SYDNEY – Australia pace bowler Peter Siddle says former captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft should serve out the remainder of their ball-tampering bans despite calls for Cricket Australia to cut their sanctions short.
Smith and Warner were banned for a year for their part in the Newlands scandal, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
The players union demanded CA lift the bans immediately following Monday’s release of the Longstaff review, which blamed the board in part for the events in South Africa.
“You always want to see them playing cricket but I think ... the punishments are there for a reason,” Siddle said. “They understood the reasons why they got those punishments so I think ... it comes down to them, obviously, serving them out, copping the penalty that they got.
Warner and Co understood the reasons why they got those punishments,says Siddle. Photo: Ben Rushton/EPA
“And it’s very close to them being back. They’ve still been playing cricket around the world, staying fit and everything like that.”
Siddle said he was keen to see his friends back on the field, but that by serving their bans in full they would be helping clean up the game.
“Obviously we’d like to see them out there but also, hopefully their punishments can be something moving forward.”