Details of sanctions levied on Smith, Warner, and Bancroft by Cricket Australia

Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft, and David Warner received bans for involvement in ball tampering.

A pensive Steve Smith during the press conference where he admitted to ball tampering

Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft have received extended bans from Cricket Australia for their involvement in the ball tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. It has also been confirmed that sandpaper was used to scratch the ball.

Bancroft, who carried out the deed, received a ban of nine months. Steve Smith and David Warner received bans for 12 months each by Cricket Australia. In addition, Warner will not be considered for any leadership role in future and “apparent lack of contrition”, a statement by CA statement.

Warner was found to have been responsible for "development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball", and "instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan".

Smith and Bancroft will be eligible to hold a leadership role in the Australian cricket team again, but not for 12 months after they have served their bans. Any appointment would be conditional on form, stature in the playing group and, perhaps most importantly, acceptance by fans and the public.

Tim Paine is the current full-time captain of the Test team. 

It was revealed that the plan to alter the condition of the ball had been made at the lunch break on day three between senior players from Australia without the consent of the coaching staff, according to Smith.

The offending trio is banned from all international cricket and domestic cricket in Australia, but can still play and are encouraged to return to club level to help re-connect with the cricket community.

Details of sanctions levied on Smith, Bancroft and Warner

IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla also suspended Steve Smith and David Warner from the IPL season 11. Each banned player must also complete 100 hours of community service before being considered for future selection.

Also, it was found out that Bancroft used sandpaper to rough up the ball, something that he didn’t mention to the press at Newlands, after the third day’s play.

The CA Board, comprised of Chairman David Peever, Earl Eddings, Dr. Bob Every, John Harnden, Tony Harrison, Jacquie Hey and Michelle Tredenick, as well as former Test players Mark Taylor and Michael Kasprowicz, convened for two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday to determine the sanctions imposed on the guilty trio.

The three players will leave South Africa in the next 24 hours and will be replaced by Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, and Glenn Maxwell.

Match referee Andy Pycroft said: "To carry a foreign object on to the field of play with the intention of changing the condition of the ball to gain an unfair advantage over your opponent is against not only the Laws but the Spirit of the game as well.

He added, "That said, I acknowledge that Cameron has accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to the charge and apologizing publicly. As a young player starting out in international cricket, I hope the lessons learned from this episode will strongly influence the way he plays the game during the rest of his career."

Steve Smith said, "Obviously, today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group's behalf as well. But I take responsibility as the captain, I need to take control of the ship, but this is certainly something I'm not proud of and something that I hope I can learn from and come back strong from. I am embarrassed to be sitting here talking about this."

(with inputs from cricket.com.au)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 28 Mar, 2018

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