- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Should Steve Smith, Cameron Brancroft and David Warner be allowed to play County cricket, or domestic cricket in any other country for that matter?
According to Cricket Australia’s sanction, the disgraced trio have been banned from playing international cricket and Australian domestic cricket for their respective time periods of between nine and 12 months.
But the board hadn’t ruled out playing overseas domestic cricket, leaving this decision up to the respective cricket boards.
While Somerset have already torn up Bancroft’s contract, it’s rumoured the other two have had counties get in contact to play for them this year.
Cricket-wise, it’s better for Australia if Smith and Warner play County cricket, considering both the Ashes and World Cup are played in England next year. These will be the series that both of them will immediately play, since their ban periods disallow them from participating in even Sheffield Shield games to gain match practice.
Club matches in Australia may not be sufficient for those two to get back to their top forms, and despite being vital clogs of the Australian team, their unprepared selves will be a hindrance to the side – especially given the high-profile nature of the events.
Preparation and early sighters in the country of the World Cup and Ashes itself would be crucial to Australia’s chances of defending both trophies.
[latest_videos_strip category=”cricket” name=”Cricket”]
Furthermore, not only would it be rewarding for the batsmen, it’d be better for the system too, given how their participation would be helpful for the betterment of the English system, as County cricketers would face two superb batsmen and thus learn from them, ensuring both sides benefit.
But is it really fair for there to be a loophole? The trio have been banned from Australian domestic cricket for a reason, wouldn’t letting them play overseas lower the moral standards of those competitions?
Say Smith plays for Surrey or Hampshire, wouldn’t it be sending a signal that those counties value fair play less than New South Wales, Smith’s domestic team? It’d be akin to saying ‘sorry, I’m more concerned with winning a trophy than the way I play the game’, which is exactly what the trio seemed to project with their actions in the third Test.
The IPL set a precedent by banning the cricketers from participating this year, while their CA ban is still underway, but saying they’d be welcome back after it’s been completed.
It’d be morally ignominious for any overseas cricket board, let alone the English one, to allow the dishonoured cricketers to play.
As a fan of both Steve Smith and David Warner, I’d love to see them take the field for any professional cricket team, but I’d rather they serve their sentence properly, and not demean the punishments and the team they’d be playing for.
The punishments may be over-the-top, but serving them in full sends a better signal of their remorse.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.