West Australian batter Sam Fanning has been hit with a four-match ban after being cited for tampering with the pitch during the state’s premier cricket final.
Fanning, who represented Australia at the under-19s level, was caught digging his spikes into the pitch late on day one while representing Perth CC against Bayswater-Morley CC.
The ban handed down to the 22-year-old means he will miss the start of the 2023-24 season.
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”WA Cricket expects high standards of behaviour from all contracted players, on and off the field. We were disappointed to learn of the incident involving Sam, which did not reflect our values,” WA Cricket’s General Manager of High Performance Kade Harvey said in a statement.
“Alongside the penalty, we will work with Sam and provide an education and development plan in line with living our values and making better decisions moving forward.”
The left-hander’s ban sours what was a drought-breaking final for Perth, who beat Bayswater-Morley for its first premiership in 74 years, with Fanning top scoring with 123.
Fanning was named the Player of the Match in his side’s massive 217-run win in the two-day final.
The young opener broke through for his first class debut for Western Australia this season, scoring 137 runs at an average of 19.57 in four Shield matches.
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