Australian cricketer suspended over revealing team news on Instagram

Cricket Australia have suspended Hobart Hurricanes wicketkeeper Emily Smith for a year after she revealed team news on Instagram ahead of its official release.

Smith posted the Hurricanes’ line-up on her personal account ahead of the Women’s Big Bash League match against Sydney Thunder on November 2, an hour before its official publication time.

JUST IN: A social media post has seen Hobart's Emily Smith banned for the remainder of the @WBBL season: https://t.co/2YDTF1g4oc pic.twitter.com/hvcB3nTlXr

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 18, 2019

According to a statement, CA said Smith had accepted the sanction for breaching Article 2.3.2 of the anti-corruption code which prohibits disclosing inside information to any person.

Emily will be unable to participate in any form of cricket for at least three months, ruling Emily Smith out of the rest of this season’s WBBL and WNCL competitions.

Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption code prohibits “disclosing inside information to any person where the participant knew or might reasonably have known that such disclosure might lead to the information being used in relation to betting in relation to any match or event”.

The governing body accepted Smith, who has made 43 Big Bash appearances, had not intended to breach the code by posting the Hurricanes’ line-up.

Cricket Australia head of integrity and security Sean Carroll said: “Since the commencement of the WBBL, Cricket Australia has had in place a robust anti-corruption program.”