Cricket | Australia calls for reinforcements amid cheating probe

Matt Renshaw hit the winning runs to help Queensland state clinch the domestic cricket title before rushing to South Africa to reinforce an Australia squad mired in a cheating scandal ahead of the fourth test later this week in Johannesburg.

Australia skipper Steve Smith has been suspended by the International Cricket Council for the match for his part in a ball tampering scandal during the third test.

Opener Cameron Bancroft was also sanctioned by the ICC after admitting to using tape covered with dirt to rub one side of the leather ball to make it rougher and assist reverse swing for the Australian bowlers during a heavy loss in Cape Town last weekend.

Smith admitted some senior players were aware of the tampering attempt. He and vice captain David Warner agreed to stand down as team leaders pending an investigation by Cricket Australia, which is expected to result in further sanctions possibly for both the senior batsmen and Bancroft.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has flown to South Africa and is expected to make an announcement Wednesday regarding the findings of the investigation.

The 21-year-old Renshaw, who was replaced as Australian opener by Bancroft before last year’s Ashes series against England, has returned to form since being sent back to the domestic Sheffield Shield first-class competition.

The announcement that he had been drafted into the Australian squad came before he went out to bat yesterday, and he capped his national recall with an unbeaten 81 from 83 deliveries in Queensland’s nine-wicket win over Tasmania in the final.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Renshaw said. “People dream about winning a Shield their whole cricket careers and managing to do it at 21 and obviously what’s coming [in South Africa], I can look forward to that, but I’ve got to enjoy a thing that not many people manage to do.”

Renshaw, who has scored 623 runs in 10 tests at an average of 36.64, said he hadn’t been concentrating much on the ball-tampering scandal.

“Just been putting all my emotions into winning [for Queensland] and it’s just relief now,” he said.

Other players were expected to join Renshaw on flights to South Africa, with reports fellow Queensland and former test opener Joe Burns is among those in the mix for selection.

The initial part of the Cricket Australia investigation has been conducted at the team’s luxury Cape Town waterfront hotel, where they were staying before leaving for Johannesburg.

While cases of ball tampering haven’t been uncommon in international cricket, with senior players from England, South Africa, India and Pakistan all involved in past charges, the cheating revelations from Cape Town have caused shock and accusations of hypocrisy against an Australian team that has always promoted itself as playing hard but fair. AP

Zimbabwe cricket official banned for 20 years

A zimbabwean official has been banned for 20 years by the International Cricket Council after being found guilty of match-fixing charges. Rajan Nayer, who was an influential board member of Zimbabwe’s cricket governing body until 2015, was initially suspended and charged for approaching Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer with an offer of USD30 000 to influence the outcome of a game during the African team’s home test series with the West Indies last October. Immediately after charges were laid, the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association, the country’s largest domestic cricket body, removed Nayer from his position as its marketing director.