Banned stars may come in from the cold

Sydney – Steve Smith and David Warner (pictured) could have their one-year bans from international and state cricket reduced or adjusted after a review by the board of Cricket Australia (CA) this week, local media reports said yesterday.

Former Test captain Smith and vice-captain Warner were handed the bans by CA after the ball-tampering scandal earlier this year and are not scheduled to resume playing at the top level until the end of March 2019.

Batsman Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban for his part in the affair and returns to action at the end of December.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association have always contested the bans were overly-harsh and have continued to push for all three to be able to return to representative cricket immediately.

Those calls intensified after a cultural review into Cricket Australia last month which suggested the culture fostered in the game by the governing body had contributed to the incident in a Test against South Africa.

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

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph yesterday reported that “serious discussions” had taken place among senior officials over allowing the players to return to state cricket, saying the board would consider lifting the suspensions this week.

Smith and Warner are two of the best batsmen in world cricket and the debate over their bans is being played out against the backdrop of Australia’s continued struggles in all formats of the men’s game.

With Australia’s defence of the 50-over World Cup starting in England at the end of May and the defence of the Ashes following on in August and September, there is clearly a desire among some Down Under to get the duo back as soon as possible.

Smith and Warner have both been retained by their franchises in the lucrative Indian Premier League or the next version of the competition, which starts on March 29. – Reuters