Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft could have playing bans lifted

The Australian Cricketers’ Association is calling for Cricket Australia to lift their bans on Smith, Warner and Bancroft. 

Following the Cricket Australia’s cultural review into the ball-tampering scandal that resulted in bans to David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, and most memorably, Australian Captain, Steve Smith, the Australian Cricket Association is calling for CA to lift those bans.

The review, conducted by The Ethics Centre, included 42 recommendations – including umpires rating sportsmanship of all teams and establishing an Australian Cricket Ethics Commission. The report disparaged the culture of Australian cricket, labeling it as “arrogant” and “controlling”.

What the ACA have found most pertinent in that review and another independent review, is that the findings start with Cricket Australia and the culture it has cultivated, suggesting the ball-tampering scandal reflects institutional problems.

This would mean that Smith, Warner, and Bancroft should not bear the brunt of the scandal, which has lead the ACA to recommend a lift to the player bans.

CA have taken on-board many of the recommendations made in the independent reviews, but they maintain that the players must serve the entirety of the bans.

Smith, Warner, and Bancroft have already served six months and missed three test matches. Given that the “win-at-all-costs” mentality was a top-down directive, one wonders how the players can be punished further for being victims of a wider culture.

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This narrative played out after Smith’s emotional apology, with the nation mostly coming to the captain’s defence. The idea that these players are completely to blame once again comes under critique.

While it’s unlikely CA will compromise on the player bans, the pressure applied by the ACA may be too much to ignore.

By Connor Haddad