Australian cricket board slaps bans on three players for betting

Australia's cricket board has banned two players for betting on matches and given a suspended ban to a third as part of its "zero tolerance" approach to gambling-related corruption.

Hayley Jensen and Corinne Hall, who play in the national women's league and women's domestic Twenty20 tournament, were both given two-year bans with 18 months suspended, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a media release on Wednesday.

Jensen had admitted placing one bet on the result of the men's test match between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane last November. Hall had made two bets relating to two matches in the men's domestic one-day competition in 2015-16.

"Jensen and Hall are prohibited from participating in any form of cricket or cricket-related event for a period of six months until 21 October 2016," CA said.

Joel Logan, who plays for South Australia in the men's domestic competition, was sanctioned for placing two bets on the winner of the World T20 tournament.

Logan was also given a two-year ban but it was wholly suspended due to "circumstances relating to his match contracts and the specific timing" of his bets. All three players were required to participate in anti-corruption education programs, the board said.

“We take a proactive, zero-tolerance approach to maintaining the integrity of our sport and this includes any form of betting on cricket globally," CA's integrity boss Iain Roy said.

"These players have accepted the seriousness of their errors and have voluntarily accepted their sanctions."

CA in February banned 19-year-old woman cricketer Piepa Cleary for six months, with another 18 months suspended, for placing six bets on a men's test match between Australia and New Zealand in November.

That followed a two-year suspended sentence given to Sydney-based women's cricketer Angela Reakes in December for placing five bets on the man-of-the-match for last year's cricket World Cup final.

World cricket has been rocked by a number of gambling-related scandals in recent years.

Three Pakistani players were banned from cricket and jailed in 2011 after they were convicted of criminal charges related to spot-fixing in a test match during their tour of England the previous year.

(Reuters)