The Australian Cricketers’ Association will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to explore potential ways they could support suspended Hobart Hurricanes wicketkeeper Emily Smith. The 24-year-old last week received a one-year ban, with nine months suspended, for posting a team line-up on her Instagram account, an hour before it was officially released by her team for the WBBL clash with Sydney Thunder.
Her post, supposedly intended to lightheartedly highlight her position well down the batting order in a match that was later washed out, was still viewed by Cricket Australia as breaking their strict Anti-Corruption Code. As a result, Smith has been denied playing in any form of cricket for at least three months, meaning she will sit out the remainder of the WBBL and WNCL seasons, a penalty the ACA says is too excessive.
The ACA has suggested Smith should have received a fully suspended sentence instead, and refuted claims it urged the player to accept the ban and move on. The union, keen to illustrate that corruption was not a factor in Smith’s actions, has now sent a document to its members countrywide featuring the options it will present to board members in Tuesday’s emergency meeting with the view of mitigating Smith’s punishment.
One of these measures could be to broker a possible meeting with CA officials to take up Smith’s cause directly. Technically, Smith no longer has a right to appeal given seven days have passed since the sanction was accepted but CA has the power to reduce the ban, and this possibility could be raised at their meeting on 6 December.
An ACA spokesperson said Tuesday night’s meeting was called so the organisation could inform its members about the current state of events. It is unclear whether a strategy will be agreed upon at the meeting, or whether more options will be explored afterwards.