No softening of bans for tainted trio: Cricket Australia

Melbourne, July 4 (IANS) Refuting all claims of softening of bans on former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner for their involvement in ball tampering in the Cape Town Test, Cricket Australia on Wednesday dismissed the reports as "purely speculative".

"At no stage have we, or are we considering lessening the current sanctions in place for respective players in relation to the incident in South Africa," a CA spokesperson told cricket.com.au.

"The CA Code of Conduct does not allow for reversal or lessening of sanctions once players have fully accepted the charges.

"The current articles published are purely speculative," he added.

Smith and Warner were banned for a year under CA's Code of Conduct following an investigation into their involvement along with opener Cameron Bancroft into the ball-tampering incident that unfolded during the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town last March.

All three players accepted the charges laid against them and the subsequent punishments administered with Bancroft suspended for nine months, without pursuing the option of appeal, and will remain unavailable for international and Australian domestic cricket until their bans are served.

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