Monitoring Desk
SYDNEY: Surrey coach Michael Di Venuto has confirmed he would be interested in signing Australian cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner if allowed by the English Cricket Board (ECB).
Smith and Warner were banned for a year by Cricket Australia after the pair had admitted to ball tampering, during the third test match between South Africa and Australia. Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban.
The duo have already lost their Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts with their respective franchises following the events of Cape Town. Di Venuto who is a former Australia batting coach, having held the role from 2013 to 2016, said it would be “mad” not to consider signing either of the duo should it be allowed.
The bans handed down by Cricket Australia only cover Australian international and domestic cricket, although any position in the county game would need the ECB to sign off. “From an Australian perspective, it is probably important that they play a bit of cricket at some stage,” Di Venuto said.
“I don’t know if they are allowed to play in this competition. I know what it states in their sanctions that they can’t play domestic cricket in Australia.
“If they are in the right mental state to play cricket and the ECB will have to allow it to start with, then we’d be mad not to look at some of the world’s best players potentially playing,” he added.
According to ban handed to the trio, they are only permitted to play grade cricket in Australia, however, their bans do not prevent them from playing in England, although it would require approval from ECB.
