Mumbai: Cricket Australia (CA) has taken a stern step by banning two Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) players Hayley Jensen and Corrine Hall. They have been banned for six months for betting on matches as CA continues to crackdown on betting involvement from its contracted players.
South Australian Future League player Joel Logan had also received a suspended ban after he was found guilty of breaching CA’s Anti-Corruption Code. Jensen and Hall have been banned for two years of which 18 months was suspended after admitting that they placed bets on men’s international games. Jensen and Hall have voluntarily accepted the sanctions imposed by CA.
Jensen, who has played international cricket for White Ferns and represented Victoria and Melbourne Stars in the 2015-16 Australian summer, admitted the charge of placing one bet on the result of the Brisbane Test between Australia and New Zealand that was played in last November.
Hall, who played for the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL, admitted the charge of placing two bets relating to two matches in the Matador Cup (Australia’s domestic one-day competition) last season.
Hayley Jensen; image credit: Fox Sports
Logan admitted the charge of placing two bets relating to the World T20 that was held in India.
The punishment prevents Hall and Jensen from participating in “participating in any form of cricket or cricket-related event for a period” until October 21. Logan was not on a full state contract and was contracted on match-by-match basis for the Futures League, which was taken in to account in getting lesser punishment compared to Jensen and Hall.
This is not the first instance of players getting suspended for betting activities. Angela Reakes and Piepa Cleary were also involved in placing bets. Angela, who played for ACT and Sydney Sixers was handed a suspended sentence for placing 2015 World Cup final last December. Piepa, who played for Western Australia was banned in February for betting on Australia and New Zealand Test match that took place in Adelaide during 2015-16 summer.