Bancroft accepts CA sanction

Banned Australia opener Cameron Bancroft has followed the lead of his deposed Test captain Steve Smith and decided against challenging the nine-month ban imposed for his role in the ball-tampering scandal.

Just hours after Smith tweeted that he would accept his 12-month penalty, Bancroft took to social media to announce that he too had advised Cricket Australia that he won’t be looking to have the penalty downgraded or overturned.

“Today I lodged the paperwork with Cricket Australia and will be accepting the sanction handed down,” Bancroft tweeted.

“I would love to put this behind me and will do whatever it takes to earn back the trust of the Australian public.

“Thank you to all those who have sent messages of support.”

David Warner, the third of the players handed bans over their role in the controversy that erupted during the recent third Test in Cape Town when Bancroft was seen to try and alter the condition of the ball by using a small sheet of sandpaper, has yet to indicate if he will cop the punishment.

Warner flew to Melbourne yesterday and told journalists at the airport that he planned to meet with advisers as there were significant issues to discuss, and he has until 5pm tomorrow to advise CA of his intentions in relation to the sanctions.

Like Smith, he has been handed a 12-month suspension from cricket but also been told that he will remain excluded from consideration for leadership roles within the team for the remainder of his playing career.

Bancroft, who made his Test debut in the first Test of the past summer’s Ashes series, was to have played the coming northern summer with English county team Somerset.

However, that deal was cancelled amid the fall-out of the ball tampering scandal that also saw men’s team coach Darren Lehmann stand down from his role effective yesterday and CA announce an independent review into the culture and conduct of the men’s team.

Details of that process have yet to be made public.