Steven Smith Accepts CA Sanctions, Will Not Appeal

Steven Smith Accepts CA Sanctions, Will Not Appeal

Former Australia captain Steven Smith will not challenge his 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket, and his 12-month ban from leadership positions thereafter, imposed by Cricket Australia for his role in the ball-tampering incident in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
“I would give anything to have this behind me and be back representing my country,” Smith said on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. “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.”
The two other banned players – David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – have not yet announced whether they too would accept the sanctions, or choose to appeal. Warner was banned for 12 months as well, while Bancroft was banned for nine. Warner was also banned from holding leadership positions in Australian cricket for life, while Bancroft was banned from the same for 12 months.
A day before Smith said he would not be challenging the sanctions, the Australian Cricketers’ Association had said the punishments were “disproportionate” to the gravity of the offence – ball-tampering – and appealed to CA to reduce them.
The ball-tampering controversy that erupted on the third day of the Newlands Test, when Bancroft was caught on camera rubbing the ball with sandpaper, also led to Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann resigning at the end of the Test series in South Africa. In the days after the incident, a CA investigation claimed that Warner had come up with the idea and got Bancroft to tamper with the ball, while Smith was in knowledge of the plan and did not prevent it.
Courtesy : espncricinfo