Tom Curran has apologised after his four-match BBL 2023/24 ban for intimidating an umpire was upheld by Cricket Australia following an unsuccessful appeal by Sydney Sixers against the sanction.
Curran was found guilty of breaching article 2.17 of Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct by “threatening or attempting to intimidate an umpire.”
The Sixers sued to have the decision overturned, backed by captain Moises Henriques, who argued that the video evidence lacked “context” to defend his teammate’s character.
However, Cricket Australia stood by its decision. Big Bash League general manager Alistair Dobson said in a statement. “Umpires are part of the lifeblood of cricket and it is important that they are respected and valued by players at all levels of the game.”
The seamer will now miss games against Melbourne Stars on Boxing Day and Brisbane Heat on New Year’s Day, and will not return until January 3.
Video footage showed Curran running up the pitch before the match. Referee Mohammad Qureshi, who was standing at the goal line to protect the field, told him not to do anything like this again. Despite this, Curran runs in again and evades the police officer at the last minute.
Mr. Curran later apologized for his actions. “When I was concentrating on my pre-match routine, I was surprised by the interaction with referee Qureshi,” he said. “I did not expect that there would be a stalemate as a result.
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“I deeply regret the way I responded and the resulting impact on referee Qureshi, the Sydney Sixers, and myself personally.
“My intention was always to move to the right of referee Qureshi, the same as my approach at the other end.” I never thought of hitting him and that my intention was I didn’t even think he would do that because it works. However, when I thought about it, I should have moved my running position about 1 meter to the left. I wouldn’t do the same thing if this situation happened again. very sorry.
“I am deeply sorry if he knew that I had decided to continue my approach towards referee Qureshi and that I had attempted to make physical contact with him.”
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