SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Cricket Australia has announced that two players from the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), Hayley Jensen and Corinne Hall, have been banned for six months for betting on matches. Both players have voluntarily accepted bans of two years, of which 18 months are suspended.
Jensen, a 23-year-old New Zealand international who has represented Victoria and Melbourne in the 2015/16 Australian domestic season, admitted placing a bet on the result of the Brisbane test between Australia and New Zealand in November 2015.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Hall, who played for the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL, admitted the charge of placing two bets relating to matches in the 2015/16 Matador Cup competition, a limited overs cricket tournament based in Australia.
A statement from Cricket Australia confirmed: “Jensen and Hall are prohibited from participating in any form of cricket or cricket-related event for a period of six months until 21 October 2016.”
Iain Roy, Integrity Manager at Cricket Australia, said: “We take a proactive, zero-tolerance approach to maintaining the integrity of our sport and this includes any form of betting on cricket globally.
“Players in Australia are required to complete an anti-corruption education session before they can compete in any competition, including all players in our Underage National Championships. We continually remind players that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited, and this is written into our Anti-Corruption Code.
“These players have accepted the seriousness of their errors and have voluntarily accepted their sanctions. This serves as a timely reminder to all players in cricket that the integrity of our game is a high priority and we won’t accept this being compromised.”
South African based Joel Logan has also received a two-year ban for placing two bets on the winner of the World T20 tournament in India. However, he has received a wholly suspended ban because he was a Futures League player employed only on a match-by-match basis.
