I feel a twinge of sympathy for Bancroft. Think he has been stitched up.
Yes he did it, and yes he is a grown man who should be able to say "whoa, hold on a minute we shouldn't be doing this" but when the 2 people doing the asking/telling are the hitherto untouchable leaders of Australian cricket and one of them is the reigning "Australian of the Year", then a rookie with 7 games under his belt and a so-so average in those games who is desperate to ingratiate himself with those who make the decisions on who to pick (with all the accompanying financial benefits that follow), might find it hard to say no.
Naive in the extreme yes, but 9 month ban seems harsh. Book should be thrown at Warner and Smith, which to be fair to Cricket Australia (as opposed to the useless ICC), they largely have.
That said, I think Somerset would be wise to un-offer employment for this summer. They don't need all the hullaballoo that will accompany every appearance. With the Overton's, the spin duo plus plenty of wily heads, it should be a half-decent season for the Cidermen.
Yes he did it, and yes he is a grown man who should be able to say "whoa, hold on a minute we shouldn't be doing this" but when the 2 people doing the asking/telling are the hitherto untouchable leaders of Australian cricket and one of them is the reigning "Australian of the Year", then a rookie with 7 games under his belt and a so-so average in those games who is desperate to ingratiate himself with those who make the decisions on who to pick (with all the accompanying financial benefits that follow), might find it hard to say no.
Naive in the extreme yes, but 9 month ban seems harsh. Book should be thrown at Warner and Smith, which to be fair to Cricket Australia (as opposed to the useless ICC), they largely have.
That said, I think Somerset would be wise to un-offer employment for this summer. They don't need all the hullaballoo that will accompany every appearance. With the Overton's, the spin duo plus plenty of wily heads, it should be a half-decent season for the Cidermen.