Cricket Australia slaps bans on three players for breaching Anti-Corruption Code

World cricket has been rocked by a number of gambling-related scandals in recent years. In the recent scandal, Cricket Australia (CA) took severe action against three cricketers as part of its zero-tolerance approach towards the breach of Anti-Corruption Code. Two Australian players have been banned while another cricketer was handed a suspension over gambling-related corruption. Hayley Jensen and

Corinne Hall, who play in the national women’s league and women’s domestic Twenty20 tournament, were both given two-year bans with 18 months suspended, Cricket Australia said in a media release on Wednesday.

Jensen had admitted placing one bet on the result of the men’s test match between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane last November while Hall had made two bets relating to two matches in the men’s domestic one-day competition in 2015-16.

“Jensen and Hall are prohibited from participating in any form of cricket or cricket-related event for a period of six months until 21 October 2016,” CA said.

Joel Logan, who plays for South Australia in the Futures League, was sanctioned for placing two bets on the 2015 World T20 winner. Logan was also given a two-year ban but it was wholly suspended due to “circumstances relating to his match contracts and the specific timing” of his bets.

All three players are required to participate in anti-corruption player education programs delivered by CA in future.

"We take a proactive, zero-tolerance approach to maintaining the integrity of our sport and this includes any form of betting on cricket globally. Players in Australia are required to complete an anti-corruption education session before they can compete in any competition, including all players in our Underage National Championships," CA's Head of Integrity, Iain Roy was quoted as saying in the media release.

"We continually remind players that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited and this is written into our Anti-Corruption Code. These players have accepted the seriousness of their errors and have voluntarily accepted their sanctions. This serves as a timely reminder to all players in Cricket that the integrity of our game is a high priority and we won't accept this being compromised," Roy added.

CA in February banned 19-year-old women’s cricketer Piepa Cleary for six months, with another 18 months suspended, for placing six bets totaling A$15.50 on a men’s test match between Australia and New Zealand in November.

Following that, Angela Reakes was given a two-year suspension in December for placing five bets worth a total of A$9 on the man-of-the-match for last year’s cricket World Cup final.