained that the players should see out the full terms of their suspensions.

"The original decision of the board to sanction the players was determined after rigorous discussion and consideration," Eddings, Peever's temporary replacement, added.

"CA maintains that both the length and nature of the sanctions remain an appropriate response in light of the considerable impact on the reputation of Australian cricket, here and abroad."


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