Cricket Australia upholds bans on Smith, Warner ahead of India series
Brisbane, Nov 20: Steve Smith and David Warner will not be available for Australia's upcoming Test series against India after the year-long ball-tampering bans on them were upheld by Cricket Australia on Tuesday after a review.
In recent days, owing in no small measure to the Australian team's poor on-field performances, there was a clamour for the bans to be reduced, which might have made them available for the four-Test series against India starting December 6 in Adelaide.
It would have allowed the two players, as well as batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was given a nine-month ban, to return to competitive cricket earlier than stipulated.
"The Cricket Australia Board has carefully considered all elements of the ACA submission and has determined that it is not appropriate to make any changes to the sanctions handed down to the three players," interim chairman Earl Eddings said in a statement.
The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) even made a submission favouring a reduction in the bans, to which Cricket Australia responded in negative.
The Australian Cricketers' Association asked for a rethink on the suspension of the trio following the Longstaff review.
The ACA said that the review provided new and compelling evidence that CA - and not just the players involved - contributed to the atmosphere that prompted the events of the Cape Town Test in March.
With India set to play Australia in a long series, including four-Tests and considering the hosts' recent run of losses, there were prompt calls to bring back Smith and Warner before the contests against the visitors. The series gets underway with the first T20 International here on Wednesday.
Smith and Warner are eight months into their one-year bans, while Bancroft will be eligible to return in December.
The trio were banned for their role in the ball tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket in March.
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Petrol pump worker killed as SUV hits motorcycle head-on in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): A petrol pump worker died after an SUV rammed into his motorcycle in the Sushant Lok area here, police said on Thursday.
The accused driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle after the accident. An FIR has been registered at the Sushant Lok police station, they said.
According to police, the accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when Mukesh was travelling from Sector 44 to Sushant Lok on Vyapar Kendra Road for some work.
Near Vyapar Kendra, a white Thar coming from the wrong side at high speed hit his motorcycle head-on, leaving him critically injured, they said.
The driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind, police added.
Eyewitnesses claimed the vehicle had no number plates either at the front or rear.
Locals took Mukesh to a private hospital, where he died during treatment, police said. He was a resident of Rohta Patti in Palwal and worked at a petrol pump in Sector 44.
An FIR was registered against the unidentified driver, based on a complaint lodged by his brother Ashok. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem on Thursday, police said.
“The Thar vehicle has been seized from the spot. CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and the driver will be arrested soon,” a Gurugram police spokesperson said.
