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Australian cricketer Sam Fanning has been handed a four-match ban for pitch tampering. The incident occurred during the West Australia Premier Cricket final between Perth CC and Bayswater-Morley CC at Lilac Hill, last month.
The West Australian cricketer was caught on camera when he was seen scraping his spikes on the protected area of the pitch. The protected area of the pitch is the area in the centre of the pitch where the ball pitches. Any meddling around it can cause the pitch to deteriorate and cause injuries due to uneven bounce of the ball. The incident took place during the end of Day 1’s play. The cricketer will miss the start of the 2023-24 domestic season due to the suspension.
West Australia Cricket in a statement regarding the incident said, “WA Cricket expects high standards of behaviour from all contracted players, on and off the field. We were disappointed to learn of the incident involving Sam, which did not reflect our values. Alongside the penalty, we will work with Sam and provide an education and development plan in line with living our values and making better decisions moving forward.”
Sam Fanning is a contracted player of West Australia, and he scored a century in the same match before getting caught while tampering the pitch.
