Former Test cricketer from Sri Lanka Dulip Samaraweera has been barred from donning any designations or roles with Australia's cricket structure. Moreover, he has also been slapped with a ban of 20 years. Notably, the player was found indulging in a "coercive" relationship with a female player, thereby taking an undue advantage while being in the coaching setup of Victoria as per some unnamed sources.
Furthermore, given the gravity of the matter, Cricket Victoria decided to keep the names of the sources concealed. Citing the safety concerns of everyone involved working and representing the domestic Australian state, the officials made it amply clear that the activities which go against the culture of Victoria would not be tolerated at all.
“It is our view that the conduct was utterly reprehensible and a betrayal of everything we stand for at Cricket Victoria. The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field,” said Nick Cummins, the Chief Executive of Cricket Victoria, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“From an organisation perspective, the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behaviour which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up," he further continued.
In the aftermath, Todd Greenberg, who is the Chief Executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, called for leaders of Australian cricket to take the onus on themselves to ensure the well-being of every member along with making sure that such incidents do not take place in the future ahead. Meanwhile, so far there has been no criminal investigation ongoing in this regard.
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“These are extremely serious findings that may shock and upset many in the cricket community. The safety and wellbeing of our members remains paramount. The leaders in Australian Cricket now need to ensure that every possible measure is taken to ensure things like this never happen again. We have raised this imperative with Cricket Australia,” stated Greenberg.
Committed to providing safe environment for all players and employees: Cricket Australia
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the situation, Cricket Australia (CA) came forward to share their views on the Samaraweera case. They confirmed that the Sri Lankan cricketer was involved in inappropriate behaviour while working with Cricket Victoria. As a result, he breached CA's code of conduct as per section 2.23.
They also further clarified their stand by saying that the Australian Cricket Board was committed to providing a safe environment for all players and employees alike and that rules and regulations in place are also applicable on territorial associations apart from state boards. This would essentially mean that even in franchise leagues like the Big Bash League (BBL), the cricketer will not be able to work in any possible capacity.
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“The conduct commission found that Samaraweera engaged in inappropriate behaviour that breached section 2.23 of CA’s code of conduct. The allegations of inappropriate conduct took place while Samaraweera was employed by Cricket Victoria. The CA integrity department investigates complaints brought to it under integrity codes and policies which also apply to state and territory associations. The conduct commission hears matters referred to it by CA integrity," Cricket Australia said in their statement.
“CA and [Cricket Victoria] are committed to providing a safe environment for all players and employees and the welfare of those subjected to mistreatment is paramount. We strongly encourage the reporting of inappropriate behaviours, which can be made directly to the CA integrity unit or via the core integrity hotline," the board statement concluded.
Besides, in the follow-up, Samaraweera was contacted by the Sydney Herald but the cricketer was unavailable to have his say on the brewing matter and the ban slapped by Australian Cricket.
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