David Warner, Cameron Bancroft Could Return To Cricket in July
Published - 07 May 2018, 10:57 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:51 PM

Banned Australian cricketers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft could be back into competitive cricket as early as July this year. Both the players were found guilty of their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa.
Earlier this year, Cricket Australia handed David Warner a 12-month ban. The southpaw eventually got banned from becoming Australia leader. On the other hand, Cameron Bancroft received nine-month ban which would see him miss international cricket until the end of 2018.
Another cricketer Steven Smith was also banned for one-year and will not be considered for captaincy until two years. He has already started his preparations – to earn the trust of the public again.

But both Warner and Bancroft are currently considering to play in the Top End’s Strike League in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Although the ban exclusively restricts the players from playing international cricket and domestic cricket in Australia.
However, this tournament is club cricket and provides the opportunity for the duo to get back into cricket.
According to cricket.com.au, Cameron Bancroft looks the most likelier option to play in the league this winter.
Warner Interested In Participating
Apparently, even Warner is also keen on playing in the second edition of Top End’s Strike League. This will definitely help the duo to keep themselves fresh and ready to feature in domestic or international matches.
CA digital quotes the chief executive officer of Northern Territory Cricket, Joel Morrison, “Once the sanctions were handed down by Cricket Australia and the dust had settled, I reached out to Cricket Australia and then the players’ managers to give them the opportunity to play some cricket over the winter.”
The organisers are planning to involve the likes of D’Arcy Short and Jordan Silk in the tournament. This would surely help the tournament to garner interest from spectators as well.
“One of the great advantages we have up here is that we have a winter competition which provides playing opportunities year-round. We offered them the opportunity to help them get back and play … if they wanted to pick up the bat sooner rather than later. The opportunity to have the likes of David Warner or Cameron Bancroft, if they’re available and willing to play, would be fantastic for us,” Morrison added.
Morrison revealed David Warner has shown the keen interesting and they are looking forward to seeing how things would shape up.
“He (Warner) does seem interested. Now we’ve just got to see if the timings align depending on what else he’s up to. But he has shown some interest and we’ll definitely pick up those conversations,” Morrison concluded.
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