Banned Australia trio can have redemption stories, says Sutherland

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft can all return to international duty for Australia, according to James Sutherland.

Published : May 01, 2018 15:41 IST

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland will not rule out international returns for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, stating their "redemption story" is in their own hands.

The Australia trio were handed international and domestic bans following the ball-tampering scandal during the tour of South Africa earlier this year.

Smith and Warner were suspended for a year, while Bancroft was given a ninth-month suspension after he admitted using sandpaper to try to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test of the series.

Yet despite the public outcry back home, Sutherland is happy to give all three men the opportunity to force their way back into the set-up.

"I think everyone deserves their chance and their own personal redemption story is very much in their own hands now," he told SEN.

"Each of them have to go about that during the time they're out of the game and prove that their worthy, prove to the Australian selectors that they should want them back.

"They deserve that opportunity. I feel for all three players. I feel forgiveness for all of them. I feel sympathy for them and I want to see them all come back and play their best cricket. I believe they all can."

Sutherland added that he never considered his own future, believing he had a responsibility to help Australia recover and move on.

"I haven't thought about [resigning] and I really see the responsibility I have to push through this and deal with the situation," he said.

"When I reconcile all of this, I see this as a really significant opportunity for growth within Australian cricket, the team, the development of our players and all the way through to the pathways.

"I don't think there is a win-at-all-costs culture. Winning is important and the expectations on the Australian cricket team are very high."

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