Cricket Australia clarifies suspensions won't be relaxed on the banned trio

Australian cricket stooped to a new low earlier this year when some of the players of the Test team were accused of ball-tampering in South Africa. Cameron Bancroft was clearly caught on cameras while using the sandpaper in an attempt to change the condition of the ball. It was later revealed that the captain Steve Smith and David Warner were also part of the plan after which Cricket Australia (CA) handed severe suspensions on the trio.

While Smith and Warner had to step down from their positions with immediate effect in the middle of the Cape Town Test match, they were also banned for 12 months. Bancroft was also suspended for 9 months and nobody had seen the severe implications of the incident coming at them. A lot of water has been flown under the bridge since then and the Australian cricket team is understandably struggling in the aftermath of the scandal.

Recently, they were whitewashed by England in the five-match ODI series which began the speculations of the board reconsidering the bans imposed on the cricketers. However, the CA has strongly refuted the claims and have stressed the fact that all the three players will have to serve the suspensions for the said period.

CA reacts

“At no stage have we, or are we considering lessening the current sanctions in place for respective players in relation to the incident in South Africa. The CA Code of Conduct does not allow for reversal or lessening of sanctions once players have fully accepted the charges. The current articles published are purely speculative,” a CA spokesperson said while speaking to cricket.com.au.

Now that the Cricket Australia has cleared that they will not relax the suspension periods on the players, the likes of Smith and Warner could only be eligible to play for Australia by April next year. It remains to be seen now if they will be included in the World Cup squad which is set to commence on May 30 in England.

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