Would have been nice for Warner and Smith to paly Shield cricket in February
Not to be
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/aust...ering-bans-to-stay/ar-BBPTs3f?ocid=spartanntp
Bid blocked as Warner, Smith and Bancroft ball-tampering bans to stay
Cricket Australia has dismissed the players' association's appeal to have Steve Smith and David Warner's bans over their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal lifted.
Smith, the former Australia captain, and his deputy Warner had been suspended for a year until March 29 while Cameron Bancroft, the man who used the infamous piece of yellow sandpaper, was banned for nine months until December 29.
The suspensions came after a Cricket Australia investigation following the stunning events of the Cape Town Test in March plunged the sport into crisis.
The seven-member CA board had convened a telephone hook-up on Monday to discuss a range of options. However, it was felt the suspensions were warranted and should not be changed.
CA had yet to comment publically but a statement was expected on Tuesday afternoon.
The three men will continue to play grade cricket until their bans from first-class cricket are served.
The Australian Cricketers' Association had lodged a submission to the board asking for the bans to be immediately lifted. There had been a strong push to allow Smith and Warner to return to first-class cricket in February - although not necessarily Test cricket - but the CA board opted to remain firm.
Smith and Warner, two of the world's finest batsmen, have already been missed, with the side struggling heading into a summer against India - the No.1 ranked Test nation - and Sri Lanka.
Opinions at the highest level of the sport, among states and players and supporters, had been divided over whether the bans should have been reduced.
The ACA had argued that the cultural failings at CA's Jolimont headquarters, as exposed in the Longstaff report, had permeated through the sport and contributed to the mentality which prompted the players to act in the manner they did. Therefore, the ACA said, this was new and compelling evidence that the bans be amended.
Smith, Warner and Bancroft had not actively sought the penalties be lifted, preferring to concentrate on playing grade cricket. Rather, it had been the ACA that had pushed for change.
When the bans were imposed, Warner was also told he would never hold an official leadership role again while Smith cannot captain a side again until March 2020.
The Cape Town drama sparked major fall-out and what many hope will be cultural change.
Coach Darren Lehmann has stepped aside, high-performance boss Pat Howard had his departure expidited, CA chairman David Peever and chief executive James Sutherland are gone and broadcasting and digital chief Ben Amarfio was sacked in the wake of the Longstaff review, while there have been other changes at board level and in senior posts.
