Ex-Victoria coach banned for 20 years for 'reprehensible' conduct

Former Victoria women's coach Dulip Samaraweera, an ex-Sri Lanka Test cricketer, has been banned from holding any position within Australian cricket for 20 years.

Samaraweera was found to have engaged in inappropriate behaviour that Cricket Victoria described as "utterly reprehensible" while employed by the organisation.

Following an investigation by Cricket Australia's Integrity department, the case was referred to the Conduct Commission. Samaraweera was found to have committed a "serious breach" of clause 2.23 of the CA's Code of Conduct, which concerns conduct "contrary to the spirit of cricket, is unbecoming of a representative or official, is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket, or does or could bring the game of cricket into disrepute".

He has been banned from holding any position within CA or a State or Territory Association (including any W/BBL Team) for 20 years.

Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins commended the bravery of the female victim for speaking up.

"We strongly support the decision taken by the Code of Conduct Commission today, banning Dulip Samaraweera for 20 years," said Cummins.

"It is our view that the conduct was utterly reprehensible and a betrayal of everything we stand for at Cricket Victoria.

"The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field.

"From an organisation perspective, the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behaviour which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up."

Samaraweera, who played seven Tests and five ODIs for Sri Lanka in the early 1990s, first joined Cricket Victoria's women's program as a specialist batting coach in 2008.

He was named interim head coach of the team in November 2023, and appointed to the full-time role in May this year, but resigned less than a fortnight later.

The Australian Cricketers' Association supported the Conduct Commission's verdict.

"These are extremely serious findings that may shock and upset many in the cricket community," said chief executive Todd Greenberg.

"The safety and wellbeing of our members remains paramount. The leaders in Australian Cricket now need to ensure that every possible measure is taken to ensure things like this never happen again. We have raised this imperative with Cricket Australia."

Fresh ban applied after new allegation

On November 15, 2024, Samaraweera was given another 10-year ban from holding any position within Australian cricket after a further allegation of inappropriate conduct was reported and investigated. The new ban would be served concurrently with the 20-year ban already imposed on the former Test cricketer in September 2024. 

A statement from CA said the latest allegation of inappropriate conduct took place while Samaraweera was employed by Cricket Victoria (CV) but related to private coaching sessions outside this role.

Samaraweera denied the allegations but chose not to participate in the investigation by CA's Integrity department and subsequent Conduct Commission hearing.

CA encouraged inappropriate behaviour to be reported, which can be done via the hotline: 1300 FAIR GAME (1300 3247 4263), emailing direct to integrity@cricket.com.au or fairgame@coreintegrity.com.au, or making an online report direct with CA or via independent reporting partner Core Integrity