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Peter Siddle wants ‘close mates’ to serve out ball-tampering bans

Peter Siddle is against the Australian Cricketers' Association's (ACA) demand to lift the ban on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft

peter siddle
Peter Siddle (Getty Images)

Peter Siddle is against the Australian Cricketers’ Association’s (ACA) demand to lift the ban on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft saying serving the punishment will help in cleaning up the game.

In the aftermath of the findings of a review sanction by Cricket Australia (CA) to review its corporate and playing culture, ACA has claimed that in light of the new information brought forth by the Longstaff review, the ban needs to be cut short with immediate effect.

But right-arm pacer Siddle, who last month marked his comeback to international cricket, differs. “You always want to see them playing cricket but I think … the punishments are there for a reason,” Siddle was quoted as saying by Reuters on Thursday. “They understood the reasons why they got those punishments so I think … it comes down to them, obviously, serving them out, copping the penalty that they got.

Smith and Warner are serving a 12-month ban while Bancroft was banned for nine-month. “And it’s very close to them being back. They’ve still been playing cricket around the world, staying fit and everything like that. Obviously I’m close mates with them and we’d like to see them out there but also, hopefully their punishments can be something moving forward,” Siddle added.

The issue continues to be a hot topic of debate but Siddle said the players have moved forward and are only focused on their games. “As a team and as players we’ve moved forward and want to just let the cricket do the speaking rather than worry about what’s going on in the outside. A lot’s come out and there will probably be a little bit more to come out in the next little bit of time of time but for us it’s just about playing cricket,” he said.

Australia will host South Africa for a three-ODI series starting from Sunday, the first time they will be playing at home since the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town.

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