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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
2 men dragged for 300 metres by truck in Agra; locals save their lives
Agra, Dec 23: A truck driver dragged two people for about 300 metres in Agra under his vehicle, police on Monday said.
Some locals forced the driver to stop the truck and extricated the men from under the vehicle.
Police arrested the driver and seized the truck.
The two men, both residents of Nunhai in Agra, were going towards Rambagh from Waterworks when they met with an accident around 11 pm Sunday.
The driver, instead of stopping the truck sped up, trapping both of them underneath, police said.
"In the accident, two youths were dragged by a canter driver for about 300 metres. Later, some residents saved the youths by stopping the driver using force," Chhatta Police Station Inspector Pramod Kumar told PTI.
"The youths were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and are still being treated, but are in stable condition. The youths were from Agra. The canter driver was arrested and the canter seized after the incident," he said.
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media showed the men shouting for help.
The video was purported to have been shot by a person passing by on a two-wheeler.
“पिछली पोस्ट में वीडियो में युवकों को मोटर साइकल सहित ट्रक वाला कई मीटर तक घसीटता हुआ ले जाता गया देखा था,
— Umashankar Singh उमाशंकर सिंह (@umashankarsingh) December 23, 2024
अब जनता द्वारा उस ट्रक ड्राइवर की ठुकाई पिटाई का समारोह देखिए।”#Agra@madanjournalist
pic.twitter.com/Qh5ncyWtEa
HORRIFYING!
— Sanjay Kishore (@saintkishore) December 23, 2024
In Agra, a truck driver dragged two men for 300 meters. Locals intervened, stopping the truck and saving the men. Both are stable but continue receiving treatment. The driver has been arrested and the truck seized.
pic.twitter.com/1ply5wemfX
