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Former Australian cricket captain Steve Smith will not appeal the sanctions handed down to him by Cricket Australia in the wake of the ball tampering scandal, nor will Cameron Bancroft.
In a Twitter post, Smith said that, even though he’d give anything to put the incident behind him and get back to playing cricket, he’ll accept the sanctions handed down by CA.
I would give anything to have this behind me and be back representing my country. But I meant what I said about taking full responsibility as Captain of the team. I won’t be challenging the sanctions. They’ve been imposed by CA to send a strong message and I have accepted them.
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) April 4, 2018
Smith was barred from playing all domestic cricket in Australia as well as international matches for 12 months, and was suspended from holding leadership positions in Australian cricket for a further 12 months.
Smith will, however, be able to play Sydney grade cricket during the 2018-19 domestic season, and his club, Sutherland, have confirmed they will welcome the word’s best Test batsman back.
Later on Wednesday evening, Cameron Bancroft also confirmed he will accept the sanction given to him by Cricket Australia.
Today I lodged the paperwork with Cricket Australia and will be accepting the sanction handed down. I would love to put this behind me and will do whatever it takes to earn back the trust of the Australian public. Thank you to all those who have sent messages of support
— Cameron Bancroft (@cbancroft4) April 4, 2018
Bancroft was handed a nine-month playing ban, however as it currently stands is not eligible to play grade cricket in Perth due to local regulations regarding players serving suspensions from other organisations.
David Warner, the other player involved in the ball-tampering scandal, is yet to announce whether he will appeal his own sanctions. While no official word has been heard from the former vice-captain, it has been rumoured that that Warner was the most likely of the three to appeal his punishment.
Like Smith, Warner was given a 12-month playing suspension, but the former vice-captain was handed a leadership ban for the rest of his career, a far more permanent sanction than Smith’s 12-month one.
Warner has until Thursday night to decide whether he’ll appeal the sentence or not.