WA women's cricketer banned for betting on day-night Test

A second Australian women's cricketer has been caught out betting on the game this summer, with Western Australia's Piepa Cleary suspended for six months by Cricket Australia for placing bets on the day-night Test in Adelaide last November.

Cleary, 19, placed six bets totalling $15.50 on various elements of the match between Australia and New Zealand, and like the previous transgressor, Angela Reakes, has been handed a suspended two-year ban.

However, in this case, the CA head of integrity Iain Roy chose to activate the first six months of that ban due to several "aggravating circumstances" including the fact that Cleary had made the bets two months after being present at a face-to-face anti-corruption training session from CA head of security Sean Carroll.

"We continue to remind all elite cricketers and officials that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited," Roy said. "It is outlined in the anti-corruption education that we deliver annually, and is written into our anti-corruption code.

"Piepa has heard this message many times through the anti-corruption education sessions that we deliver and accepts that in placing the bets she exercised poor judgement. Bets totalling $15.50 might seem small but it doesn't matter.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of gambling on cricket by players in order to protect the integrity of the game. It has been made very clear that if Piepa breaches the code in any way again, she will receive a significantly lengthier suspension."

Christina Matthews, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA), expressed her disappointment at Cleary's actions. "We are naturally disappointed that one of our players has been involved in an incident such as this," she said. "Cricket in this country is held in high regard for its integrity and it is important for the future of the sport that remains the case. The WACA understands and supports the sanctions that have been handed down in this instance.

"Piepa will have to work hard to regain some respect from this incident, but she remains an important member of WA cricket and has taken responsibility for her actions."

CA has 16 official betting partners, all of which have signed up to "assist CA in its ongoing management of the integrity of CA competitions, by agreeing to information sharing and other integrity requirements specified by CA".

Like Reakes, Cleary will now be compelled to form part of CA's anti-corruption player education programmes in the future, as an example of how not to behave.