West Australian cricketer Sam Fanning will miss the start of the 2023/24 season after being cited for tampering with the wicket during last weekend’s WA Premier Cricket final in Perth.
On Thursday, WA Cricket released a statement confirming the 22-year-old would be unavailable for selection for the start of next summer following the incident, where he was filmed digging his spikes into the protected area of the pitch late on day one.
Fanning received a four-game ban from the WA Premier Cricket competition, with a further two matches suspended.
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“WA Cricket expects high standards of behaviour from all contracted players, on and off the field. We were disappointed to learn of the incident involving Sam, which did not reflect our values,” WA Cricket’s General Manager of High Performance Kade Harvey said in a statement.
“Alongside the penalty, we will work with Sam and provide an education and development plan in line with living our values and making better decisions moving forward.”
Fanning top-scored for Perth CC in the two-day final at Lilac Hill, smacking 123 from 197 balls against Bayswater-Morley CC to help end the club’s 74-year premiership drought.
Perth, led by Melbourne Renegades cricketer Jono Wells, defeated Bayswater-Morley by 217 runs in the one-sided final, with Fanning named player of the match.
Fanning made his first-class debut for Western Australia earlier this summer, playing four Sheffield Shield matches in 2022/23. He scored 137 runs at 19.57, including a maiden half-century against New South Wales at the SCG in November.
The former Australian Under-19s representative was named in Western Australia’s 13-player squad for last week’s Sheffield Shield final against Victoria, but didn’t make the starting XI.
