Twenty20 superstars Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy have called on media to ease off on exiled Australian cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner as they make their playing returns in Canada.Three months into a one-year ban imposed by Cricket Australia for their roles in the ball-tampering saga in South Africa in March, Smith and Warner are headlining the inaugural Global T20 Canada league in Toronto, starting on Friday (AEST).It is a three-week tournament featuring six teams with Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Shahid Afridi among the marquee players.Smith, the world's top-ranked Test batsman, will get his Global T20 Canada campaign underway on Friday when his Toronto Nationals clash with Gayle's Vancouver Knights at Maple Leaf Cricket Club,
the venue for all 22 league matches.Warner will play the following day when his Winnipeg Hawks take on the Montreal Tigers.Global T20 officials did not schedule pre-tournament press conferences for the Australian duo, but Smith's teammate Sammy rubbished the idea questions remained about "sandpaper gate".He also expressed concern about a widely-criticised media story this week about Smith "forlornly" having a beer alone in New York."As sportsmen, we want to do the right thing and set the right example for the next generation but we all make mistakes," Sammy said.
No comments:
Post a Comment