CA rejects appeal to reduce trio’s bans

CRICKET Australia has confirmed that the sanctions handed down to banned trio Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft will remain unchanged.

The board has met and communicated its decision to the Australian Cricketers Association – who made the submission for the suspensions to be reviewed – this morning.

There had been a strong push from within Cricket Australia over recent weeks for the players to be given an early reprieve to play Sheffield Shield matches before the bans expired.

However, the board has taken a different view and feared another bushfire of controversy if they made any change at all to the original penalty – no matter how harsh it might have been.

“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,” said CA interim chairman, Earl Eddings.

The ACA had hoped Bancroft could have played a Shield game as early as next week and that Smith and Warner could return and play for NSW from late February.

However, Bancroft’s ninemonth ban will remain, meaning he will be back on January 1 for the Perth Scorchers.

Smith and Warner won’t be available until the Shield final in late March – if NSW makes it that far – otherwise their comeback will be in international cricket possibly at the World Cup.

The ACA is upset CA didn’t consult with them during the review of the bans and believe an opportunity has been missed for the warring parties to reach common ground on something. But CA is angry the ACA launched a public campaign to have the bans lifted.