Steve Smith, David Warner facing possible life bans
Steve Smith and David Warner
The ICC has slapped the duo with a one-match ban but news reports quoted Cricket Australia sources as saying the duo could be hit with 'exemplary punishment'
Australian cricket players Steve Smith and David Warner could be staring at a possible life ban, news reports said Monday.
The duo had stepped down as captain and vice-captain of the Australian team on Sunday, after a stunningball-tampering admission by Smith.
The ICC has slapped the duo with a one-match ban and fined Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft — who did the actual tampering, againstSouth Africa— 75% of his match fee.
The bans and the fine have been called "very lenient"bya number of people:
But there has been tremendous fallout back home in Australia. With Prime Minister Malcolm Turbull wondering how the team could have cheated — "It beggars belief," he said — and the media pillorying the team's "rotten" culture under its current leadership.
And the news reports Monday quoted anonymous sources in Cricket Australia, which is investigating the incident, as saying the team's "leadership group" could be slapped with exemplary punishment, which could be as severe as a life ban.